The Monte Vista Christian boys’ cross country team won the small school varsity yellow race at the ASICS 45th Annual Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno on Oct. 12.
The Mustangs finished with a team score of 85 to edge Yosemite (86 points), which was the No. 2 ranked team in Division V at the CIF Cross Country State Championships in 2023. Bay School of San Francisco (98) took third, followed by Templeton (128) and Fresno Christian (145).
MVC was led by junior Gavin Beckmen who took 15th in 17 minutes, 24.4 seconds in the 5,000 meter race.
Fellow teammate junior Conor Gilliam (17:31.1) was right behind Beckmen in 16th, and not far behind was senior Bradley Orlando (17:33.8) in 18th. The trio of Mustangs medaled for placing in the top 20.
Other finishers for MVC were junior Elisha Kieft (33rd; 18:49.5), Justin McCullick (35th; 18:53.4) and junior Dilano Lucero (60th; 19:57.1).
On the girls side, senior Kylie Brunelli won the medium school varsity blue race in 18:56.4, which was 1:02 faster than her previous personal record she set on the same course at last year’s State Championships.
Scoreboard
Boys cross country
Aptos 15, Scotts Valley 44: The Mariners had five runners cross the finish line nearly all at the same time in a victory over the Falcons in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League action Oct. 10.
Leading the way was sophomore Sam Hansen, who won the race in 13 minutes, 54 seconds ahead of teammates Brady Bilesner (13:54), Anthony Sandford-Carroll (13:54), Andrew Pursley (13:54) and Vincent Sandford-Carroll (13:55).
Girls cross country
Scotts Valley 20, Aptos 50: Junior Maya Schiro won the race in 15:24 for the Mariners in a loss to Scotts Valley in SCCAL action Oct. 10.
Other finishers for Aptos were senior Sophie Cornish (18:37) in 10th, followed sophomore Naohmi Brunelli (11th; 18:48), senior Grace Graff (13th; 19:42), freshman Amber Chavez (15th; 20:55) and senior Zhilin Wang (16th; 21:37).
Flag football
Watsonville 30, at Monterey 6: Senior quarterback Fernanda Lazo had 205 passing yards with three touchdown passes for the Wildcatz in their win over the Toreadores in PCAL Gabilan Division action Oct. 9.
Monique De La Mora, Brianna Leon and Aliah Anaya each hauled in a TD reception from Lazo.
Lazo also had one catch for a TD from Stephanie Martinez. Isa Alvarez racked up 135 total yards and one rushing touchdown for Watsonville.
On defense, Leon recorded a pair of interceptions and Alvarez had one interception. Naomi Alvarez had a team-best six flag pulls.
At Watsonville 28, Alvarez 6: Fernanda Lazo had a pair of passing touchdowns for the Wildcatz in their win over the Eagles in PCAL Gabilan Division play Oct. 7.
Watsonville freshman Isa Alvarez had more than 130 receiving yards and a pair of TDs. She also had 50 rushing yards and one touchdown on the ground.
Senior receiver Brianna Leon was double teamed throughout the night, but she showed out on defense with three interceptions including one for a pick six for Watsonville, which played its final game at Emmett M. Geiser Field this season.
Girls golf
Scotts Valley 138, Aptos 153: Lauren Ohlsson shot a 28 to earn medalist honors for the Falcons in their win over the Mariners in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League action Thursday. Emily Fassio shot a 32 for Aptos, followed by Addy Burgess (38), Lilly McGee (41) and Lemi Anastasopoulos (42).
Girls tennis
Aptos 7, at San Lorenzo Valley 0: Aviana Andrews (6-0, 6-1) and Isabella Calderon (6-0, 6-0) won their singles matches in straight sets for the Mariners in a sweeping win over a short-handed Cougars team in SCCAL play Oct. 10.
Aptos’ tandem of Natalia Calderon and Aracely Ritchie (6-3, 6-3) were victorious at No. 1 doubles, and fellow teammates Neci Hoeptner and Julia Blevins (6-1, 6-1) won in straight sets at No. 2.
At Aptos 7, Santa Cruz 0: Kiana Safari, Aviana Andrews, Coral Collins and Isabella Calderon each won their singles match in straight sets for the Mariners in a win over the Cardinals in SCCAL play Oct. 9.
Aptos’ tandem of Natalia Calderon and Charlotte Long won their No. 1 doubles match. Aracely Ritchie and Gia Arista were victorious at No. 2, and Neci Hoeptner and Julia Blevins won at No. 3 for the Mariners.
Girls volleyball
At St. Francis 3, Pacific Collegiate 0: Junior setter Georgia Otzman had 17 assists and seven aces for the Sharks in a three-set (25-17, 25-20, 25-22) win over the Pumas in PCAL Cypress Division play Oct. 10.
Fellow teammate Julie Lopez added eight assists and nine digs and Peyton Orradre contributed seven kills. Carley Anderson finished with a team-best 11 kills to go along with a pair of aces for St. Francis (13-7, 5-4), which plays at North Monterey County on Oct. 16 at 6pm.
“Another great win for these ladies,” St. Francis head coach Sabrina Bracken said. “They stayed strong, their teamwork was on-point and they gelled together so well to pull off a big [win] in three sets.”
St. Francis 3, at North Salinas 0: Junior setter Julie Lopez finished with a team-best 14 assists along with four kills for the Sharks in a three set (25-20, 25-21, 25-22) sweeping win over the Vikings in PCAL Cypress Division play Oct. 9.
Junior Georgia Otzman had 13 assists and four aces, and junior Peyton Orradre had nine kills and four aces for St. Francis.
Sharks junior Madison Silva contributed a team-best nine kills, while senior Delaney Fowler had five aces and five kills.
Senior Carley Anderson had a pair of blocks and two aces, junior Mia McClendon recorded 11 digs and senior defensive specialist Olivia Chavez finished with five digs.
College football
West Hills 56, Cabrillo 14: Aptos High alumnus Rio Cruz hauled in a 2-yard touchdown reception for the Seahawks in a loss to the Falcons in American Conference Golden Coast Division play Oct. 12. Next up, Cabrillo (0-5, 0-2) hosts Gavilan on Oct. 19 at 6pm.
Men’s soccer
Cabrillo 1, at De Anza 0: Yoan Ponio notched the game-winning goal for the Seahawks in a win over the Lions in Coast Conference action Oct. 11. Fellow teammate Edson Gonzales was credited with the assist for Cabrillo (5-3-3, 3-1-1), which plays at Cañada in conference action Oct. 18 at 1:30pm.
Women’s volleyball
Cabrillo 3, De Anza 0: Avalon Agneli had a team-best 20 assists and nine kills for the Seahawks in a three set (25-20, 25-19, 25-17) win over the Lions in Coast Conference–North Division action Oct. 9.
Becca Willemse finished with 10 digs and six assists, and Jordan Simpkins had eight kills and eight assists for Cabrillo (6-13, 1-1), which hosts City College of San Francisco on Oct. 16 at 6:30pm.
Games of the Week
PCAL Center Meet, cross country, Wednesday and Thursday at 3:30pm: Pinto Lake County Park will be the site for the third and final PCAL Center Meet of the season. Pajaro Valley and St. Francis will compete in Wednesday’s Cypress/Santa Lucia Division race, while Monte Vista Christian and Watsonville are set for Thursday’s Gabilan/Mission Division race.
Watsonville vs. Aptos, flag football, Thursday at 8pm: The Wildcatz (6-13, 5-6) are looking for some redemption against the Mariners (10-3, 6-0), who won in the teams’ first meeting on Sept. 12.
Watsonville vs. Pajaro Valley, girls volleyball, Thursday at 6pm: It took the Wildcatz (12-7, 6-3) five sets to take down the Grizzlies (11-7) in the teams’ first meeting on Sept. 10. Since then, Pajaro Valley strung together an eight game win streak and are 6-0 in PCAL Santa Lucia Division play.
Watsonville at Scotts Valley, football, Friday at 7:30pm: Both the Wildcatz (3-4, 1-2) and Falcons (2-5, 1-2) are each coming off tough losses in PCAL Mission–North Division play.
St. Francis, flag football, Saturday at 8:45am: The Sharks are hosting North Salinas, Carmel and Rancho San Juan for the teams’ PCAL Mission Division regular season finale on Borina Field in Watsonville.
Editor’s note: This week’s edition of the Weeklys Sports Ticker highlights local prep athletes for their performances during the week of Oct. 7-13.
Coaches and athletic directors are encouraged to submit scores and highlights to jr****@we*****.com . Follow sports editor Juan Reyes (@jmreyes831) on Twitter for scores and news updates.
