Aptos High senior Sam Hansen concluded the cross country regular season on a high note at last week’s Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Cross Country Championships in Watsonville.
The Mariner star runner won the boys race in 15 minutes, 25 seconds on the 2.9 mile course at Pinto Lake County Park on Nov. 5.
He outkicked his way past Santa Cruz junior Anders Laurberg (15:37) in second, followed by Aptos freshman Mateo Hartnett (15:47) in third. Soquel senior William Colhoun (15:56) placed fourth, while Aptos senior Anthony Sandford-Carroll (15:59) took fifth.
The Mariners, who finished with a score of 36 points at the league finals, were crowned this year’s SCCAL team champion. Santa Cruz placed second with 38 points, followed by Soquel (70) in third.
All three teams advanced to their respective divisions at the Central Coast Section Championships at Crystal Springs Cross Country Course in Belmont on Saturday.
Other top finishers for Aptos included sophomore Zach Fitch (16:23) in 11th, freshman Mateo Lopez Vazquez (17:03) in 16th, sophomore Braeden Vegter (18:44) in 30th and senior Aiden Gonzalez (18:56) in 31st.
Soquel sophomore Elijah Kessler (16:48) placed 13th, followed by senior Ben Wilcox (16:48) in 14th, freshman Jude Fast (17:22) in 19th, sophomore Teo Lara (17:23) in 20th, senior Cole Davilla (17:49) in 22nd and sophomore Benjamin Guild (18:14) in 26th.
San Lorenzo Valley, which finished with a score of 93, earned a CCS Division V at-large entry as a team. Seniors Colton Ryssemus (16:05) took sixth and Jonathan Santi (16:19) placed 10th for a pair of top-10 finishes in the boys race.
Senior Joshua Adams (17:18) placed 17th for Scotts Valley, which earned a CCS D-V at-large entry as a team. They finished with a score of 117 points.
“Josh really stepped up,” said Scotts Valley head coach Todd Hoffman in a phone interview. “He ran a phenomenal race, and all the boys. They ran with so much heart.”
Scotts Valley senior Jackson Stull missed the SCCAL finals, but he’s set to return to this weekend’s CCS Championships in Belmont.
“We’re on the outside looking in,” Hoffman said. “Four teams qualify [to State] out of D-V boys, why not us?”
Girls cross country
SV’s Shehorn wins SCCAL championship: Hanna Shehorn added another dominating win last week to what has already been an impressive cross country season at Scotts Valley High.
The Falcon senior ace runner won her first-ever SCCAL championship in 17 minutes flat on the 2.9 mile course at Pinto Lake County Park in Watsonville on Nov. 5.
“[Shehorn] just took it from the start and just kept pounding forward,” Hoffman said. “She’s incredible how she can do these things, so strong-minded.”
Shehorn tied the school record finish at Pinto Lake set by former standout Ashlyn Boothby in 2021, and was seven seconds shy of tying the course record of 16:53 set in 2011 by former Aptos High standout and Olympian Nikki Hiltz.
Earlier this season, Shehorn set the three-mile course record at Pinto Lake after she won the third annual Tom Leikam Invitational in 17:15.5 on Sept. 19.
“I think she really discovered that she loves running,” Hoffman said. “She has so much fun with it and she just grew into this leader.”
Shehorn finished ahead of her twin sister, Hailey (17:46), who took second place, followed by Soquel High freshman Tillie Rudolph (17:58) in third, and Santa Cruz junior Isla Roake (18:26) and sophomore Julie Kassel (18:27) in fourth and fifth, respectively.
“[The Shehorns] have been leaders of the team for two years, and they encourage others,” Hoffman said. “They inspire the rest of the team with their attitude, and how they’re always upbeat and positive.”
Scotts Valley, along with Aptos and Santa Cruz each tied with 52 team points at the end of the race.
Santa Cruz was crowned the regular season champion based on a dual meet point system. But, all three schools are headed to this weekend’s CCS Championships in Belmont.
“A three-way tie, I’ve never seen that,” Hoffman said. “I think all of the coaches were like, ‘What just happened?’ It was incredible, I’ve never seen it.”
Pierce Culbertson, a sophomore, was the top finisher for Aptos, finishing sixth in 18:30. Teammate senior Kenzie Culbertson (18:48) was right behind her younger sister in eighth.
Other top Mariner finishers included senior Mata Overby (19:48) in 11th, followed by sophomore Olive Hooker (20:04) in 13th, freshman Skylar Osborne (20:06) in 14th and junior Amber Chavez (23:34) in 28th.
Scotts Valley junior Stella Sutcliffe (19:14) placed ninth, followed by sophomore Linnea Hannaleck (21:23) in 20th, freshman June York (21:41) in 22nd, freshman Camille Schultz (22:24) in 23rd and freshman Audriana Garcia (23:24) in 29th.
San Lorenzo Valley High senior Stella Gerlach took 21st in 21:27, followed by sophomore Sofia Serroels (22:37) in 25th, senior Madison Fogerty (23:04) in 26th and senior Danielle Stiles in (23:07) in 27th.
Senior Chloe Ryssemus (24:01) placed 30th, while freshman Emrys McCollyer (24:17) took 31st for the Cougars, who also advanced to the CCS finals as an at-large qualifier in D-V alongside Scotts Valley.
“It’s exciting to see that, too,” Hoffman said.
Girls tennis
No. 6 Aptos 4, at No. 3 Branham 3: The Mariners stayed alive in the CCS D-III playoffs with a win over the Bruins in Tuesday’s quarterfinals match.
Aptos (13-0) plays at No. 2 Saratoga (14-2) in the semifinals on Thursday at 2pm.
Girls volleyball
At No. 8 Harbor 3, No. 9 Central Valley Christian: The CCS D-III champion Pirates were victorious against the Cavaliers 24-26, 25-17, 25-20, 20-25, 15-8 in the first round of the NorCal D-II Regional playoffs.
Gianna Fanara had a team-best 44 assists to go along with six kills, three blocks and four aces for Harbor. Teammate Cecile Novembre tallied 19 kills and 12 digs, while Dylan Schutz added 23 digs, eight kills and a pair of aces.
Liberty Niesen finished with 10 kills and two aces, while Sydney Eilliot contributed six kills and three blocks for Harbor (29-7), which plays at top-seeded St. Marys (25-8) in Stockton.
The Tri-City Athletic League champion Rams play out of the Sac-Joaquin Section.
Boys water polo
Soquel advances to Open Division semifinals: The No. 3 seed Knights will face No. 2 Menlo School in the CCS Open Division semifinals on Thursday at 7pm.
SCCAL champion Soquel (21-6) is heading back to the finals after a section title run in 2023. The program’s first-ever championship was in 2002, which was also the first-ever water polo section title for any boys or girls team in Santa Cruz County.
The Knights are still the lone boys team within the county to win a section title.
Girls water polo
Soquel advances to Open Division title match: The top-seeded Knights this weekend will square off against No. 2 Sacred Heart Prep in the Open Division championship match for a sixth consecutive year.
SCCAL champion Soquel (24-4) is ranked No. 3 in the nation and No. 2 in California. The Gators (21-6, 7-0)—champion of the West Catholic Athletic League—are ranked No. 4 in the nation and No. 3 in the state.
Since 2013, both teams have faced each other in the playoffs each year with the exception of 2015 and the shortened Covid-19 season in 2020.
The last time Soquel defeated Sacred Heart Prep in the playoffs was back-to-back Open Division championships in 2021 and ‘22. They’ve played for the Open Division title nine times, with the Gators winning seven of those championships.
Soquel is the designated home team but Sacred Heart Prep will host all six CCS boys and girls championship matches set for Saturday. The Open Division girls title match is scheduled for 2:30pm.
