Youth Sports

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...

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...

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...

The Mexican Football Federation, also known as Federación Mexicana de Fùtbol, will be in town this weekend in search of young and fresh soccer talent.  Pajaro Valley High School will host a group of scouts from Mexico who are making the trek to Watsonville on...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

ORLANDO—The Santa Cruz Seahawks Pop Warner football team had been on a mission since the season started in August.  They beat the Morgan Hill Raiders to capture the Pacific Northwest Regional title and earned a trip to Florida to play the nation’s best teams. They capped...