The Del Norte High boys tennis team saw its record fall to 2-5 overall on Thursday, as the Warriors fell, 7-2, to North Coast Prep of Arcata.

Del Norte won one doubles match and one singles match in the home contest. At No. 4 singles, Cameron Douglas endured a wild three-set match to defeat North Coast Prep’s Jesse McKeny, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4.

In the No. 2 doubles match, the Warriors’ team of Doug Ovick and Daniel Quick defeated McKeny and Ethan Frank in an 8-6 pro set.

The Warriors were scheduled to play a match Tuesday at St. Bernard’s Catholic High in Eureka, but the match was postponed due to rain. A makeup date has not been announced.

Del Norte continues its season today, when the Warriors host Arcata High at 10 a.m. at the Del Norte High tennis courts.

Monty Moncrief, Rye Phillips and Joey LeFebvre hold limits of lingcod caught March 16 out of Brookings, Ore., with guide Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. They were caught on feather jigs tied on size 6/0 Lazer Sharp octopus hooks. Courtesy of Andy Martin / Wild Rivers Fishing

Brookings ocean fishing

Lingcod fishing continued to be great out of Brookings, according to guide Andy Martin. When the ocean was calm enough for bottom fishing, Martin’s clients limited out on lingcod every trip. 

Smith River

Last week, fishing guide Phil Desautels tried his hand on the Smith even though he was staring down low, gin-clear water. They weren’t able to find any adult steelhead, but half-pound hatchery steelhead were abundant.

“From the forks to Peacock, in just about every run, we caught a good half-pounder,” Desautels said, adding that they were all hatchery fish.

Although Desautels did not land any adult steelhead, he said there were still pods of downers.

After seven weeks of practicing, Del Norte softball comes together in time for season opener 

Sophomore Colleen Markussen is the youngest member of a three-pitcher rotation for the Del Norte High softball team. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

“It’s been a long preseason,” Del Norte head coach Tom Moore conceded. “I hope they play as hard as they’ve been practicing.”

The Warriors have gotten plenty of outdoor practice in. Quirks of high school scheduling left the team with seven weeks to prepare for its season opener, at the Anderson Tournament in Redding on Friday. Del Norte’s junior varsity softball team, by way of comparison, began play three weeks ago.

As if to exaggerate the definition of a season opener, the Warriors play a tripleheader on Friday, beginning with Red Bluff High at 8 a.m., Chico High at 1:20 p.m. and Corning High at 4:20 p.m.

“I’m hoping the tournament will bring us up,” senior pitcher Camryn Ridgley said. “If we all pull ourselves together and work together, we can do good.”

Last year’s Warriors finished 11-10 overall (3-9 Humboldt-Del Norte Big 5 conference) but endured last year’s trying spring of rainouts and weeks of practice held inside Thunen Gymnasium.

On the field, Ridgley and Chandler Davis proved a strong one-two punch as pitchers, with Colleen Markussen making contributions as a freshman. Del Norte struggled with timely hitting and communication as the season progressed.

Del Norte youth wrestler Aldaron McCovey, 8, competes at the Redwood Classic wrestling tournament, held Saturday at Del Norte High School. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

The Del Norte Youth Wrestling team put on a show at the Redwood Classic freestyle wrestling tournament, held Saturday in Del Norte High School’s Thunen Gymnasium. The young Warriors finished first in the team competition, ahead of seven teams from Humboldt County. Wrestlers from Oregon and across Northern California also competed in the tournament.

“We’re really proud of the way things are going,” Del Norte Youth Wrestling coach Roger Boulby said. “The kids are doing very well. They’re tough.”

The victory marks the second championship for the young Warriors on the season, following a team title at a tournament in Arcata.

Del Norte Youth Wrestling claimed the team title with help from Colton Schaad, 5, (in black singlet). Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

The Del Norte High track and field team had one meet under its belt entering Saturday’s Panther Relays in McKinleyville. 

If the previous meet, the Brookings-Harbor Icebreaker, was something of a status update after a month of practice, the Panther Relays served as an experiment for the Warriors. Athletes competed in events familiar and unfamiliar to them in hopes of challenging themselves or putting up improved marks.

“The combo of kids we put out on the track — they rooted each other on. They cheered each other, supported each other,” Del Norte head coach Samuel Escobar said. 

“We didn’t have high expectations for the meet. Our goal is to win the league championship and slowly peak at the end of the year.”

The Warriors took sixth in the men’s team standings (19 points, 33 behind champion McKinleyville) and third in the women’s team standings (23 points, 55 behind champion Arcata), but team points took a backseat to the relay teams competing.

Del Norte’s 4x100-meter relay team of Maddie Critz, Rachel Rowe, Kayla Costello and Katelynn Rowe combined on a second-place finish (53.49 seconds).

Roller derby boot camp on April 6

North Coast Roller Derby and the Tsunami Sirens are holding their second boot camp of the 2013 season on Saturday, April 6, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Del Norte County Fairgrounds’ main building.

Boot camp is open to men and women ages 18 and older; all skill levels are welcome to participate. Gear will be made available on a first-come, first-serve basis, but skaters must provide their own mouth guard. Interested parties with questions may visit www.northcoastrollerderby.com for more information.

DN boys tennis shut out by Eureka 

The Del Norte High boys tennis team was swept by Eureka, 9-0, in its Humboldt-Del Norte League tennis match, held Saturday in Eureka.

The Warriors (2-4 overall) forfeited the No. 6 singles match and the No. 3 doubles match and lost the remaining seven matches, all in straight sets.

The Del Norte High boys golf team took third place overall at the Humboldt-Del Norte League tournament at Bigfoot Golf Course in Willow Creek.

The Warriors combined to tally 416 strokes among the top five finishers, behind tournament champion Eureka (387 strokes) and St. Bernard’s (414).

Del Norte freshman Kobie Lockwood was the event runner-up, carding a 1-under 72 on the par-73 course. Eureka’s Aaron Russell earned medalist honors with a 2-under 71.

Warriors senior Anthony Kravitz also cracked the top 10 with a 5-over 78 (seventh place).

Del Norte has a combined stroke total of 852 through two tournaments, 67 behind the first-place Loggers.

The Warriors continue their season on Thursday, March 21, at 11 a.m. at Beau Pre Golf Course in McKinleyville.

Forfeiting three matches at the beginning of a first-to-five-wins team match is enough of a stumbling block.

The Del Norte High boys tennis team compounded matters Thursday afternoon with mental mistakes that added up in a hurry against Fortuna High. The Huskies ended up shutting out the Warriors, 9-0, in the match, held at the Del Norte High School tennis courts.

“Tennis is a mental game — that’s what took us out,” Del Norte coach Sara Sampels said. “All the kids learned something.”

Del Norte senior Blair Westbrook readies a backhand shot in the Warriors’ team match against McKinleyville Tuesday at Del Norte High School. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

The No. 1 doubles match, the last of the day, was deadlocked at 5-5 in a pro set. The Panthers’ team of Nick Thomas and Will Clark pulled ahead to beat Del Norte’s Blair and Alec Westbrook, 8-6.

The victory gave McKinleyville a 5-4 team win over the Warriors.

“Everybody played well today,” Del Norte head coach Sara Sampels said. “We learned something for the next match. We’ll keep fighting.”

The Warriors (2-2) started out from behind on the day, forfeiting the No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles matches due to senior Christian Wong’s ankle injury.

Del Norte split the contested doubles matches and won three of the five contested singles matches — but it wasn’t enough.

Warrior senior Daniel Quick was the only player to win both of his matches on the day. Quick defeated McKinleyville’s William Whitehead, 7-5, 6-3, at No. 4 singles, then teamed up with fellow senior and friend Doug Ovick to defeat Erik Vodden and Peter Oliver of the Panthers, 8-3, in the No. 2 doubles match.

“I had a couple aces (on serve),” Quick said of his singles match. “Mainly rushing the net — he’d be there and I’d return it to get the quick volley.”

Del Norte High senior Josh Barriga and the Warriors scored 13 runs on eight hits Wednesday night in a 13-2, five-inning victory over Brookings-Harbor High. WesCom News Service / Jef Hatch

“All we did was really hitting,” junior shortstop Nathan Porter said. “We came out aggressive today. No one was sitting back.”

Seven Del Norte batters combined on eight base hits in a 13-2, five-inning rout of the visiting Bruins Wednesday evening at Del Norte High School.

“A lot of hits today — that’s what we needed, a confidence-builder,” said Warriors coach Travis Johnson of the team’s first win since May 4, 2011.

Porter was the lone Del Norte player with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with a double and four RBI.

Seniors Lane Japp and Garrett Pease, junior Josiah Johnson, sophomores Wesley McGuirt and Cole Bellatti and freshman Austin Healy each picked up hits for the Warriors. Johnson had a two-run double; Healy, McGuirt and Steven Maready also recorded an RBI.

Brookings-Harbor drew first blood, scoring runs in the first and second innings for an early 2-0 lead. The Del Norte bats came alive in the bottom of the second inning, with back-to-back two-run doubles by Johnson and Porter capping a six-run inning.