Submitted photo – Skyler Collenberg

By Ray Hamill — A record breaker, a junior reaping the rewards of her hard work, and a team that refuses to fold all feature in our weekly awards this week.

It’s been good start to the spring sports season for the Ferndale Wildcats, but then again it’s been a good year for the Little 4 school in a variety of sports.

And that continued to be the case this past week for the Wildcats’ baseball and softball teams.

With junior pitcher Olivia Gossi leading the way, the Ferndale girls are off to a 4-0 start in softball and look like legitimate contenders for this year’s L4 title.

Gossi has posted all four wins in the circle, including a dominating day at Hayfork on Tuesday, as the Cats swept a doubleheader of games by identical 22-0 scores.

She threw a three-inning perfect game in the opener and a five-inning no-hitter in game two.

And that makes her one of our athletes of the week.

And according to her head coach Jeremy Griffith, Gossi’s impressive start to the new season has a lot to do with how she approached the offseason.

“She’s been really attacking the zone in her first two starts,” the coach said after the opening two wins. “It’s something she focused on in the offseason and it’s working well for her.”

The Wildcats have also started the new baseball season well, improving to 7-0 with a doubleheader sweep at Hayfork on Tuesday.

And that makes the Ferndale baseball team our team of the week.

While still obviously a work in progress at this stage of the season, the Wildcats have impressed in multiple ways, none more so than their resilience.

Last weekend, they reached the championship game at the Maxwell tournament and beat the host school 9-8, rallying late from an 0-7 deficit with a big finish and outscoring the Panthers 9-1 over the final two innings.

Our second athlete of the week award goes to an Arcata senior who has started his final high school track and field season in sensational fashion.

Last weekend, Skyler Collenberg traveled to Ukiah to compete win the Jim Crowhurst Track Extravaganza and smashed a 51-year-old school record in the discus with a throw of 167 feet, six inches.

Collenberg is also the school record holder in the shot put and looks set to close out his high school career in style.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Olivia Gossi

Ferndale Softball, Junior

Gossi is one of several Ferndale girls to hit the ground running on the softball fields this spring and has been setting the tone for her teammates in the circle.

“Olivia was obviously sharp in the circle for us,” Griffith said after Tuesday’s games. “She just continued to be able to mix her pitches up and keep batters off balance.”

For good measure, Gossi also scored the winning run in a come-from-behind 3-2 walk-off victory over Lower Lake last Saturday.

For more on her big week, see Ferndale girls continue their fast start, shut out Hayfork twice …

Skyler Collenberg

Arcata Track and Field, Senior

After his record-setting performance in Ukiah last weekend, Collenberg continued his fast start to the new season by placing first in the boys shot put and discus at the Humboldt Relays at the Redwood Bowl on Tuesday.

The senior standout is looking to close out a very impressive high school career in sports with a big spring in track and field, and early indications are that he will do just that.

For more on his big week, see Arcata’s Collenberg breaks two school records in four days …

Submitted photo

TEAM OF THE WEEK

Ferndale Baseball

With their backs to the wall, the Ferndale players answered the call in thrilling fashion in the Maxwell tournament championship game last weekend.

Whether of not head coach Justin Andersen and his players can beat a talented and deep St. Bernard’s team for this year’s Little 4 championship remains to be seen, but the Wildcats have hit the ground running this year and look set for a big spring.

Senior Tanner Pidgeon was named tournament MVP after a big weekend both at the plate and behind it, while sophomores Cash Mobley and Cade Renner were both named to the all-tournament team.

For more on the Wildcats’ big week, see Clutch Cats rally from 0-7 deficit to win Maxwell tournament …