Submitted photo

By Ray Hamill — Local track and field fans fully expected Skyler Collenberg to finish his high school career strong this spring, but I’m not sure how many of them expected quite this.

The Arcata senior is enjoying a season for the ages and breaking multiple records that had stood for half a century, and he is showing no signs of slowing down as he looks for a return trip to the state championships later this month.

Collenberg closed out the regular season with two more victories at McKinleyville High School on Wednesday, placing first in both the shot put and discus, and he has dominated the rest of the league in both throwing events all spring.

But that’s just half the story as he gets set for next week’s H-DNL championships and the upcoming North Coast Section and state postseason.

His coaches literally have lost count of the number of times he has broken the Arcata High record in the throws.

He first broke the Tigers’ record in the shot put late last year, a mark that had stood for 54 years, and he would top his own mark in the event twice more before the 2025 season was over.

He has continued to set a blistering pace in the shot put this spring, breaking his own school record four more times, including breaking a league record that had stood for 54 years at the Brookings-Harbor Rotary Invitational two weeks ago.

The previous H-DNL record of 60’ 4” was set by Jim Godsey in 1971, and Collenberg comfortably topped that mark with a throw of 61’ 11” at Brookings-Harbor.

To put that in perspective, it is not only the top mark in the NCS this spring, but also the fourth best throw in the entire state and 39th best in the nation.

“As a coach, you always feel like anything’s possible, and I think it’s amazing what he’s done,” Arcata coach Davita McGoldrick said. “He’s having a phenomenal season.”

Indeed, the hard work is paying off for the multi-sport senior, who also has enjoyed plenty of success in football and wrestling, playing a pivotal role in the Tigers’ march towards a state championship on the gridiron in 2024 and winning a league championship on the mats two months later. 

“It’s all just come together for him this year,” McGoldrick added. “He’s worked hard in the offseason and he had his goals and expectations.”

His impact is being felt well beyond the Redwood Curtain.

Collenberg recently traveled to compete at the prestigious Sacramento Meet of Champions, which featured some of the track and field athletes from throughout the West Coast, and had three throws of more than 60 feet on his way to victory in the Invitational or higher division, winning with a mark of 61’ 5.5”.

But it’s not just the shot put that Collenberg has excelled in.

The Arcata senior’s school record of 171’ 11” in the discus, which he recently set at he 24th annual Prefontaine Invitational in Oregon, is the fourth best all-time mark in the H-DNL and barely three inches shy of the league record of 175’, which was set by South Fork’s Lonnie Whitlow in 2003.

It’s also the third best mark in the NCS this spring and 21st best in the state.

There’s every reason to believe Collenberg can also break the league record in the discus before the 2026 season is over, as he looks to make some noise in both throwing events this coming postseason.

“It’s fun to see, especially in a senior year,” McGoldrick said. “Anytime someone has a year like (he’s having), it’s fun. He’s having a spectacular season and we’re really happy for him.”

As for his future, the multi-sport standout is still weighing his options at the collegiate level and has yet to make a decision, but as you would expect he is receiving plenty of interest from some top programs.

Submitted photo – Skyler Collenberg at the Nike Outdoor Nationals last summer.

He also has the talents to play football in college, if he chose to. 

But for now, his focus is on finishing his senior track season in style, along with his teammates.

Collenberg is one of several Tigers who are enjoying big springs for legendary head coach James Washington, as the Arcata boys and girls look to challenge for a league title next week.

Senior Anna McLaughlin has dominated the girls long jump in league meets this spring, winning the event in all four HDN regular-season meets, including setting a new PR with a jump of 17’ 9” on Wednesday.

McLaughlin also qualified for the Sacramento Meet of Champions two weeks, along with Collenberg in both throwing events and Arcata teammates Eoin McGoldrick in the 400 meters, Bella Decarli in the 800m and impressive freshman Finn Boyce in the 300m hurdles.

McGoldrick and DeCarli both set PRs at the big meet, with the former finishing in a time of 50.75 seconds and the latter finishing in a time of  2 minutes, 23.72 seconds.

“This has been a really fun track season,” Davita McGoldrick said. “There are a lot of skilled kids in the league, and we’re real happy with how our team is performing.”