LAKE COUNTY >> If Natalie Karlsson had played at any other school but Upper Lake, she would be her alma mater’s all-time scoring leader.
Karlsson, who graduated from Upper Lake on May 26 as one of its most decorated athletes, is among the finalists for the Lake County Record-Bee’s Athlete of the Year award as is Lower Lake High School junior Hokulani Wickard.
The Record-Bee will honor 10 finalists – five boys and five girls – leading up to the announcement of the Athlete of the Year and Coach of the Year winners for the 2016-17 sports season in the near future. One athlete and one coach are selected for boys sports and girls sports. Athlete of the Year finalists must be juniors or seniors who compete in at least two varsity sports and are in good academic standing at their respective schools.
Karlsson earned All-North Central League II first-team honors in the only two sports she played at Upper Lake this season, volleyball and basketball, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg as to what the senior accomplished. After helping lead the volleyball team (16-5) to one of its best seasons in years as well as a berth in the North Coast Section Division V playoffs, Karlsson went on to score a Lake County single-season record of 737 points during the 2016-17 basketball season, breaking the old mark of 710 set by former Clear Lake great Jenny Schaal more than a quarter of a century ago.
With Karlsson leading the way, Upper Lake posted a 16-13 record and qualified as the 16th seed for the Division V playoffs. In a first-round game against No. 1 seed Convent of the Sacred Heart of San Francisco, Upper Lake pulled off a stunner, winning 58-56. The Cougars later qualified for the NorCal playoffs as an at-large team, the first NorCal appearance for an Upper Lake girls team since the 1993-94 squad qualified.
Karlsson finished her four-year varsity career with 1,846 points, second on the county’s all-time list behind another Upper Lake great, Laura Wilder (1,897).
Wickard earned All-NCL I first-team honors as quarterback for the Trojans during the 2016 season. He passed for 1,442 yards and 15 touchdowns and was second on the team in rushing with 521 yards and five TDs. Wickard’s individual success also translated into team success for Lower Lake, which finished 5-3 in the NCL I standings and 6-5 overall. The Trojans qualified for the Division IV playoffs as an at-large team.
In basketball, Wickard scored his 1,000th career point during an up-and-down season for the Trojans (11-14), who were in the running for a playoff at-large berth until their final game. He led the team in scoring at 16.1 points per game and earned an honorable mention on the All-NCL I team as selected by the league’s coaches.
