Youth Sports

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...

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...

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...

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 Santa Cruz Pop Warner 10U team is making the trek to the Sunshine State this weekend. But don’t think for one second this is any type of vacation to Universal Studios.  It’s more of a business trip for the Seahawks, who will battle for a...

Pajaro Valley sophomore Hemeria De La Torre had five hits, including one home run in the Grizzlies’ 19-17 victory over Seaside in Pacific Coast Athletic League Cypress Division softball action Wednesday afternoon. De La Torre finished with a pair of doubles, five RBIs, one stolen...

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—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...

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...

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...