Youth Sports

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...

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...

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...

St. Francis High senior infielder Noel Aquino hit a game-changing home run that helped lift the Sharks baseball team past Watsonville High on Monday. Aquino’s three-run blast in the bottom of the fourth inning was the difference in a 5-4 win against the Wildcatz in...

The 12th Annual Reggie Stephens Foundation Central Coast All-Star Basketball Game is set to tip off this weekend, continuing a long-standing tradition of highlighting the top basketball talent from Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.  The best high school senior boys and girls along with 8th...

The Cover 3 Sports Ticker highlights pivotal matchups in the Games of the Week, and provides updates on local athletes in the Local Stars and Pajaro Valley Little League sections. Games of the Week        Monte Vista Christian vs. Berean Christian, baseball, Saturday at 4pm: The...

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...

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...

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...