Youth Sports

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...

Watsonville High senior Rylee Gomez once again lit up the scoreboard with just one crack of the bat for the Wildcatz softball team.  The nifty short stop launched a two-run home run in Monday’s 9-5 victory against North Salinas High in Pacific Coast Athletic League...

Santa Cruz native and local professional soccer star Walmer Martinez paid a special visit to Watsonville on Thursday morning to hang out with some potential talent of the future.  The Monterey Bay F.C. midfielder/forward spoke to a group of children who attended the annual Aztecas...

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...

Watsonville Boxing Academy phenom Tony “El Tigre” Torres continues to be a terror in the ring following a pair of big-time victories earlier this year.    In January, the 14-year-old incoming Watsonville High freshman won at the California State Region 8 Silver Gloves Championships in Compton...

APTOS—It was only a matter of time for Gina Castañeda to become the new head coach of the Aptos High girls soccer program.    But there was always that burning question of when she would take the helm. The wait is over.      The school recently announced that Castañeda...

WATSONVILLE—A team of local youth equestrians brought some national acclaim back to the Central Coast after putting on a strong performance nearly 3,000 miles away from home.  The Belmont Training Stables team, based out of Monte Vista Christian School, placed third at the Interscholastic Equestrian...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Jr. Wildcatz football and cheer programs were hit with a big surprise last month when thieves stole thousands of dollars worth of safe-and-sane fireworks intended to sell as a Fourth of July fundraiser. Shanon Mornhinweg, president of Watsonville Cadillac Buick GMC at 500...

A pair of teams from the PV United soccer club got the opportunity of a lifetime this week to showcase their skills in front of hundreds of soccer enthusiasts in Sweden. The 2006 girls’ and 2010 boys’ soccer teams competed in the Gothia Cup, an...

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...