High School Sports

Aptos High seniors Cameron Saldaña and Jack Spinelli were a powerful dynamic duo for the Mariners boys’ basketball team this season. They led Aptos (22-6, 9-1), co-champion of the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League, to the Central Coast Section Division III finals against Burlingame. The coaches...

SALINAS—The race for first place in the Pacific Coast Athletics League Gabilan Division is not over for the Aptos High football team despite last week’s heartbreaking loss at Rabobank Stadium. The Mariners traveled to Salinas to face off against rival Palma, hoping to stay atop...

WATSONVILLE—It took a while for the Pajaro Valley High girls’ basketball team to turn its season around prior to the start of league play. But once the afterburners came on the Grizzlies have gone full speed ahead, including in Friday night’s 32-25 win against Gonzales...

APTOS—Aptos High football coach Randy Blankenship joined the state’s 300-win club last year, becoming one of a dozen coaches who have reached that feat. Prior to that he brought home four Central Coast Section championships to the Mariners’ program since he arrived in 2010.  But the...

A plan was set in place this season for St. Francis High senior Eilias Garcia and his fellow teammates on the boys’ soccer team. Since the start of the winter season, they’ve been learning step by step how to execute that plan, and slowly enough...

APTOS—Watsonville High senior Lucky McHenry took second place at 285 pounds at the 53rd Pat Lovell Holiday Wrestling Classic at Aptos High on Dec. 22. McHenry, who was Santa Cruz County’s lone finalist, finished 3-1 with three pins. He was pinned in one minute by...

WATSONVILLE—The dream scenario for most softball players is having a chance to win it all for their team with one swing of the bat. Watsonville High junior Abreanna Alba was given that opportunity in Wednesday’s shootout against San Benito High.   “I felt like throwing up, my...

Scotts Valley High junior Taylor Wilson earned the league’s top honors as the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League’s Player of the Year for the 2024 season. “This award means a lot to me because it was my goal from the beginning of the season and...

APTOS—Ever since Aptos High began playing Palma High six years ago, the games have mirrored a sports drama blockbuster that leaves viewers hungry for a sequel. The two Monterey Bay powerhouses put on quite the performance yet again in front of a packed house at...

Aptos High was awarded a home game for this upcoming weekend’s quarterfinals round of the Central Coast Section boys soccer playoffs. The Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League champion Mariners earned a No. 4 seed and will host No. 5 Serra High (6-3-5) out of the...