High School Sports

APTOS—The mission couldn’t have been any clearer for Aptos senior Caden Prichard who was set to battle Salinas for just the second time in his career. The ace running back helped lift the Mariners past the Cowboys, 44-41, in a thriller that went down to...

Aptos High senior Eddie Alvarez wanted to prove this past season he was still the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League’s best returning soccer player in 2023-24. Last year’s all-league accolades stated otherwise, but nonetheless the Mariners’ standout was a force to be reckoned with anytime...

Marcus Northcutt has stepped down as Watsonville High’s athletic director after seven years with the school, he told The Pajaronian on Thursday.     Northcutt, 52, will take on the same duties at North Salinas High starting in July. He will replace longtime athletic director Jean Ashen,...

SALINAS—Watsonville High freshman Katelynn Ruiz was the first runner to cross the finish line to help lead the Wildcatz to a team win in the Pacific Coast Athletic League Cypress Division Center Meet No. 3 on Wednesday. Ruiz won the 3-mile race in 19 minutes,...

After going through a year full of growing pains, Monte Vista Christian junior Dominic Pierini was feeling vigorous and ready to take charge of the Mustangs football team in his first full season under center.    “I put in a lot of work, so I knew...

APTOS—The Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division is packed with some of the most talented football players in the area on a yearly basis. That’s why picking the league’s top player is, at times, the hardest decision to make during the annual coaches meeting.  Aptos High...

It was a momentous season for Pajaro Valley senior Yareli Zamora who made school history and etched herself in the record books.  The Grizzlies ace tennis player captured the program’s first-ever singles championship after winning the Pacific Coast Athletic League Cypress Division championship. Zamora defeated Rancho...

Aptos High boys soccer coach Roberto Zuñiga has a banner hanging in his office to commemorate a league championship for the 2021-22 season. It’s a reminder of how they were snubbed from bringing home a Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League crown all because of a...

WATSONVILLE—It took some time for Watsonville High sophomore Aubrey Rodriguez and the rest of the Wildcatz girls’ soccer team to start gelling as a unit.  But things seem to be changing as the season has progressed and she believes they’ve improved dramatically since that first...

Aptos graduate Bailey Fulton was beaming with confidence going into the 2025 softball season knowing this year just felt a lot different than the previous three. “Our team, we just clicked more and it felt like we could take it pretty far,” Fulton said. “I...