Youth Sports

Pajaro Valley Majors All-Stars third baseman Brady Duque was put in a situation during last week’s district title game that nearly every Little Leaguer dreams of being in.   The game was on the line, score tied in the bottom of the sixth with two outs...

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...

WATSONVILLE—For two weeks, the District 39 Little League baseball organization used Franich Park to host a pair of the largest tournaments in Northern California.  Twelve of the best teams from Hollister to Eureka battled in the Majors Section and NorCal All-Star tournaments on Ruso Field—home...

SANTA CRUZ—Aptos Little League All Star pitcher Dominik Castillo has suffered defeat on three different occasions when it came to the District 39 Championship round. The 12-year-old ace right-hander wasn’t about to let it happen again as he gave up just two runs while recording...

SANTA CRUZ—A dozen years have passed since a Watsonville-based Little League team won the District 39 Majors Tournament of Champions title.  Pajaro Valley Little League Nationals manager Robert Brooks came close to bringing a championship home two years ago, only to watch it slip away...

The Padres of Pajaro Valley Little League celebrated on the field after capturing the Majors Division championship following a 14-1 crushing win against the White Sox on June 3 at Ruso Field in Watsonville. With the win, the Padres will compete in the District 39...

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...

SALINAS—Watsonville Junior Wildcatz standout Giovani Rivero has been nearly impossible to contain in the Monterey Bay Youth Football League this season. He’s been using his agile legs to juke opposing defenses and zipping past offensive lineman for quarterback sacks.  Rivero used his swiftness once again to...

SANTA CRUZ—It took two days and just about every last ounce of effort from the DubTown 16-U Colt baseball team out of Watsonville to win the 2021 Santa Cruz Colt Baseball Tournament.   The No. 4-seeded DubTown crawled their way back going from the losers’ bracket...