Sports

A new era under Zach Hewett officially began last week as the Aptos High football team took the practice field for the first time this season.  Prior to taking the helm, the 39-year-old head coach knew there wasn’t going to be much of a change.  For...

Aptos High last week announced that Johnny Velez was named the new head coach for both the boys’ and girls’ wrestling teams. The 31-year-old Aptos High alum is replacing long time coach Rudy Guzman who retired at the end of the 2023-24 season. Guzman was an...

There’s no need to disguise it. As usual, the Scotts Valley High football team plans to play smash mouth football this upcoming fall season by running up the gut with power backs such as senior Eli Velez. Velez, a senior, carried most of the workload last...

Watsonville High and other local football teams this week were in full gear preparing for the upcoming 2024 fall season. The season officially begins Aug. 9 with the first day of practice, but teams were still allowed to wear helmets and shoulder pads starting Monday. After...

Sabrina Bracken was just a sophomore when she joined the St. Francis High girls’ volleyball team that won a Central Coast Section title in 2008.   The former Sharks star will return to the court, only this time she’ll be holding a clipboard and hopefully resurrecting...

St. Francis High announced this week that Robert Gomez was promoted to become the next head coach for the Sharks boys’ basketball team. The 43-year-old Watsonville native is replacing Duncan Edwards who was at the helm for five years before stepping down after the 2023-24...

Haley Batten placed ninth in the women’s mountain bike event three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics. One would figure that’s already quite the accomplishment itself just being able to get to that point. Instead, she departed the “Land of the Rising Sun” feeling as...

Aptos native Nikki Hiltz advanced to the women’s 1500-meters semifinals after they placed third in their preliminary heat at Stade de France on Aug. 6.  “It was all about patience, and this is incredible. I think I can officially call myself an Olympian now,” Hiltz...

The Monterey Bay Football Club announced Aug. 5 it hired Jordan Stewart on a multi-year deal to become the club’s permanent head coach.  Stewart—a former San Jose Earthquakes standout—is set to establish a new era for the Union, who currently sit eighth with a 7-9-6...

A trio of Santa Cruz County Olympians shined on the big stage during the first week of action at the 2024 Paris Games.  Santa Cruz resident Haley Batten (mountain biking) and Aptos native Caspar Corbeau (swimming) are bringing home a silver and bronze medal, respectively,...