Aptos junior Sam Hansen took home the gold in the boys’ division at the 2nd Annual Tom Leikam Cross Country Invitational at Pinto Lake County Park on Sept. 20.
The Mariner standout runner won the race in 15 minutes, 54 seconds on a new modified three-mile course with an improved start and finish lines to accommodate a larger competitive field this year.
Hansen finished ahead of Watsonville junior Nain Garcia-Ferria (16:00) in second, Aptos’ senior Brady Bliesner (16:12) and junior Anthony Sandford-Carroll (16:14) in third and fourth, respectively, and Palma junior Davis Pisoni (16:18) to round off the top-5.
Hollister won the team title with a score of 41 points, followed by Santa Cruz (64) in second and King City (67) in third.
Watsonville senior Desi Salinas-Holz (16:52) placed 12th, while Aptos senior Sean Mullen (17:58) took 25th to finish in the top-25 in a field of 73 runners.
MVC wins Gabilan Division opener: Monte Vista Christian captured the first Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division meet of the fall season at Pinto Lake County Park on Sept. 17.
Gavin Beckmen, a senior, placed third in 16 minutes on the 3-mile course to lead the Mustangs with a team score of 55 points.
Alisal senior Fernando Herrera (15:36) won the race for the Trojans, who took second as a team with a score of 62. Salinas senior Tomas Rey-Avila (15:56) placed second for the Cowboys, who placed third as a team with a score of 77.
Other top Mustang finishers included senior Conor Gilliam (16:04) in fifth, and freshmen Owen Beckmen (16:12) and Joseph Palacios (16:27) in sixth and 11th, respectively.
Girls’ cross country
Aptos’ Maya Schiro wins Tom Leikam Invitational: Aptos senior Maya Schiro captured the girls’ division by nearly a minute at the 2nd Annual Tom Leikam Cross Country Invitational at Pinto Lake County Park on Sept. 20.
The Mariner standout runner won the three-mile race in 18:05, finishing well ahead of Hollister junior Prienna Chavez (18:49) in second and Santa Cruz sophomore Isla Roake (19:12) in third. Pacific Collegiate sophomore Iris Paten (19:26) and Watsonville senior Lizbeth Gomez-Abrica (20:13) placed fourth and fifth, respectively.
Hollister won the team title with a score of 49 points, followed by Santa Cruz (51) in second and Christopher (59) of Gilroy in third.
Watsonville junior Aileen Reyes (22:04) placed 14th for a top-25 finish in a field of 52 runners.
MVC’s Conca wins PCAL Mission race: Monte Vista Christian sophomore Anna Conca was victorious in her first PCAL Mission Division meet of the season at Pinto Lake County Park on Sept. 17.
Conca won the 3-mile race in 18:56, outpacing Marina junior Alivia Rivera (19:38) in second. Teammate junior Finley Castro (19:43) took third for the Mustangs, who won as a team with a score of 81 points.
MVC senior Alie Kolbach (23:09) finished 18th, while freshman Cara Lorenzen (23:35) took 23rd.
High school football
Soquel 49, at Aptos 14: Aptos junior tailback River Cook had a team-best 89 rushing yards and one touchdown, and the Mariners fell to the Knights in Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division play Sept. 19.
Teammate Devon Arroyo-Fagin had 16 rushing yards and one touchdown, while senior Gavin McDonald had 45 rushing yards on 16 carries.
Next up, Aptos (1-3, 0-2) plays at Carmel (1-2, 0-2) in league play Friday at 7pm.
Monte Vista Christian 34, at Soledad 27: MVC junior quarterback Evan Vessey completed 32-of-42 pass attempts for 315 yards and four touchdowns, and the Mustangs defeated the Aztecs in non-league play Sept. 19.
Teammate junior Jordan Ramirez had eight receptions for 104 yards and one touchdown, along with the game-sealing interception late in the fourth quarter.
MVC senior Boston Ashe had another breakout game with 13 receptions for 138 yards and a pair of TDs, while senior Max Arce had 24 rushing yards and one touchdown on five carries.
Senior lineman Iegor Moskalenko had a big play on special teams with a blocked punt, which later resulted in an offensive scoring drive just before halftime.
Next up, MVC (2-1) hosts Stevenson (3-0) on Friday at 7:30pm.
At Marina 29, Pajaro Valley 27: The Grizzlies drop to 1-3 following a narrow loss to the Mariners in non-league play Sept. 20. Pajaro Valley will attempt to jump back into the win column at home against Santa Cruz (1-2) on Saturday at 12:30pm.
Pacific Grove 39, at St. Francis 23: St. Francis junior receiver Keon Barcinas-Hill hauled in three touchdowns, and the Sharks fell to the Breakers in non-league play Sept. 20.
Barcinas-Hill finished with 97 receiving yards on four receptions, while teammate Nicholas Fantl had 78 receiving yards on five receptions.
Max Madrigal completed 6-of-13 pass attempts for 118 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while Noah Magana tossed a pair of TDs and one interception.
Next up, St. Francis (2-1) plays at King City (2-1) on Friday at 7:30pm.
Alvarez 29, at Watsonville 7: Alvarez senior Alejandro Esquivel-Manzo completed 15-of-21 pass attempts for 141 yards with two touchdowns, and the Eagles defeated the Wildcatz in non-league play Sept. 19.
Jaylen Ward and Santiago Cruz each hauled in one touchdown reception, while Esquivel-Manzo and Isaac Rivera each had one rushing touchdown. Teammate senior Roman Garcia finished with a game-best 139 rushing yards on 12 carries.
Next up, Watsonville (1-2) hosts Pacific Grove (3-0) on Friday at 7pm.
High school flag football
St. Francis wins Santa Clara Invitational: The Sharks went on a feeding frenzy by winning five out of six games at the Santa Clara Invitational, including a 7-6 victory over Los Altos in the championship game Sept. 20.
St. Francis junior Maya Calfee and her teammates got some redemption after they were shutout in a 6-0 loss to Los Altos earlier in the day.
The Sharks bounced back with an 18-6 win over Gunn and a 26-14 victory against PCAL Gabilan Division rival Salinas. The Sharks carried that momentum into this week.
On Monday, sophomore quarterback Lilana Whitmeyer completed 21-of-30 pass attempts for 298 yards, five touchdowns and one interception to help lead St. Francis to a 34-6 win against Hollister in league play.
Eden Findrick hauled in three receptions for 113 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Keira Grio had six catches for 66 receiving yards and two TDs. Calfee had four receptions for 50 yards and one touchdown along with one interception on defense.
Talia Moakler also recorded one interception for St. Francis, while Findrick had a team-best 10 flag pulls. Cami Madrigal lead the team two sacks, while MacKenzie Ridgeway and Chanel Venter each contributed one sack.
St. Francis (13-2, 6-0) hosts King City (5-6, 2-5) in league action Wednesday at 4pm.
Watsonville extends win streak to three: Watsonville sophomore quarterback Aaliyah Arellano accounted for six touchdowns, and the Wildcatz blanked Alvarez, 39-0, in non-league play Tuesday night.
Arellano tossed four touchdowns and had a pair of receiving TDs, both thrown by junior quarterback Brianna Guzman.
Senior receiver Aliah Anaya hauled in three of Arellano’s touchdown passes, while teammate sophomore Audrina Rodriguez had one reception in the end zone.
Watsonville juniors Jocelyn Avalos and Amaya Silva each had one interception, while junior pass rusher Taylor Alves recorded five sacks, increasing her total to 22 this season.
Next up, the ‘Catz (4-5, 2-5) play at Hollister (2-8, 0-6) on Wednesday at 5:45pm.
Girls volleyball
At Santa Cruz 3, Aptos 1: Aptos junior outside hitter Ella Dueck recorded a season-best 24 kills, and Mariners fell in four sets 26-28, 25-22, 25-18, 25-19 to the Cardinals in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League play Sept. 18.
Dueck added three blocks and 12 digs, while teammate sophomore middle blocker Caitlin Lavelle finished with two aces, three kills, five blocks and three digs. Sophomore right side hitter Sienna Fozzati contributed one ace, seven kills and one block for the Mariners, whose setting group combined for an outstanding 42 assists.
“After a five-set match against the No. 1 [team] Scotts Valley on Tuesday, I’m proud of how our girls turned it around and played with joy, determination and purpose,” Aptos head coach Hunter Zeng said in an email. “We’ve been talking about what a postseason team is supposed to look like and we are taking strides day by day to fulfill that vision.”
Haisley Flannagan had a team-best 23 kills for Santa Cruz, while teammates Natalie Monroe contributed 18 kills and Lovela Jones had 19 digs.
“Natalie Monroe and Haisley Flannagan scored well with variety and their defense in the backcourt was excellent,” Zeng said. “We’ll need to level up to take them on next time.”
Next up, Aptos (5-7, 1-3) plays at Palma in non-league play Thursday at 6:30pm.
St. Francis 3, at Marina 0: St. Francis senior outside hitter Peyton Orradre had 17 kills and two blocks, and the Sharks won in five sets 25-21, 25-15, 25-20 against the Mariners in PCAL Cypress Division play Tuesday evening.
Senior setter Georgia Otzman had a team-best 17 assists to go along with nine digs for St. Francis. Teammate sophomore middle blocker Lea Padilla contributed four aces and three kills, while senior Alisa Lumicao added four assists and three digs.
Next up, St. Francis (7-3, 2-1) hosts Rancho San Juan (10-2, 2-1) on Wednesday at 5pm.
