Youth Sports

Aptos native Nikki Hiltz captured their third consecutive USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships title after winning the 1,500-meters in 4 minutes, 03.15 seconds at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. on Aug. 2. The 30-year-old former Aptos High standout edged Sinclair Johnson (4:03.77) and Emily...

LIVE OAK—It’s been a little more than a decade since a Watsonville-based team won the District 39 Little League Tournament of Champions championship. The Nationals of the Pajaro Valley Little League were on the cusp of achieving that feat on Tuesday, needing just one more...

APTOS—Aptos High student Taj Gleitsman set a goal to make the USA Gymnastics National Team one way or another. The 16-year-old Corralitos native is now just one of seven athletes that earned a spot after a brilliant performance at the USA Gymnastics Tumbling & Trampoline...

For years, the Little League Intermediate 50/70 Baseball Division has served as the bridge between the Majors and high school baseball in Santa Cruz County.  It gives kids the chance to develop even further before stepping onto the bigger field. In 2024, there was a new...

Aztecas Youth Soccer Academy held one of its week-long soccer camps that brought out nearly 150 youngsters to the pitch at Freedom Elementary School on July 21-25 for drills and a World Cup-style tournament.   Program founder Gina Castañeda said providing the camp for at-risk youth...

Once upon a time in the early 2000s, Becky Clark was forced to enter a space dedicated to mostly oversized teenage boys tossing and grappling each other inside a smelly wrestling room.   The former Watsonville High standout doesn’t miss those hot grueling days of summer...

RICHMOND—A local Amateur Athletic Union girls’ basketball team won a competitive tournament in the Bay Area this past weekend.  Athletic Club Santa Cruz beat out teams from Oakland, Richmond and San Francisco to capture the championship that was held at a local gymnasium in Richmond. ACSC...

The Watsonville Jr Wildcatz Junior Pee Wee cheer team for a third consecutive year won a JAMZ Cheer and Dance Youth Nationals championship in Las Vegas.  A group of 11 local girls ages 7-8 took first place against nine other teams in the Division 8–Level...

Steve Okamura was a big contributor for kickstarting the annual Apple Cider Classic wrestling tournament at Watsonville High in 2010. The longtime Wildcatz wrestling assistant coach also helped pave the way for dozens of girls who were hesitant to step on the mat in a...

The DubTown 18-U Palomino baseball team was faced with a pair of difficult tasks during their recent trip to the 2023 PONY West Zone tournament. Manager Andy Garcia said they were more than ready to take on anything thrown their way but in the end...