With the beginning of a new school year, local student-athletes head back out to the fields, gym, pool, tennis court and cross country course while balancing their school work.

Wolf of the Week, a new partnership between Sequim High School athletic department and Castell Insurance, looks to recognize some of the area’s top prep athletes.

Look for SHS staff-selected Wolves of the Week each week in sport section of the Sequim Gazette, starting with the Sept. 12 edition. Selected student-athletes receive a unique “Wolf of the Week” T-shirt while the athletic department receives a donation to help with uniforms, travel expenses and camps.

“As a true believer in giving back to our community and our supporters Castell Insurance wanted to find a way to get involved with the high school athletic department,” said James Castell of Castell Insurance.

“Growing up, myself and several other teammates at Castell Insurance were involved with school sports,” he said. “We really see the value that they can add to students, families, faculty and the overall prosperity of a community.”

Castell said the idea of the Wolf of the Week program is to celebrate Sequim youths who exemplify the student-athlete model, with honors going to those who demonstrate a combination of athletic performance, academics, leadership and sportsmanship.

Student-athletes are first nominated by their respective coach/coaches and then selected by SHS athletic director Dave Ditlefsen.

”My vision was to allow each sport throughout the year to have the chance to spotlight a true leader in their program,” Castell said.

Making sure to include as many of the sports that fall under the Sequim High School athletic department was a must for the program, he said.

“Far too often we see a major focus nationally on just a few high profile sports and we wanted this to be different,” Castell said. “Every athlete that competes spends a tremendous amount of time balancing academics with their sport and we wanted to make sure all participants would have a chance to be selected.

“This being the inaugural year of the program, we’re really excited to start making a difference in all of the local sports and can’t wait to see some of these awesome students proudly sporting their new Wolf of the Week T-shirts around campus and around town!”

For more information, contact Castell at 360-683-9284 or via the website, www.castellinsurance.com.