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1989
Much of the material here is from the Trident and the yearbook.

Trident March 30, 1990. SC had its the best year in sports in over twenty years, winning eight league titles. An exceptional senior class is responsible. They were boys and girls tennis, wrestling, boys basketball, boys soccer, baseball, softball and girls track. Even thought the boys track team didn’t win the league, the were CCS Region IV champions. For the past three years, SC has the most league victories in all sports than anyone else? Yes, North Monterey may win in football every year and Harbor may win girls basketball all the time, but have their schools had eight different teams win in one year?

Trident March 30, 1990. Since 1986 there have been some outstanding players. Johnny Johnson, who has been a starting football player at San Jose State (and went on to play in the NFL). Sean Harrell, top point guard playing at Cal. Kelly Mullen, tennis whiz, is at Fresno State. Tammy King Sentinel Girls Athlete of the Year is playing softball at Nebraska. Jeremey Green, domination guard is at Iona University in New York. Kurt Hodges, the fasts man in the county is at Cal.

From the Sentinel on county football since 1956. The Area’s 1,000 yard club. Listed from the number one total yardage by Johnny Johnson in 1985 of 1,729. Number four, Jim Courtright in 1984 of 1,176. Number six, Glen Hill in 1982 of 1,165. Number fourteen, Bobby Costa in 1956 of 1, 002.

From the Sentinel, Best Of Both Worlds. A listing of some of the academic athletes in the county. From Santa Cruz were Gwen Vilches, who participated in volleyball, basketball and track with a GPA of 3.8 and Damon Shanle, who ran track and cross country with a GPA of 3.92.

From the Sentinel, Among The Best On Their Fields. (Of the ten listed for each of the boys and girls, SC was well represented.) Bernie Escalante, played linebacker in football, forward in basketball and catcher in baseball, all with skill and smarts. SC’s star for got 1990. Jeremy Green, county’s top playmaker and scorer on the league champions SC basketball team and sharp on the links too. Kelli Mullen, played key roles on the championship softball and tennis teams and could hoop it some, too. Auddrena Mauga, voted the county’s junior of the year as the SC shortstop and was all league in basketball. Stacey Wilhelmsen, all county basketball forward, softball third baseman and topped a solid tennis season.

From the Sentinel on April 7. The Boys Swimming All Time Leaders from Santa Cruz County up to ten places and their times for SC swimmers. Listed by their place, name, year, and time. For relays it will include all the participants after the times.

200 FREESTYLE
PL NAME YR TIME
1 John Melton 1987 1:42.93
6 John Mockus 1980 1:47.14
10 Bill Hackbarth 1987 1:49.50

200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
4 Bill Hackbarth 1987 1:59.55
8 Rob Hatch 1978 2:02.80

50 FREESTYLE
3 Jon Melton 1987 22.00

100 BUTTERFLY
2 Jon Melton 1987 52.88
4 Rob Hatch 1978 54.10

100 FREESTYLE
2. John Mockus 1980 48.17
3 Jon Melton 1987 48.80
10 Chris Shumate 1987 49.47

500 FREESTYLE
1 Jon Melton 1987 4:36.62
5 John Mockus 1980 4:49.77
7 Steve Hatch 1982 4:54.95

100 BACKSTROKE
1 Bill Hackbarth 1986 54.45
2 Jon Melton 1987 55.35
3 Steve Hatch 1980 56.81
5 Robert Degennaro 1985 58.73
6 Rob Hatch 1978 58.89

100 BREASTSTROKE
3 Steve Hatch 1980 59.36

200 YARD MEDLEY RELAY
4 SC 1985 1:43.76 members: Hackbarth, Frick, Melton, Shumate
8 SC 1987 1:45.57 members: Hackbarth, Forster, Peralta, Melton.

400 FREESTYLE RELAY
1 SC 1987 3:17.22 members: Melton, Hackbarth, Shumate, Getty
4 SC 1985 3:21.38 members: Melton, Hackbarth, Moyce, Henry

From the yearbook. SCHS BIG RED BAND.
The Santa Cruz High “Big Red” Marching Band had a wild year headed by Sylvester “Mr. Mac” MacElroy. Receiving over fifty awards (most of them first place) the Cards competed in categories of I.D. Unit, Tall Flags, Military Drum Major, Majorette Team, Percussion, Band, and Sweepstakes. Cupertino, Santa Cruz, Merced, Foothill, Ukiah and Tracy are a few locations where they have demolished the competition. The band took first place in Santa Cruz, Cupertino, Merced, and Foothill. They also traveled to Canada where they participated in the Victoria Day Parade, the Rhododendron Festival, as well as many concerts in Vancouver, B.C. Those who attended the numerous football and basketball games enjoyed their music and field shows. The Banner Team placed first in the Santa Ana “All State” Band review Thanksgiving weekend. As well as competing, the band participated in the pre-game show at the annual Shriner’s East-West game at Stanford. They marched in a Disneyland parade and also did well at the CCS Band competition.
The auxiliaries went to Ygnacio Valley for a competition and annihilated all the other squads. Manny Cuellar, the band’s Drum Major, won first places in the Santa Cruz, Foothill, Cupertino, Ukiah and Tracy competitions. And the band agrees they couldn’t have done it without the help of the Band Boosters and the administration.

From the Trident. SCHS Cheerleaders are underrated in terms of value. In past years cheerleaders were the role models of the school. Being a cheerleader carried a lot of prestige in the times of our parents, but lately they’ve lost some of the prestige. I think that it is time the cheerleaders regain some of the respect they once had. They are completely on their own, getting little or no faculty support or funds. The cost of becoming a cheerleader is an astonishing 600.00 dollars. That includes uniforms, equipment and formal coaching via a three day camp, which ought to be provided for them. There are no other activities on campus that demand that much money. The cheerleader tryouts are perhaps the only formal tryouts on campus. The Cheerleader tryouts consist of two and a half week training put on by the current cheerleaders. As a Cheerleader to be they have to do their best in hopes of making the squad. They must flawlessly perform five chants, one performance cheer, a fight song and a routine. I think we should all go and give our support to our cheerleaders for sacrificing so much for our pleasure.

Coaches: Ron Mehuron, varsity football. Vic Miguel, softball and assistant football. Bob Gallagher and Cadera, football assistants. Tex Ronning, head JV football. Richard Price, Rudy Escalante, Glen Liberatore and John Hopping assistants. Milt Thompson, freshman football. Marty Kruger, cross country and track. Blair Bennett, girls volleyball. Miss Vaughan, JV volleyball. Mike Bennett, water polo and boys swimming. Carol Kreppel, girls swimming and assistant Stacey Foster. Michelle Poirer, JV swimming. Tom Loden, basketball. Silviano Gaona, freshman basketball and assistant Stuart Kumaishi. Marty Sglav, JV basketball. Kathy Wilson-Pappas, girls basketball. John Wilson, JV girls basketball. Richard King, boys soccer. Don Dempwolf, girls soccer. Jorge Sierra, assistant to both soccer teams. Miss Porter, JV girls soccer. John Corona, head wrestling and assistant Chris Lovato. Fred Pfyffer, baseball and assistants Don Keathley and Angelo Ross. Tony Cuellar, JV baseball. Bryan Wall, Bill Johnson and Marty Kruger, track. Dennis Mullen, girls and boys tennis.

1989
FOOTBALL Practice games: Stevenson 0-48, Alisal 7-31, Salesian of Richmond 51-6. Practice record 1-2. League: Soquel 6-41, North Monterey County 6-33, Aptos 13-33, Watsonville 14-35, SLV 13-32, Harbor 41-6. League record 1-5 for fifth place. Season record 2-7.

Team members were Joe Craw, Russ Huber, Bernie Escalante, Jeff Thuringer, Bobby Hultzen, Josh Riggins, Scott McFarland, Nick Hawley, Scott Simmons, Ryan Reber, Mark Northcutt, Stan Pillsbury, Aaron Wainscoat, Ram Tipton, Russell Powell Bryan Berry, Cesar Oliva, Fred Smith, Tim Shields, Tony Davis, Jesse Trumbull, Rafael Rodriguez, Flavio Cornejo, John Simpson, Fidel Guerrero, Doug Kishi, Jorge Alvarez, Chad Sherlock and Mike Cerda. Head coach Ron Mehuron, Assistants Vic Miguel, Bob Gallagher and Cadera.

Good Or Bad: Card Season Hinges On Defense. ‘The main thrust is defense. We want to improve and that’s the main thing. We broke down often last year and we struggled. The players and the coaches need to be aware of it. Its important the we remember,” said Coach Ron Mehuron. One good sign for the Cards is the 30 players on the varsity roster, a number more than twice as many as last year. “There is room for optimism. We’re looking for some success right away.” The nucleus of the team will be its four returning senior starters: two way linemen Flavio Cornejo, Jorge Alvarez and Sean McFarland and quarterback/strong safety Aaron Wainscoat.
Defensively SC is going with a 5-2 basic set. We are keeping it simple. Last year all the multiply sets got to be confusing. On offense the Cards will stick with the fly offense. Wainscoat’s two years of varsity experience running the offense will be a major plus. He threw an average of 25-30 passes a game last year, completing 52 of 144 for the season for 556 yards. His two touchdowns through the air were offset by 15 interceptions. In addition to having an experienced line to protect him, he will have a couple of big targets this year in junior ends Ryan Reber 6-1 and Bobby Hultzen 6-3. Sharing the running duties will be juniors Jeff Thuringer, Raphael Rodriguez, Bernie Escalante and Russell Powell.

Not In The Cards. RLS Rolls Past Santa Cruz 48-0. RLS ran the opening kickoff back 80 yards for a TD and it never got any better. RLS did most of its damage on the ground producing 290 yards for the game. The Cards offense never got it going. Senior quarterback Aaron Wainscoat completed only three of nine pass for 20 yards. He was sacked four times and was intercepted twice. The Cards running game gained 87 yards, led by Cesar Oliva and Jeff Thuringer with 26 and 23 yards respectively. SC could never put together a string of more than two first downs on the same drive in the entire game. SC came out fired up in the third quarter and put together one of their strongest drives of the game as Thuringer ran three times for 20 yards, but the drive which started on their own 23 yard line stalled on the RLS 48.

Snazzy Scoring Series Not Enough For Cards as SC loses to Alisal 31-7. SC had their few moments of glory. In the second half, quarterback Wainscoat hit receiver Bernie Escalante, who made a leaping, one handed grab for 22 yards. Then on a flea-flicker, Jeff Thuringer passed to Escalante in the end zone and the Cards got their first touchdown of the season in exciting fashion. Still, the Cards managed only 126 yards total offense. Wainscoat was 3 for 7 passing and was intercepted once. Just before halftime, the Cards defense dug its feet into the ground to make a impressive goal line stand. With the Trojans on the ten yard line, Thuringer made a tackle in the Alisal backfield. With 15 seconds to go, Wainscoat, Ramm Tipton and Bobby Hultzen tackled the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage. Alisal had to settle for a field goal and a 19-0 halftime lead.

Somebody Finally Scores Against Soquel. Soquel wins 41-6. When SC running back Jeff Thuringer plunged over the goal line from two yards out, in the closing minutes of the third quarter, it broke Soquel’s defensive scoreless streak. SC gained a total of 181 yards. Soquel is ranked ninth in the state in Division II mainly for its defense. Soquel had a 19-0 lead at halftime. Offensively SC was led by Bernie Escalante and Cesar Olivera. The two running backs ran for 58 and 54 yards respectively. Despite the loss, Coach Ron Mehuron remained optimistic. “I know its hard to look past the lopsided score, but from a coaches perspective we did a lot of things right. We played hard football and we showed that we’re working to improve.”

North Monterey defeats SC 33-6. Faced with the role of David against the defending Goliath of the SCCAL and the CCS Division II South, the Cards played tough, trailing the Condors by only a touchdown midway through the second quarter. “I don’t know if we outplayed the Condors in the first half, but we sure did play them even,“ said Coach Mehuron, whose offense was able to pepper the Condor defense on short pass patterns throughout the first two periods. Trailing 7-0 at the 7:44 mark in the second quarter, Wainscoat rolled to his right and tossed a fourth and six pass to Bobby Hultzen in the end zone to make the score 7-6. A stubborn Card defense forced two fumbles to stop early Condor drives. “We had a letdown late in the first half, but we liked the idea that our kids fought and never gave up,” A bright spot for SC has been the defensive line of Doug Kishi, Flavio Cornejo and Josh Riggins, who have played consistently.

Aptos Victory Keeps Santa Cruz Winless, while winning 33-13. Trailing Aptos by a touchdown and a two point conversion midway through the third quarter, SC was closer than it has been all year to capturing its first victory. The first quarter went by scoreless. In the second quarter Aptos scored 21 points to SC’s seven. Tim Shields intercepted a pass on the opening series of the second half, to get the Cards back into the contest. Led by Thuringer, SC was able to put together a 60 yard scoring drive in eight plays, culminating in Thuringer’s 35 yard TD scamper. The Aptos defense went to work, forcing a safety and holding SC to 89 second half yards. “We had some penalties in the second half and they knocked us flat. The way our offense struggles to move the ball, the penalties were a nail in our coffin.” While grinding out 164 yards of total offense, the Cards were flagged for 95 yards in penalties.

Watsonville beats Cards 35-14. Until Watsonville’s third touchdown, which gave the Cats a 22-8 lead with 4:30 left in the half, SC made a game of it. In the first half the two teams were almost even in total yardage, SC had 102 and Watsonville 100, SC had just one fewer first downs 5-6. But most importantly SC trailed only 15-8 on the scoreboard. “In the last few games, we’ve had situations where we’ve come out and surprised people. But on the long TD run we really broke down defensively,” Coach Mehuron. The game was for all intents and purposes over, but you wouldn’t have known it by the way SC played the second half. After the long run for a score, the Cards came right back and went 66 yards, 30 on a well executed screen pass from Wainscoat to Escalante in nine players for a touchdown. Thuringer took it over from the one yard line to make the score 35-14 with seven minutes left in the third quarter. The Cards defense held Watsonville to one touchdown the second half. Bernie Escalante and Jeff Thuringer rushed for 87 and 37 yards respectively.

Valley Runs Over Cardinals 32-13. SLV led 19-6 after three quarters, when SC mounted a drive to the SLV 11 yard line. There was a 25 minute delay while an injured player was attended to and it took the momentum away from the Cards. SLV stopped the SC drive and then went for a touchdown to make the score 25-6 and out of the Cards reach.

Down Year Only In Standings. Harbor, Santa Cruz Coaches Have Words Of Praise For Their Players. This has not been a good year for either team. But you’d never know this by talking to the coaches. Coach Ron Mehuron, “We’ve got a good group of kids. There’s a lot of optimism there. They keep coming back week after week and go out and practice day after day even though we’re not in the win column. It looks promising for next year. Mehuron has a special place in his heart for the seniors even though there’s only a few of them, they’re loyal. I feel pretty strongly about them.” Shawn Forgaard twisted his knee and wont be available against Harbor.

SC’s First Win A Big One 41-6 over Harbor. SC reacted in Thank-God-It’s-Over fashion, screaming and mobbing each other in the locker room. Finally they could relish their post game pizza. “Its been a long time. They’re enjoying it and they should. They’ve had a lot of games where they’ve been on the losing end of the stick. I’m just as happy as the boys, “ Coach Mehuron. The Cards didn’t look anything like their record would suggest, putting together long scoring drives and bottling up the Harbor offense. On the ground, SC gained 201 yards, including a 50 yard touchdown sprint by Cesar Oliva, who scored his first three touchdowns at the varsity level
On the other hand, Harbor was stifled by a Card defense anchored by lineman Joe Craw. Harbor managed only 32 yards on the ground, gaining just three yards rushing in the second half. It was a similar situation in the air. Wainscoat was nearly perfect, completing 7 of 8 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. The first score came after Wainscoat threw to Ryan Reber for 28 yards down to the four yard line. Oliva, who carried 10 times for 92 yards, got the ball on the next play and bulled up the middle for the TD. On the next set of downs, Oliva glided through the middle and won the race to the goal line from the 50 for his second TD.
In the fourth quarter, Oliva waded through the pack to score from three yards out. Other Cards participated in the scoring fun. Wainscoat completed a 40 yard TD pass to Scott Simons in the second quarter for the first score of the game. Bernie Escalante tumbled into the end zone from seven yards out to tally the Cards fourth TD. Jeff Thuringer ran back an interception untouched 35 yards to make it 34-0 SC.

Another Blowout Victory For Cards in 51-6 win over Salesian of Richmond, a small private school. The Cards scored every time they touched the ball, save the two times the clock inconveniently ran out before SC could score. Cesar Oliva led the parade, rushing seven times for 92 yards and four touchdowns, giving the junior running back seven touchdowns within the space of a week including his three TD’s against Harbor. The Cards ended the season with a two game winning streak to carry over to next year. (they did too going 4-2 in league and 6-3 overall) “Its nice to end on a positive note, even though they’re not that strong. We’re ready to go next year. I was glad to see the seniors go out with a win,” Coach Mehuron. Jeff Thuringer led off the scoring sweeping in from three yards out. Oliva scored from nine yards out and the third TD came with 12 seconds left in the first quarter, when Oliva rushed 27 yards up the middle. Bobby Hultzen stretched across the goal line on a 7 yards sweep. Tim Shields kicked a 26 yard field goal.

November 2. Sentinel football stats and scoring leaders. In individual rushing, Escalante was tenth, in 59 carries, 285 yards for a 4.8 yards per carry average and one touchdown.
Thuringer was thirteenth, in 52 carries, 230 yards for a 4.4 yards per carry average and four touchdown. Oliva was seventeenth, in 41 carries, 170 yards for a 4.1yards per carry average and no touchdowns.
In individual passing, Wainscoat was eighth, attempting 88 passes and completing 33 for an average completion rate of .375, with nine interceptions, 292 yards gained, for a 3.3 yards of gains per pass attempted and one touchdown.
In pass receiving, Reber was tenth, with 11 receptions for 91 yards gained, 8.3 yards per catch and no touchdowns. Escalante was fifteenth, with 9 receptions for 120 yards gained, 13.3 yards per catch and one touchdown.
Individual scoring, Thuringer was sixth with 38 points.
In team offense and defense the Cards were last in the stats.
On offense, SC scored 59 points, had 767 yards rushing, 375 yards passing, 1142 total yards for an average of 163.1 yards per game on offense.
On defense, SC allowed 253 points, allowed 1575 yards rushing, allowed 787 yards passing, allowed 2362 total yards for an average of 337.4 allowed per game on defense.

From the Trident. What kept the team going after seven straight loses? PRIDE! WILD PRIDE and DEDICATION. Led by a monster squad of juniors, the Cards came fighting back to win their last two games by big margins over Salesian and Harbor.

Sentinel ALL COUNTY team selected one Cardinal, senior 5-8, 190 Flavio Cornejo as offensive guard. Honorable mentions were Bernie Escalante, Doug Kishi, Sean McFarland and Jeff Thuringer.

ALL SCCAL first team, which is a combination offensive team and defensive team. Senior Flavio Cornejo and juniors Bernie Escalante, and Jeff Thuringer were first stringers. Cornejo at 5-8, 190 pounds was selected as a offensive lineman. Escalante at 5-10, 170 pounds was selected as a linebacker, Thuringer at 6-0, 165 was selected as a running back. On the second team, junior Doug Kishi at 5-6, 190 pounds was selected as a defensive lineman. Honorable mention were Ryan Reber and Aaron Wainscoat.
Escalante a two way starter at running back and linebacker (and a three sport ALL SCCAL player in football, basketball and baseball. The last two sports won the SCCAL championships) He led the team in yards rushed with 393.
Jeff Thuringer was second in rushing with 314 yards. Thuringer teamed with Stan Pillsbury to form one of the stingiest secondaries in the league in allowing passing yards.
Cornejo was one of the reasons that Escalante and Thuringer were able to gain those yards.

JV FOOTBALL
Team members were Chris Stevens, Aaron McFarland, Joshua Bruce, Reed Criswell, Hector Rivas, Scott Brown, Mark Locatelli, Todd Trowbridge, Aaron Myers, Brad Nichols, Dan Yaryan, Jason Berry, Ed Hutchings, Josh Johansen, Roger Wilbanks, Rob Tnrachina, Chris Nelson, Bill Orton, Mark Marquez, Andrew McGraw, Jason Sturgill, Jason Camat, Mike Torres, Peder McElroy, Jeff Chase, Jay Jackson and Ben Jay. Head Coach Tex Ronning. Assistants Rudy Escalante, Glen Liberatore, John Hopping and Richard Price.

FRESHMAN FOOTBALL
Team members were Jamie Carr, Ryan Knanobi, Chris Kasper, Chris Grey, Adam Phillips, Dennis O’Connor, Mike Pappas, Steve Cardoza, Nate Bell, Ronny Poole, Sean Brandt, Mike Goldstein, Jimmy Hamilton, Pete Sanchez, Steve Marenghi, Nick Marini, Jesse Martin, Bradley Bennett, Jason Williams, Jason Swolgaard, Ryan Coonerty, Stephan Fish and Issa Brandt. Coaches Milt Thompson

CROSS COUNTRY
Scores list with SC score first.
Boys: SLV won; Aptos 26-31 won; Soquel 35-22; North Monterey 29-28; Watsonville 39-20; Harbor won. Record 3-3 for third place.
Girls: SLV 15-incomplete, won; Aptos 39-22; Harbor 31-26; Soquel 39-24; North Monterey loss; Watsonville 40-21. Record 1-5.
Members from both teams competed at the CCS meet.

Trident. Finished third in league and had a relatively successful season. Trident. The team was young this year and according to junior Nathan Johnson, “I expect the team to be twice as good next season.” Outstanding performances came from senior Mari Long, who won some competitions and placed in the State regionals. Nathan Johnson placed twenty-first out of 350 at the Junior Olympics Nationals in Reno, Nevada. Seniors Damon Shanley and Jennifer Cameron were key consistent runners. Johnson also had several nice thing to say about coach Marty Krueger. “He was really supportive and encouraging. He’s the best coach I’ve ever had. He kept everyone in line and somehow found a way to keep us all practicing regularly.”

SCCAL and CCS SUB-SECTION MEETS
November 10. SCCAL Does Well In CCS Meet. Two SC girls, Mari Lang and Jennifer Cameron qualified at the CCS sub-section meet at the hilly and chilly Crystal Springs course as individuals for the CCS Division II meet. The three SCCAL teams that extended their seasons were SC and North Monterey boys and the Aptos girls. Lang a second place finisher at the SCCAL meet, was eleventh in her heat with a 20:06. Cameron, like Long is a senior, qualified by taking the thirty-first place. It was her first competitive run in nearly two weeks. It was the first time two SC girls qualified for the CCS finals.
Coach Marty Kruger was stunned by the performance of his boys team. “It’s amazing. I didn’t expect it. I mean, when I saw all the top teams in our heat, I didn’t let them see the list. They just got to the line and did their job.” Sophomore Nathan Johnson was eleventh overall in 16:09, despite being sick. Senior Damon Shanley was the second Card runner, taking fiftieth place in 17:25. Sophomore Victor Lang took fifty-first place in a dead heat with Shanley. SC made the CCS finals for the second year in a row.

A profile of Nathan Johnson in the Trident. In every meet since seventh grade, Nathan has finished among the top five places of his event in cross country, usually in the top three. Nathan is a very competitive runner. In the past year, he has won a medal both for the most valuable team member in track and the most valuable Junior Life Guard. He earned a third place medal at the West Coast Championship for distance running. And his most prized medal he won for placing as the twenty-first fastest sophomore in the country at the qualification meet of the National Junior Olympics.
After winning at the junior Olympics, Nathan was entitled to compete in Seattle’s World Championships. If successful there, he would go to Germany to compete. In a months time, he gathered sponsorships from the Sentinel, Brink’s Trophies and Reebok. But he was told that he was ineligible to compete as the competition was meant only for seventeen and eighteen year olds. Nathan encourages everyone interested in running to try out for the team. He says, “It is just a matter of doing it and doing your best. If you really think you can do it, go for it!”

Yearbook. Boys team members were Ezekial Menis, Matt Henry, Vic Long, Damon Shanle, Bates Marshall, David Warren, Peter Verprauskus and Eddie Machado. Girls team members were Tanya Miller, Jennifer Cameron, Mari Long and Kara Vernor. Coach Marty Kruger.

GIRLS
Sentinel September 16. SC 15, SLV incomplete. Junior Mari Lang made her first varsity race a memorable one, winning the 2.1 mile UCSC course in a time of 15:42. Junior Jennifer Cameron was second with a personal best time of 16:14.

September 22. Aptos not only provided the winning time, but took the fifth through ninth places leading to a 22-39 victory, because of their depth. Mari Lang took second and was within 14 seconds of the winner at 14:50. In junior varsity action Aptos 15, SC incomplete.

Sentinel October 7. Girls, Harbor 26, SC 31. Harbors depth defeated SC, who posted the two fastest times of the day at the UCSC 2.1 mile course. Seniors Mari Lang and Jennifer Cameron finished one-two in 14:48 and 15.20, but Harbor took six of the next seven places.

October 14. Soquel 21, SC 39. At the Soquel 2.5 mile course, Jennifer Cameron took second in 17:07

October 21. Condors Too Much For Cards. Every member of the SC team turned in a personal best at their home course at UCSC. Mari Lang, who didn’t run last week with an injury finished side-by-side with teammate Jennifer Cameron in 15:44. Cameron improved her personal best time by 36 seconds. North Monterey has won all season with their depth.

October 28. Watsonville 21, SC 40 at the 2.9 mile Pinto Lake course. Mari Lang was second in 19:13, beating a favorite to win the league championship, who ran a 19:16.

BOYS
Sentinel September 16. Soph Key To SC Win over SLV at UCSC’s 2.1 mile course in the dual meet opener. Cards’ Johnson A Strong Second. When Nathan Johnson went out too hard at the first SC practice, Coach Marty Kruger told the sophomore to back off a little bit. Johnson backed off, all right, to the point of actually quitting the team. But when Johnson approached Kruger and asked to rejoin the team, the coach welcomed him with open arms. At the SLV meet, Johnson took second only seven seconds behind the top runner in the league, with a 12:04 time. “He made a move with about a half mile to go, when he was in seventh place,” said Kruger of Johnson, who passed the eventual third place finisher only 500 yards from the finish. “That was the key to our winning as far as I am concerned,” As a freshman last year, Johnson finished second to the runner he beat today in the mile at the league frosh-soph track championships.

Sentinel. September 22. Johnson Paces Cards. Nathan Johnson ran a 2.1 mile UCSC cross country course in and even 12 minutes to lead SC to a 26-31 win over Aptos. SC took the third and fourth spots for the win.

October 14. At the 2.5 mile Soquel course, the Knights defeated the previously unbeaten SC 22-35. Nathan Johnson took second place in 13:10 just steps away from the Soquel winner at 13::04. SC and Soquel are now tied at 3-1 in SCCAL dual meets.

October 21. North Monterey 28, SC 29. Sophomore Nathan Johnson ran the fastest time of the season at the UCSC 2.1 mile course in 11:33 slicing his course record by 27 seconds. “That’s the fastest time on this course in at least five years,” said Coach Kruger. “Everyone ran a personal best today, except for Matt Henry, whose coming off getting hit by a car on bike three weeks ago.” Damon Shanle sprinted with an opponent for third place, where the team standings would ultimately be decided. They both crossed the line in 12:03, but Shanle was out-leaned by a nose, allowing NMC to win the meet and end the season with a 4-2 record. SC is 3-2.

October 28. Watsonville 20, SC 39. Nathan Johnson won his second straight league meet, running the 2.9 miles in 15:55. Watsonville won the next six places. Watsonville shattered the course record today, without their top runner. Watsonville is ranked ninth as a Class AA team in the state with a 6-0 record in SCCAL meets. SC is 3-3.

ALL SCCAL for girls to CCS: Mari Lang and Jennifer Cameron
ALL SCCAL for boys to CCS: Nathan Johnson, Damon Shanley and Victor Lang.

GIRLS TENNIS UNDEFEATED SCCAL CHAMPIONSHIP.
Practice record: Salinas 6-1, Carmel 6-1
League: 10-0 winning the league title for the six straight year.

Yearbook. Unstoppable, Unbeatable and Totally Uncivilized!! Since 1983, the team under Coach Dennis Mullen, has won 53 straight matches. Pretty overwhelming, when you think about it. This years league blowout and undefeated championship is the last for Mullen, who will hang up his tennis racket for the girls, although he will continue to coach the boys team.

Seniors Kristy Bennington and Kelli Mullen led the team in singles with perfect league records with Mullen remained undefeated overall. The doubles team of Maggie Marini and Stacey Wilhelmsen also proved to be outstanding and dependable. Senior Laura Shumate said, “It was a fun season. Practices were real rigorous and the pressure was more intensified this year.” In league play, the biggest fight came from Harbor, but SC narrowly escaped with a 4-3 victory. That wild Cardinal pride gave the team that unfair edge and SC proved they were the wildest, even in the form of a girls tennis team.

Team members were Dawn Barbic, Gunilla Kjelinas, Patrica Vanderbrink, Kelli Mullen, Rachelle Whiteveen, Kirsty Bennington, Laura Shumate, Stacey Wilhelmsen, Maggie Marini, Jenny Nisperos, Brett Plauche, Lara Minium, Bree Nystrom and Aimee Nitzberg.

Sentinel. Sept. 22. SC beat Salinas 6-1. Kirsty Bennington won her number one singles match 6-1, 6-1. Salinas won the number one, doubles match, but failed to win another set. SC players lost just six games in the four singles matches. SC is 2-0.

Oct. 3. SC beat Carmel 6-1. Bennington won her match 6-1, 6-2. In the other singles matches, Kelli Mullen, Dawn Barbic and Laura Shumate also had little trouble. Carmel won the number one doubles match. SC is 4-0.

Oct. SC 7, SLV 0. Kristy Bennington and Kelli Mullen won their one and two singles matches 6-0, 6-0. Dawn Barbic and Laura Shumate also won in straight sets.

Oct. 15. SC 7, Watsonville 0. SC breezed without losing a set, to improve their record to 6-0. Bennington won 6-0, 6-0.

Sentinel. Oct. 26. Golden Victory For SC. Cardinals Have won 50 Matches In A Row. It’s mind boggling just how dominant SC girls tennis has been in the SCCAL in the past five years. Since losing to Aptos on November first, 1983, SC is 50-0.
Coach Dennis Mullen earned his golden victory, when his team defeated Harbor 5-2. Big wins were posted by number 3 singles player Dawn Barbic with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) win over her opponent who was an undefeated 11-0. Laura Shumate took her first loss in league play. In number one singles, defending league singles champion Kirsty Bennington won 6-0, 6-0. In number two singles, Kelli Mullen won 6-0, 6-3. Both Bennington and Mullen are undefeated in league with 9-0 records. Mullen is 15-0 for the season. Mullen hasn’t lost a set nor more than four games in a set this year.

November 1. Bennington To Defend Title. She will be going against Soquel’s sophomore number one player, who Bennington has defeated twice in league play, 6-4, 7-6 in their first match and 6-2, 6-0 in the second match. Playing for the doubles championship are Kelli Mullen and Dawn Barbic. Kelli Mullen won the doubles title last year, but has a different partner this year. She and Barbic have played the number two and three singles positions this year and are the number one seeded team in doubles.

Dawn Barbic was a Sentinel athlete of the week of November 1. Barbic, a senior on the tennis team, won twice during the week to finish 9-1 in league matches and 13-3 for the season. Her 6-3, 7-5 win over her Harbor opponent avenged her only league loss in three years as she won 29 matches. Coach Mullen, “She really wanted to win that one. She put a lot of pressure on herself to win that match.” Of Barbic’s two other non league losses this year, both went three sets and both third set scores were 7-6. She came close to being 15-1. Coach Mullen, “She worked real hard this summer to get ready for this year. All the time she put into tennis has paid off.”

November 2. Repeat Performance. Bennington Successfully Defends SCCAL Singles Title. Bennington as junior last year had just moved from South Africa, when she won the SCCAL singles title. She won 6-2, 6-1 this year to qualify for the CCS championships at the Santa Clara Golf and Tennis Club on November 21. The doubles team of Barbic and Mullen won 6-4, 6-2 for the SCCAL title and qualify for CCS. SC has won the SCCAL singles title in each of the last five years and the doubles the last three, which Mullen has played on.

October 31. End Of A Dennis-ty. A Coaching Legend. Santa Cruz High Tennis Coach To Retire, sort of. Mullen took over the Cardinal boys tennis team in 1970 and assumed the girls role three years later. And the rest is history. Mullen took over the Cardinal boys’ team in 1970 and assumed the girls’ role three years later. And the rest is history. His overall record since taking over the girls’ team in 1973 is 188-36. In SCCAL matches, he is 120-10. The Cardinals have won nine league titles, and that’s not counting his successful boys’ teams.

They’re 49-1 in league matches since the start of the 1984 season and have won 31 in a row. The Cardinals haven’t lost since May 1 of ‘85, when they were beaten 4-3 by Aptos. “I was amazed when I started looking these things up–I didn’t realize we had won that many championships,” Mullen said. “I don’t keep track of it too much. It’s the first time I’ve added it up.” Under Mullen, the girls’ team has never finished lower than second place. While members of the Monterey Bay League, the Cardinals were second to Salinas from 1973 through ’75.
Aptos was king–er, queen–during the first three years of the SCCAL (1976 through ’78) and they shared the throne in 1979 (and again in ’83). But in the 80s, Aptos is the only team to beat Santa Cruz in league play.
His coaching philosophy is a simple one: Make the kids work so hard in practice that playing other schools will be a piece of cake by comparison. “In practice, I work them as hard as I can, because I told them if you can play under this much pressure, then the matches will be fun,” he said. “I used to be pretty hard on them, but I guess I’ve mellowed. That’s what some of the alumni were telling me. “We never talk about winning. All I want is for them to improve each time they play. They work so hard and put enough pressure on themselves that they’re very unhappy when they lose. That’s probably what keeps them going.”
You can’t help but wonder what has kept Mullen going for all these years. He said it’s just the love of the game and the rewards of helping kids compete and grow into successful adults. Kelli Mullen, who had a 64-5 SCCAL record in her four seasons, said her father’s semi-retirement will be an emotional event. “We’re excited about the whole thing, but it’s sad at the same time. He likes coaching the girls, and the girls really like him.” “I’m really proud of him and his accomplishments. He’s a great dad.” And a pretty darn good coach, too.

BOYS WATER POLO
Practice: Leland 1-10, De LaSalle 4-11, Madera 6-12, Watsonville 4-7, DeAnza of Richmand 8-4. Practice record 1-4. League: Soquel 11-19, 5-12; Aptos 5-7, 11-12; Harbor 5-11, loss; Watsonville ? League standings: 1. Harbor 8-0; 2. Soquel 6-2; 3. Watsonville; 4. Aptos; 5. SC with a 2-8 record. (Didn’t find records for some of the matches, just their positions in the standings) (Overall 3-12 according to above)

Yearbook. There was bad news and there was good news. The bad was the team had a 2-8 record, but the good was that despite the losing season the team never lost their perspective on the main purpose and that was to have fun. “We were there to learn and have fun,” said one of the teams leaders senior Ben Smith. “Even though we weren’t doing so hot, we were still out there two hours a day, five days a week putting in the practice time it takes to have any kind of team.”

Leading performers were Smith, seniors Rob Bacon and Jeff Wickum and sophomore goalie Zack Gallagher. Team members were Richard Harbison, Ben Smith, David Field, Tim Mockus, Rob Bacon, Jeff Wickum, Austin Burns, Jodie Larson, Jason Ward and Zack Gallagher. Coach Mike Bennett.

Sentinel. Sept. 25. Cards go 1-4. The team won one game and lost four over the weekend in the Monterey Bay Invitational at Gavilan College. SC lost to Leland 10-1 and De La Salle 11-4 on Friday and to Madera 12-6 and Watsonville 7-4 on Saturday. But beat De Anza of Richmond 8-4 on Saturday. Jeff Wickum led the Cards in scoring with ten goals in the 16 team tournament.

Sentinel Oct. 5. Soquel defeated SC 19-11. Rob Bacon and Rich Harbison each scored three goals for SC now 0-2 in league. SC was without four starters due to injury or illness.

Oct. 12. Aptos 7, SC 5 to give SC a 0-3 league record.

Oct. 26. Harbor 11, SC 5. “We jumped on them 5-0 in the first quarter. SC played good in the second half. We went a little flat and they picked up the slack,” said Harbor coach Jack Dufour.

Oct. 28. Soquel 12, SC 5. Soquel had a 6-1 lead at halftime. Jordie Larson had three of SC’s 5 goals.

Nov. 2. Late goal Lifts Aptos Past Santa Cruz 12-11. Aptos scored with 20 second remaining, finishing a second half scoring spree. SC led the game 3-1 at halftime and was looking forward to its first league win, when its momentum was stopped short. Just as SC scored a second half goal, a SC player was called for a foul and the goal was disallowed. “I’ve never seen one called back before,” said coach Bennett. “Aptos got the ball back and scored and that just took the wind out of us.” SC 0-6 in league, fought back to tie it at 11-11, before Aptos stole a pass and fed the ball off for the winning score.

Nov. 13. Harbor Defeats Watsonville For SCCAL Water Polo Title.
In the tournament opener, SC upset Aptos 11-4 and advanced to the semifinals against Harbor, who beat them 17-8. Watsonville upset Soquel 10-9 in the semifinals for the opportunity to play Harbor in the finals, which Harbor won 15-4. Harbor won its fifth straight SCCAL title and ninth over the last ten years.

Sentinel. Dec. 18. SC Polo Awards. Rob Bacon was named the team Most Valuable Player and the outstanding defensive player. Jeff Wickum was name outstanding offensive player. Zack Gallagher received the sportsmanship award. David Field was given both the coaches award and the most improved award. Top frosh-soph awards went to Pat Chapman as MVP, Django Sussman, top defensive player and Joaquin Munoz the top offensive player.

GIRLS SWIMMING
League scores: Harbor 81-89; Live Oak 50-120; Aptos 60-108; Gilroy 79-92; Watsonville 110-58; Soquel 81-88. League record 1-5.

Yearbook. SC Had Five CCS Qualifiers. Traci Kreppel, Larkin Ferber, Ann Shumate, Mehgan Kinney and divers Beth Burns and Mercedes Blair. Varsity coach Carol Kreppel and Junior varsity coach Michelle Poirer helped their teams improve throughout the season.

This was a young team and they are expecting to do much better next year. Swim members were Laura Ross, Grace Robinson, Justine Boucher, Phoebe Izard, Jenine Yip, Angela Strong, Gabriel Courte, Kristin Brunnemeyer, Jennifer Pandolfi, Jennifer Walters, Lorraine LeBer, Cece Lucero, Beth Burns, Kristin Griffin, Jade Pineda, Lindy Riviero, Kirsten Silbaugh, Larkin Ferber, Simone Krietz, Megan Baron and Nicole Arndt. Diving team members were Cindy Bruce. Jessie Nelson, Beth Burns, Poppy Burke, Tyrene Partlow and Mercedes Blair.

Sentinel Sept. 23. Tough Loss For Cardinals. Harbor 89, SC 81. Double winners were Kristin Griffin and Traci Kreppel. Griffin won the 200 individual medley in 2:37.97 and the 100 free in 1:02.90. Kreppel won the 50 free in 28.60 and the 100 backstroke in 1:18.37. The medley relay team of Kreppel, Larkin Ferber, Ann Shumate and Mehgan Kinney met the CCS meet qualifying time with the winning effort of 2:11.55. SC is 1-1 overall.

Sept. 30. Live Oak 120, SC 50. The only bright spot for SC was in diving, where Beth Burns posted 163.95 points to edge Mercedes Blair, who scored 163.80 points.

Oct. 5. Aptos 108, SC 60. (Nothing about SC)

Oct. 14. Gilroy 92, SC 79. SC improved in many of their times. Sophomore Kristin Griffin won the 100 free in 1:01.50. Sophomore Ann Shumate won the 100 breast in 1:18.20. The 400 free relay team won for the first time as Griffin, Lindy Ribiero, Larkin Ferber and Nicole Arndt swam a 4:24.92.

Oct. 21. Santa Cruz Sweep Leads To First Victory 110-58 over Watsonville winning every event. SC now 1-4 for the season had three double winners, won the relays and diving and had diver Jessie Nelson pull off a back double somersault, from a standing position a dive not many high school divers attempt. Kristin Griffin won the 200 yard individual medley in 2:39.25 and the 100 free in 1:03.22. Ann Shumate won the 50 free in 28.46 and 100 breast in 1:20.92. Larkin Ferber won the 100 butterfly in 1:20.25 and 100 back in 1:20.70. Simone Krietz won the 200 free, Nicole Arndt won the 500 free and Mercedes Blair won the diving.

Oct. 28. Soquel 88, SC 81. Kristin Griffin and Ann Shumate were double winners. Griffin took the 100 free in 1:02.52 and 200 free in 2:15.24. Shumate won the 200 individual medley in 2:43.27 and 100 breast in 1:20.4.

GIRLS VOLLEY BALL
League games: Soquel, won, loss; Watsonville, two losses; SLV, loss, win; North Monterey, two losses; Harbor, two losses and Aptos, win, loss. League record 3-9.

Yearbook. “Although our record wasn’t as good as it should have been, we improved and had a fun season,” recalls senior Sarah Hart. Training new setters proved to be a harder task than was expected. All the teams in the league came out pretty equal and there were good matches against every team. There was a lot of improvements throughout the league and all the teams struggled to win.
Outstanding player performances came from seniors Sarah Hart, Meara Noe, Celia Homesly and Laurel Chrislock. Sophomore Diane Gergen was the top underclassmen. The girls agree that what kept everything in perspective was the fact that everyone worked together and coach Barnett helped keep their confidence level up. Varsity team members were Celia Homesly, Terra Shooley, Amy Smith, Meara Noe, Laurel Chrislock, Erin Chrislock, Julie Kuhry, Diand Gergen, Mysti Doughty, Rachel Heit, Lyn Beach, Micko Imai, Rosalynn Pillars and Sarah Hart. Coach Blair Barnett.

Sentinel Sept. 28. Cards Rally To Top. Soquel started out looking like they would make quick work of SC, but more than two and a half hours later, it was the Cards who staggered away with the hard fought league victory in five games. The Soquel coach said, “The better team won.” Scoring by games: 3-15, 12-15, 15-10, 15-9, 15-9. “We played very inconsistently the first two games. Then we started concentrating on just keep the ball in play and we were ok,” said coach Blair Barnett. He credited the play of sister setters Erin and Laurel Chrislock and the serving and blocking of Celia Homesley with turning the match around.

Sept. 30. Watsonville beat SC 15-12, 15-13, 15-8 for their first league victory. SC is now 1-1. The all-round play of Laurel Chrislock and the serving of Sarah Hart kept the games close.

Oct. 5. Youth Loses To Experience. “It was youth against experience and youth lost,” said Coach Barnett, whose nine underclassmen were overmatched against defending league champs Harbor 15-3, 15-7, 15-2. The Cards are made up of seven sophomores, two juniors and four seniors. Terra Schooley played a solid all around game for SC. Last year Harbor went on to win the CCS and NorCal Division II titles and placed second in State.

Oct. 7. SLV spoiled SC’s comeback with its own rally, winning 15-9, 15-11, 6-15, 6-15, 19-17. After taking the first two games, the Cougars sputtered in the next two, setting up the deciding fifth game. SC vaulted to a 10-3 lead, before SLV came back for the win.

Oct. 11. Probably the league’s most exciting match was played at SC, where the Cards won in five games over previously unbeaten Aptos, 15-7, 4-15, 15-12, 8-15, 15-9. Right side hitter Meara Noe and sisters Erin and Laurel Chrislock helped boost SC to a 2-3 league record. “Meara was the pivotal player, she had an excellent game blocking and hitting. Erin Chrislock, a sophomore was credited for her outside hitting and senior Lauel Chrislock held her own with her defense and setting at the net,” said coach Barnett. SC missed only four serves in the match and led 11-2 in the final game, before Aptos closed in.

Oct. 19. Winning the first game was the key to winning the match, said Coach Barnett. “I kind of had the feeling that, if we had won the first game, things would have gone our way.” Unfortunately for the Cards, it was the Condors who rode the momentum, 15-12, 15-8, 15-8. The first game was tied at 11-11 and 12-12, before North Monterey pulled away.

Oct. 21. In a tight match that was up for grabs most of the way, Soquel was able to hold off SC in four games, 15-12, 15-5, 14-16, 15-5. SC was led by Laurel Chrislock with setting on offense and Sarah Hart, with defense, serving and net play. SC is 2-5 in league.

Oct. 26. With SC leading 12-4, in the fourth game, Watsonville came back to win 15-12, which was their third game win for the victory. A win for SC would have forced a fifth game. Games in order: 15-3, 15-10, 8-15, 15-12. “ In the third game, we played as well as we have all year, said Coach Barnett. “They definitely made some pretty good plays to get those points.” SC dropped to 2-6 in league.

Oct. 28. Although Harbor won the first game 15-13, the Harbor coach didn’t like the play of his starters and replaced them with backups, who when on to win the next two games 15-3, 15-13.

Sentinel. Nov. 2. While SC and SLV played, the boys basketball team counted the minutes until they could start there first practice of their season. The girls obliged by beating SLV 15-6, 15-7, 15-10, avenging a loss to SLC earlier in the season. Sophomore Rachel Heit, making her first start of the season, responded with a well played match, according to coach Blair Barnett. The outside hitter had seven kills and six digs. Middle hitter Celia Holmesly contribute steady serving and made very few mistakes.

Nov. 4. Aptos playing consistent, playoff quality volleyball beat SC 15-12, 15-9, 15-9. Meara Noe had an outstanding night, according to Barnett, who also credited Erin Chrislock for her serving and passing.

Nov. 11. North Monterey finished league play in a tie with Soquel with 7-5 records thanks to a 15-5, 15-1, 15-12 victory over SC. SC is 3-9 in league.

Senior Meara Noe was named to the ALL SCCAL first team, by the league coaches. Senior Laurel Chrislock was named to the second team.

JV team members were Katie Scharmann, Josie Heyward, Leslie Laurent, Megan Freitas, Monique Charlebois, Kelly Dunn, Serena Rain, Nikki Dahlberg, Vanessa Dunn, Heather Kunnanz, Jeny Schneider, Marissa Cruz, Thea Lincoln, Rebecca Long, Colleen Cooney, Krista Anderson and Lori Welch. Coach Francie Vaughan.

BOYS SOCCER SCCAL CHAMPIONS
In a special playoff for the title to see who would be the league number one seed for CCS, SC won 1-0 to be the number one seed in the CCS Division II. SC received a bye in the first round and then defeated North Salinas. (no information on the semifinal match, which SC won) At the CCS Division II championship game Watsonville defeated SC 4-1 to take the CCS Title.

Practice games: Gonzales 2-1, Seaside 2-0, North Salinas loss. (game missing) Practice record 4-1. League: SLV 5-0, 4-1 in OT; Aptos 2-0, 4-0; North Monterey 8-1, forfeit; Harbor 6-0, win; Soquel 3-2, 2-1 in OT; Watsonville 1-1, 2-2. League record 10-0-2 tied with Watsonville. After the playoff, SC was 11-0-2 for league. Before CCS the Cards record was 15-1-2. Overall record 17-2-2.

Yearbook. SC soccer has never been better. At the end of preseason, the Cards had a 4-1 record with the only loss coming from North Salinas. As league took off, the winning streak continued up again as SC beat SLV, Harbor, Aptos, North Monterey and Soquel. This set up the showdown of the undefeated. The first battle between Watsonville and SC took place at Geiser Field. The result was a 1-1 tie. In the second round of league the Cards again defeated the rest of the league. The showdown this time was at Memorial field, which resulted in another tie, but 2-2 this time. A special playoff game was set for Aptos. SC made history by defeating the Wildcatz 1-0.

By winning league, SC earning the number one spot in the CCS Region IV playoffs, drew a first round bye automatically advancing to the second round, where they avenged the preseason loss to North Salinas by beating them 1-0. Nothing about the next game.

Team members were Tony Villalobos, John Ricketts, Marco Llanos, Jaime Chavez, Jevin Albuquerque, Javier Aguirre, Fidel Marquez, Rafa, Jose Marquez, Jesus Acevedo, Rogaciano Garcia, Andy Verprauskus, Zake Ibsen, Wyatt Cameron, Fred Gustafson, John Baron, Cesar Guzman and Jason Newlove. Head coach Richard King and assistant Gus Ibarra.

Sentinel Dec. 1. Junior Zak Ibsen led SC to a 2-1 victory over Gonzales. Ibsen scored both goals, one in the first half on a double feed from Tony Villalobos and from Jevin Albuquerque in the second half on a rebound off a Fredrick Gustafson shot the bounced off the Gonzales goalie.

Dec. 2. SC improved to 4-0, scored twice in the first 30 minutes to beat Seaside 2-0. Jon Baron scored on a penalty kick, then Tim Shields added another goal with 15 minutes to play in the first half.

Sentinel. Dec. 18. SC 5, SLV 0. Zak Ibsen scored three goals as SC won their league opener. The Cards have a overall record of 5-1.

Jan. 8. SC 2, Aptos 0. SC improved to 3-0 in league and 7-1 overall. SC scored twice within five minutes midway through the first half.

Sentinel. Jan. 12. SC 8, North Monterey 1. Zak Ibsen helped spark the Cards offense with four goals. Fred Gustafson scored two goals, while Javier Aguirre and Armondo Sierra added one each.

Jan. 15. Number 1 Soccer Team Still TBA. Tie Between Santa Cruz And Watsonville Boys Leaves Throne Vacant. The winner was going to be declared the best team in the SCCAL. But it will have to wait as the teams battled to a 1-1 tie. They don’t play again until February 8. A large crowd turned out and the atmosphere of a league championship game permeated Geiser field. Both teams owned 4-0 records in league. Watsonville hadn’t lost a league game in two years. And that loss was to SC.
“The game was emotionally charged from whistle to whistle,” said Coach Richard . King. Both teams battled in a physical game that, midway through the second half, led to a red card ejection of a Cat player for tripping. SC managed to control the first half and got on the board at the six minute mark when Zak Ibsen floated a direct kick over the Wildcat defensive wall. “He had a soft touch over the wall and he put a touch of curve on it,” King said.
In the second half, Watsonville took back some of the momentum despite playing one man short. “The team really picked it up after the red card. We had to step it up with only ten players, said the Wildcat coach. Twenty five minutes in the second half Watsonville scored. In overtime, both team had their chances in front of the goal, but both were blanked in the two ten minute periods. “It was back and forth, attack and counter attack. We out shot them, but we couldn’t score,” King said. Still Watsonville’s unbeaten streak in league play extended to 40 games.

Jan. 19. Coach Richard King was concerned the team might have an emotional let down after all the effort that went into the Watsonville match. Soquel tallied two unanswered goals to open the second half and took a 2-1 lead. SC scored two one-on-one goals to claim the a 3-2 win to hold a share with Watsonville for the league lead. “There is a tendency to go flat after a highly charged emotional game. But we hung in there and took charge in the second half. That shows maturity on our part,” Coach King. Left wing Javier Aguirre took a looping, long pass, outraced the Soquel defense and knotted the score. Marcos Llanos scored the game winner for SC, when he slipped behind the defense and put a hard shot into the corner. Armondo Sierra scored the first half goal.

Jan. 26. SC 4, SLV 1 in overtime. SC may have played a little lackadaisical in regulation, but when it counted the most, the Cards were able to pick up their game a notch or two. “It was a cliff hanger,” said coach King after his Cards scored three goals in overtime to hold off the Cougars. Once the ten minute overtimes started so did the Cards. Tim Shields gave SC a 2-1 lead less than a minute into the first extra period and Zack Ibsen scored a pair of goals in the second overtime. The victory pushed SC to 6-0-1 in league. Cezar Guzman scored the SC goal in regulation. SC had defeated SLV 5-0 in their first game. King praised the defensive play of Wyatt Cameron, Omar Vargas and Rogaciano Garcia.

Jan 29. SC 6, Harbor 0. At halftime the score was tied 0-0 and it looked like a duel, but by the end it was something less. The turnaround was a matter of persistence according to coach Richard King. “We had a lot of unselfish passes in the second half. The first goal early in the second half broke the ice.” Fred Gustafson scored twice. Jevin Albuquerque, Cezar Guzman, Zak Ibsen and Javier Aguirre each added a goal. Armando Sierra had three assists, while goal keeper Tony Villalobos recorded a shutout. SC improves to 7-0-1 in SCCAL play tied with Watsonville.

Feb. 2. SC 4, Aptos 0. SC prides themselves on their balanced attack and set an example against Aptos with four different scorers. In the first half, Javier Aguirre followed up his missed bicycle kick with a solid boot past the goalie. Fred Gustafson also found the net in the first half. Zak Ibsen and Armondo Sierra scored after the intermission. “We’ve been progressing,” said coach King, whose team is 8-0-1 in league and 12-1-1 overall. “The last two games, it’s come together for us offensively and defensively. King credited senior goalie Tony Villalobos with a fine shutout.

Feb. 5. SC 1, North Monterey 0. Officially SC won the game by forfeit, because North Monterey did not have eleven players. They played 11 on 9 in the first half and 11 on 10 in the second half.
They played anyway with less than full teams. SC outscore NM 11-2 in an unofficial game.

Feb. 9. SC Ties Watsonville With Two Late Goals, 2-2. The temperature was more suited to ice skating and the field looked like a motor-cross course in the Battle of the Bog with the rain sprinkling down. Both teams started with 9-0-1 records and both left at 9-0-2. SC erased Watsonville’s 2-0 lead in the final two minutes with goals from Loni Adams and Javier Aguirre an assists on both from Zak Ibsen. Adams had just gotten into the game, when he scored with 2:30 left in regulation time. His boot doubled the teams intensity level and proved to be the injection it need to tie the game. Less than a minute later, Ibsen centered the ball to Aguirre, who rifled it home from short range and send the SC crowd into a frenzy.
The mood after the was strange, the general feeling seemed like, at least this is exciting. Watsonville dominated the first half and SC the second half. In overtime, both teams were equally aggressive and made solid boots toward the net, but came away empty. And set up Main Event III to see who will be the leagues top seed for CCS.

Feb. 12. A Real Gut-Wrencher. But Santa Cruz Survives, Championship Showdown Next. Pass the Rolaids. “I probably have had three ulcers,” said coach King, after his team eked out a 2-1 win over Soquel in double overtime. It leaves SC and Watsonville tied for first place in league with 10-0-2 records having tied in their two SCCAL match-ups. Now they are headed for a special playoff game to determine the league champion. The winner will be the leagues number one seed at CCS. Much like the league season itself, a decision for SC wasn’t made until AFTER regulation play.
“It was a cliffhanger. We were down three players and we were playing lackadaisical,” said the Card coach. Midway through the second half, Soquel was up 1-0 and SC struggled to gain some momentum and concentration after the emotionally draining tie with Watsonville two days earlier. Off the bench came Jason Newlove, who headed in the first goal late in the second half to force overtime. In the second overtime, Newlove scored on another header. “He just corked screwed his body in time with the ball and contacted it perfectly. He twisted his body in a perfect dance like form,” said coach King. Early in the game, Tim Shields broke his leg in a collision with the Knight goalie.

Feb. 15. This Time, One Team Has To Win. “The league is the number one thing and this is for the championship,” said coach King. The seeding of the teams for CCS is one thing, but what matters most is to be the league championship. One way or another there will be a champion. If after double ten minute overtimes the score is still tied, they will go to two 5 minute sudden death periods. If there is no score, the penalty kick shoot-off will go into effect. “We are both finesse teams. The last game we played with Watsonville was a nice, finesse game. We’re hoping for a repeat,” said King. The winner will draw a bye in the first round of CCS play. Watsonville has won four straight SCCAL soccer titles coming into this season and has won CCS Division I titles in 1978 and 1979 and Division II last year, by defeating Soquel in an all SCCAL final 3-1.

Feb. 16. Santa Cruz Is Number One. Cardinals Beat Watsonville To Take SCCAL Soccer Title. Fred Gustafson scored the only goal in a rough and tumble game, to give SC a 1-0 victory over Watsonville. The victory in the special SCCAL playoff game gave the Cardinals the league championship and denied Watsonville its sixth straight SCCAL title. SC handed Watsonville only its second league loss in the last six years. Ironically King was on the sidelines during the only other loss by Watsonville as well, when SC beat Watsonville 4-2 on January 17, 1986.
But the most recent Card victory was much bigger, giving SC the league title and the SCCAL’s number one seed in the upcoming CCS Division II tournament. The two teams went into the game with identical 10-0-2 league records after both their regular season meeting ended in ties. SC and Watsonville tied 1-1 in their first game and 2-2 in the second game to force the special playoff to determine the SCCAL championship. “The last one was a much more stylish game,” Coach King of the 2-2 last week, which the Cards rallied from a 2-0 deficit.
“This time it was a lot more physical.” Both teams took their lumps in the first half, as did an official. Midway through the first half, one of the sideline officials walked off the field and refused to return after he said he was hit three times from rocks thrown from the stands. A fill in official was recruited from the stands.
Neither team was able to score in the first half despite numerous opportunities. Watsonville missed converting on a free kick from inside the penalty area late in the half. SC had an apparent goal disallowed on a controversial call. Midway through the first half, when Armando Sierra appeared to have scored when the ball bounced over the Cat goalie into the goal net. As the ball rolled back out to the goal line, a Cat defender sprinted in and kicked the ball back onto the field. “The lineman flagged it a goal and ran back, but the main referee overruled it,” said King.
There was no disallowing Gustafson’s goal 24 minutes into the second half. From midfield Fidel Marquez dished off a touch pass to Gustafson just outside the penalty area in front of the Watsonville goal. The goalie ran out and dove at the ball, but as he was in the air Gustafson booted the ball underneath the goalie from about 20 yards out and into the middle of the goal, sparking an emotional celebration by the Cards. “I don’t remember that much about it,” said Gustafson, and 18 year old Swedish exchange student. “I saw the goalie come out and I just shot it under him.”
It had been a frustrating game up until that point for Gustafson a senior right wing. Early in the second half, he was pulled down from behind by a Watsonville defender on a clean breakaway, but the officials did not call a foul. Minutes later Gustafson was given a yellow card warning after he kicked the Watsonville star in the ankle while attempting a tackle,
Despite taking the lead, SC didn’t back off and play conservative. SC kept the pressure on and didn’t allow the Wildcats a chance to regroup and get back in the game. “We kept attacking full out. We didn’t guard their ace one on one and we played attack soccer the whole game, which is our style,” said King.
Watsonville, which has won the SCCAL title every year since joining the league in the fall of 1983. They had won 47 straight league games without a loss until this game. In SCCAL play, the Wildcats were 68-1-13. “The team felt strong before the game. I had very good vibes off the team this week and practice was pretty casual. Tonight they came ready to play,” said King. SC will have a bye in the first round of CCS and then will play the winner of the Gonzales vs. North Salinas game.

ALL SCCAL Players: Outstanding Forward, Javier Aguirre. Co-Outstanding Midfielder, Armando Sierra. Coach of the Year, Richard King. First team SCCAL are all seniors: Marcos Llanos and Armando Sierra at halfback. Javier Aguirre at fullback and Tony Villalobos at goalie. Honorable mentioned were Zake Ibsen, Wyatt Cameron, Fidel Marquez, Jon Baron, Andy Verpraukus, Cesar Guzman, Jevin Albuquerque, Fred Gustafson and Rogaciano Garcia.
The SCCAL champions SC were the best represented team on the all league team by earning three of the five top honors. Sierra is a repeat first team all leaguer, who impressed his coach by improving over last season. “His skills were even better than last season. He played more consistently and upbeat. Armando has tremendous stamina. But his best attribute is probably his technical facilities in ball handling,” said Coach King. Aguirre overcame a pulled thigh muscle and finished among the leagues leading scorers. “He has symbolized the great depth we had. He’d come off the bench and play well. He’d go out and sacrifice his body to score the winning goal, He’s one of those players a team has to have to win,” King.

GIRLS SOCCER
Practice games: Harbor 1-3, Monte Vista 0-1, 6-0. League: SLV 1-4, 2-3; Aptos 2-0, Harbor 1-0 in overtime, 0-1; North Monterey 1-2, 0-0; Soquel 1-3, 0-1; Watsonville 3-0.

Yearbook. The soccer team was originally predicted to destroy the league, but after losing the first league game to SLV 1-4, the Cards went into a slump. It had a happy ending, as the girls won four out of the last five games. The big boost to get them on track was defeating Aptos.

Team members were Amy Smith, Sara Johnston, Maureen Pacino, Laura Shumate, Heather bonds, Anja Josefsen, Anna Weinbaum, Siri Moeller, Ruby Lipsenthal, Sonya Vantasel, Danielle Sharpen, Kim Shirley, Cara Hopkins, Lori Bauerle, Liz Baron, Mieko Imai, Melinda Ferrante, Allison Agosti, Jeanning Yip and Jannell Flynn. Head Coach Don Dempewolf in his first year coaching the girls after retiring from the Boys program he started. Assistant Jorge Sierra.

Sentinel Dec. 4. Harbor bounced back from an early deficit to defeat SC 3-1 in a practice match. No information about SC.

Dec. 6. At the SCCAL Invitational Jamboree with the seven league teams plus Los Gatos, SC came in sixth with a 0-2-2 record.

Dec. 9. SC lost to Monte Vista 1-0.
Dec. 14. SC 6, Monte Vista 0. Center forward Laura Shumate scored four goals, including three within a 13 minute span in the second half, allowing SC to earn its first win of the season. Ruby Lipsenthal and Geannine Yip also scored for the 1-4 Cards.

Dec 16. SLV 4, SC 1. No SC info.

Jan. 11. North Monterey 2, SC 1. Left wing Maureen Pacino scored 35 minutes into the game on a crossing shot that bounced off a defender into the net. SC is 0-2 in league.
Sentinel. Jan. 13. SC 4, Watsonville 1. Laura Shumate, Ruby Lipsenthal and Maureen Pacino all scored goals. The fourth goal was scored by a Watsonville player.

Jan. 18. Soquel 3, SC 1. Soquel controlled the game from the start and easily remained undefeated in league. Maureen Pacino scored the lone SC goal booting in a loose ball.

Jan. 25. SLV 3, SC 2. After SLV scored two goals, SC came back with a goal by Janelle Flynn. Ruby Lipsenthal scored on a corner kick with ten minutes to play to pull SC to within a goal. SC is 1-5 in league and 2-9 overall.

Jan. 27. Harbor 1, SC 0. In the second overtime period with 35 seconds left in the period, Harbor came up with a loose ball in front of the SC goal and booted it in. Goalie Liz Baron got praise from coach Dempewolfe, “She made about five or six outstanding saves. Harbor had a lot of attacks going, but she held her own.”

Sentinel. Feb 1. Santa Cruz Upsets Aptos. Mariners Handed First SCCAL Defeat By Upstart Cardinals. Aptos came into the game owning a 6-0-1 league record, but “We definitely surprised them,” said coach Don Dempewolfe. SC won 2-0 behind goals from Laura Shumate and Siri Moeller. SC loser of three straight league games improved to 2-6 in league. “We needed this game, Dempewolfe said. “We had a team meeting the night before and several girls spoke up and talked about how we had to play together. That probably helped. Center forward Shumate scored ten minutes into the game, when she took control of the ball at midfield, beat one defender and fired the ball past the goalie, who had moved up to meet Shumate. “She kept under control and used her head. It was a picture shot, right at the back post,” Dempewolfe said. Just 2:30 later Moeller punched in a rejected Shumate shot from short range. Aptos pressed in the second half, but the Cards didn’t budge. Dempewolfe said Sara Johnston played a great game at sweeper and goalie Liz Baron was outstanding with 15 saves. Johnston and Anna Weinbaum made key saves, whenever Baron was caught out of position.

Feb. 5. Cards Stay Hot. SC remains one of the hottest girls team in the SCCAL with a 1-0 overtime win over Harbor. The win was the third of the week for the Cards and the third straight shutout for goalie Liz Baron, who stopped all nine shots on goal. Laura Shumate scored the only goal on a penalty kick four minutes into the first of two mandatory 10 minute overtimes.

Liz Baron was the Sentinel Athlete of the Week of February 7. The junior goalie had three shutouts: 2-0 against four time defending league champion Aptos, 0-0 against North Monterey and 1-0 in overtime against Harbor. Baron stopped a total of 32 shots on goal. Against Aptos she stopped 15 direct goals, with a total shot count of 35. “It was freaky,” an Aptos player said. “It was like there was a sheet of glass in front of the goal. We couldn’t get anything in. She did a great job.” It’s even more of an amazing feat when you take into account that this is Baron’s first year in high school soccer. Usually, she does theater in the spring, but decided to try soccer as I always loved it as a child. Baron only wound up at goalie, because SC didn’t have one. Coach Dempewolf, recalled the first day of practice when he told the team that last years goalie had graduated. “Liz came right up and said, Coach I’ll do it.”
Working with Jorge Sierra, who played at SC in 1985, when Dempewolf was the boy’s coach, Baron has developed from a raw rookie into an all league caliber goalie. “She’s great now. I don’t even deal with her that much any more,” Sierra said. “All I really knew was the goalie was in the box and you could use your hands,” Baron recalled of her first day on the job. “But Jorge is a perfectionist like I am. From day one he pushed me. H showed me what good goalies do and expected me to rise to the occasion, because he knew I could. Without him, I’d be lost. I’d probably still be back in the goalie box flailing my arms in the air, thinking I knew something.”

Feb. 7. Some people have no respect for their bodies. Like soccer goalies. Specifically Liz Baron. This girls is a the poster child of NO PAIN, NO GAIN. Earlier in the year, she suffered a concussion, when a girl kicked her in the head. “I guess she thought I had black and white checkers on my head,” Baron said. To improve her skills, Baron has the SC boys varsity team shoot at her. “They’re on a whole different level,” she said of the boys team which is 13-1-1 and tied for first place. “That’s how far you have to go,” Baron said of her masochistic drills, not to mention getting drilled by the ball. “I want to do the best job I can do and a lot of that involves learning through experience and getting hurt.” It’s paying off. After only one shut out in her first 12 games, she has shut out her last three opponents.

Feb. 8. SC 3, Watsonville 0. While the streaking Cards may be peaking too late in the season to qualify for post season play, the Cards may very well end up saying who does. SC notched its fourth straight shut out and takes a full head of steam into their next game against first place Soquel. Maureen Pacino scored two goals and Ruby Lipsenthal had two assists. SC has three wins and one tie in their last four games. Laura Shumate scored the third goal.

Feb. 10. For the first time in the five year history of girls soccer in the SCCAL, the league has a champion other than Aptos, with Soquel’s 1-0 victory over SC. The Soquel coach said, “ SC goalie Liz Baron was outstanding, making stops on his teams break away opportunities.

March 1. ALL SCCAL first team members were senior forwards, Laura Shumate and Maureen Pacino and junior goalie, Liz Baron. Honorable mention were Sara Johnson, Jeanine Yip and Kim Shirley. Repeat first team All SCCAL was Maureen Pacino.

JV GIRLS SOCCER A Rip Roaring Success. The JV’s won more games than the varsity and will be a big help to the varsity next year. They beat Soquel twice, SLV once and tied the next game. The team tied North Monterey twice. The girls had a lot of tie games.

Team members were Rebecca Sanchez, Vanessa Nobokov, Ellie LaRoque, Mercedes Bauer, Ann Shumate, Micaehal Broadbent, Colleen Cooney, Kara Vernor, Monica Escobedo, Krista Lombard, Erika Oliva, Justine Minnis and Julie Mitchell.
Coach Porter.

BOYS BASKETBALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
Practice games: Alisal 46-53, Mitty 49-63, Los Gatos Tournament: Armijo 53-55, Saratoga 51-27, ?. Carmel Tournament: first game lost, Branham 89-51, Salesian 66-61 for consolation title. San Rafael 68-59, Monterey loss. After losing to Monterey to make their preseason record 4-11, the Cards won six straight games and ten out of their next 11.
League: Aptos 73-60, 62-72; Watsonville 64-56, 68-63; Soquel 72-63, 69-56; Harbor 58-50, 77-56; SLV 67-56, won; North Monterey 73-57, 75-81. League record 10-2 for the SCCAL title in the regular season and 1-1 in the league playoffs for the SCCAL championship.
In the league semifinals Aptos beat SC 49-70 and went on to win the league playoffs. The Cards lost in the playoffs, but the league rules allow the round robin champion to win the league title by beating the tournament winner in a playoff game, which SC did by beating Aptos 61-53 in the special league playoff game. This made SC the undisputed league champion. At this point the Cards are 15-14.
At the CCS playoffs, the Cards won two and lost one to Jefferson. (no information on the teams they played) For final Season record 17-15 from Trident and Sentinel. Even thought the overall record was 17-15, the Cards were 13-4 after January 1, including the most important figure, 10-2 in the SCCAL.

Coach Pete Newell, who has coached the Cards since 1974 is taking a one year sabbatical in basketball after getting the Cards to the Northern California playoffs with a 27-8 record. Newell will continue his teaching assignment at SC. Tom Loden, who has four years of coaching in the Madison, Wisconsin area will be guiding the Cards this year. Loden coached the last two years at Edgewood College and at Lodi High for two years where he went 29-12. Only two key players return from last year. They are Jeremy Green, the 1988 junior of the year in the SCCAL, averaged 11.6 points a game and played solid defense last season. Patrick Jones a 6-7 junior will have to find time between his volleyball schedule to lead the Cards in the front court. They should provide the leadership the Cards will need with the new players. Coach Lowden hopes his team can repeat their league leading defense of allowing a mere 50.6 points a game.

Team members were Bert Rayer, David Kardon, Pat Jones, Bobby Hultzen, Ryan Reber, Shawn Forgaard, Danny Aldrich, Kenny Martinez, Bernie Escalante, Val Cubales, Mark Northcutt, Jeremy Green, Saul Martinez and Fernando Flores. Ball Boy Robert Rodoni. Head Coach Tom Lodens, Assistants Marty Sglav and Silviano Gaona.

In the Cards season opener in a loss to Mitty 49-63, Jones scored 14 points and Green 12. SC trailed 24-33 at halftime.

After trailing for most of the game Alisal took the lead 45-44 with two minutes left and held on to defeat SC, who is now 0-2. Danny Aldrich led the scoring with 12 points, while Jeremy Green and Patrick Jones both scored 10 points. SC held a 34-25 lead at halftime.

Cardinals Get First Win. SC shoots Down Saratoga From Long Range 51-27. In the first game of the Los Gatos Tournament. SC gunning down Saratoga’s zone defense with some good outside shooting and playing the type pressure defense its known for, SC broke the ice for the season. What helped was the four 3-point shots Jeremy Green made in the first half and the pressure defense that forced numerous turnovers in the second and third quarters. SC made seven 3-point shots in the game. Green led the team in scoring with 19 points. Senior guard Val Cubales came off the bench in the third quarter and scored 8 points as SC raced to a 42-21 lead by the end of the quarter. SC plays their next game for the consolation finals of the Los Gatos Tournament.

Armijo 55, SC 53 in overtime. Despite Jeremy Green’s 25 points, SC was beaten in overtime after leading Armijo for most of the game. Armijo came from a 46-39 deficit with three minutes to go forced overtime. Valentino Cubales scored 11 points in the second game of the Los Gatos tournament. SC is now 1-4.

At the Carmel tournament, SC beat Branham 89-51. Green had 23 points and seven assists, while Jones added 20 points and Ryan Reber 16. SC is now 3-8.

SC 66, Salesian 61. Jones had 25 points and 20 rebounds. Green scored 18 points as the Cards won the consolation title at the Carmel tournament. Green got into foul trouble in the first half and back up point guard Val Cubales and junior Fernando Flores stepped in and delivered solid performances, Coach Loden said. Green came back the second half and scored 14 points.

Santa Cruz 68, San Rafael 59. After starting the season by losing eight of its first nine games, including five by a combined nine points, the Cards have now won three in a row. Coach Tom Loden, “We’ve been playing well all along. It’s just that we had a tough schedule and some tough luck.” There was balanced scoring from Jeremy Green with 20 points, Bernie Escalante with 19 and Pat Jones with 15 and also 14 rebounds. SC broke out to a 17-8 lead, but San Rafael tied it 24-24. SC then ran off a 17-8 spurt to go ahead 35-28.

SCCAL Shocker. Santa Cruz Opens Title Defense With Upset Victory Over Aptos ignoring their losing record and convincingly upended Aptos 73-60. A team with a 10-3 record was playing a team with a 4-11 record. The safe bet was the team with the better record. But to borrow and twist a quote from the leader of the free world, “Logic is a stupid thing.” SC defending league champion, has been struggling this season after losing four of its top six players to graduation last Spring. From the opening tip, SC took a firm hold of the game and never let go.
SC streaked to a 24-14 lead by the end of the first quarter and refused to let up. It was still Aptos they were playing, a team which is comfortable as any team in an up-temp game. “The fast breaking, pressure defense is out game this year too. We prepared ourselves for four quarters of fast break basketball and that’s what we did,” said senior guard Jeremy Green, who led the Cards with 19 points. The Cards led 40-25 at halftime.
Coach Loden said, “We scouted Aptos and we know where they wanted the ball and we wanted to deny them where they wanted the ball.” Aptos never got within 10 points of SC in the second half. SC shot 25 of 54 for a 56 percent average. SC also won the rebounding battle 29-21 thanks to Patrick Jones game high 11.

Santa Cruz Rims Past Watsonville 64-56. Third Quarter Spurt Propels SC Past Cats. Watsonville played SC evenly the other three quarters. At half the score was tied 30-30. To start the second half, Bernie Escalante hit a couple of mid range jumpers, Jeremy Green had a three point goal and added a three point play and boom, it was 40-30. After a time out, SC finished off a 18-3 run to take a 48-33 lead. SC scored six straight points for a 54-45 lead with just under five minutes left in the game. Coach Loden said, “I thought we played well the third quarter, but other than that we didn’t play very well.”

Cards Upstage Soquel 72-63. Soquel charged to a 22-8 lead. SC started pressing full court to start the second quarter, which enabled the Cards to pick and nibble at the Knights lead. Soquel led 43-39, when their big center fouled out in the third quarter. Soquel held the lead 63-62 with 2:10 left in the game when lightening, in the form of Jeremy Green struck. Green laid in wait as Soquel brought the ball over half court line. Then it was time for the big steal. Green said, “I was looking for it all night, waiting for them to relax.” He slapped the ball loose, picked it up in stride and cruised in for an uncontested lay that gave SC a 64-63 lead that SC never relinquished. Green placed the offensive burden on himself in the second half. He scored 22 points in the second half to finish with a game and season high 30. Patrick Jones scored 15 points and led all rebounders with 18.

Cards Become SCCAL Leaders. Undefeated And Feeling Right At Home. The Cards treated Harbor with a steady dose of tough defense, which resulted in an astounding 32 turnovers and a 58-50 victory. SC is in sole possession of first place with a 4-0 record. Both teams combined made 33 first half turnovers. SC led 15-9 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, SC coughed up the ball eight times and shot 23 percent, 3 for 13. Harbor led 24-21 at half. SC exploded to start the third quarter. Green reeled off six of the eight Card points in the first 1:05 of the third period. After a Danny Aldrich jumper in the first five seconds of the period, Green who finished with a game high 28 points and five steals, lit up the board three times in the next minute to give SC a sudden five point lead 29-24. After finishing the quarter with an additional 16-9 run, the Cards enjoyed a 12 point 45-33 advantage. Discussing his 15 point third quarter surge, Green said, ”You can say when things are going bad, I want to take charge. Being a senior, I have to be the leader. I have to take responsibility.” Harbor cut the lead to 56-50 late in the game. SC hit 4 of 6 free throws down the stretch to ice the contest. Senior Aldrich had 12 points and four steals. Center Patrick Jones had 15 rebounds.

Santa Cruz Tops SLV To Remain Unbeaten. With a 67-56 win over SLV, the Cards rolled to their five consecutive SCCAL victory. SLV coach, “SC played a tough preseason schedule. Once they got into league they knew how to win. They have a couple of solid players who are leaders.” Despite shooting a mere 25 percent, 6 for 24 in the first quarter SC stayed close down only 13-18. Patrick Jones the second leading rebounded in the league, picked up his third foul with 11 second left in the first quarter. He sat out the second quarter and most of the third. SLV took advantage and with 2:37 left in the first half, led 31-21. That’s when the Cards new and improved intensity took charge. SC reeled off seven points to close the gap to 26-31. Green hit a three pointer and Bernie Escalante made a picture perfect fast break layup at the buzzer.
With the momentum on their side to open the second half, the Cards extended the 7-0 run to 15-1 run behind three quick third period baskets by Green and a jumper by Danny Aldrich to give SC a 36-32 lead. Bobby Hultzen, in his first game since December 22, filled in well for Jones grabbed five rebounds and scored seven points. “Bobby did a great job. He was key to our win,” said Coach Loden.

Cards Halfway To Championship. Santa Cruz 6-0 in first half of SCCAL by defeating North Monterey 73-57. The Cards used a hopped up team formula against their uninspired opponents. North Monterey’s top scorer with a 18 point per-game average was held to ten points by three Cards who took turns guarding him with the intent of wearing him out. They were Danny Aldrich, Fernando Flores and Val Cubales. SC took a 20-9 first quarter lead. After a second quarter offensive burst by North Monterey that closed the score to 22-19, the Cards went to a full court press and pulled away for good. Jeremy Green continued his assault on the SCCAL with steals, fast break layins, long range jumpers and baseline drives that drew many fouls. Green finished with 23 points. Patrick Jones led all rebounders with 14 and scored 17 points. SC out rebounded the Conders 33-27.

Cards Decked By Mariners. Aptos Hands SC First League Loss by the score of 72-62. SC was 6-0 coming into the game, compared with Aptos’ 4-3 record. With a dogged diamond and one defense on the SCCAL ‘s leading scorer, Jeremy Green and an unselfish offense the Mariners prevailed. It’s safe to say the offense sprang from the defensive effort. The diamond and one slowed Green and his 20 game average to 11 point and zero in the second half. Patrick Jones was also slowed and held to eight points. “Aptos played a very good game and we didn’t. They played up to their capabilities and we played no where near ours,” Coach Loden.
Despite the victory, Aptos’ first quarter showing was not a glimpse of things to come. SC blazed to a 26-19 first quarter lead. In the second quarter, the Mariners defense started paying dividends, when it outscored SC 17-7. SC was 3 for 15 from the field in the quarter, but were still in the game down only three to Aptos’ 36-33. SC tied the game at 38 in less than a minute into the second half, but Aptos surged and went on a 16-2 run. SC continued its cold shooting going 4 for19 in the third quarter as Aptos took a 58-43 lead. SC at 6-1 is still a game and a half ahead of Harbor and Aptos, who are 5-3. With Green and Jones slowed, Bernie Escalante picked up the offensive load with 29 points, including four, three pointers to lead all scorers. Ryan Reber led SC with eight rebounds. Aptos shot 50 percent to SC’s 38 percent on 25 for 66 shooting.

Cardinals Sitting Pretty, Despite ‘Ugly’ Victory in a 68-63 win over Watsonville. The game went down to the last minute before the game was decided. SC is now 7-1 in league. Green led all scores with 29 points. The fourth quarter featured 12 lead changes, the unofficial league season high. Every Wildcat score gave them the lead and every Card score gave them the lead. They might have been playing leapfrog instead of basketball.
Finally with 55 seconds left in the game, Watsonville was ahead 63-62, when Green broke free for a layup. Watsonville grabbed his shooting wrists and both players fell sprawling against the wall. A two shot free throw was awarded. Green was clutching his wrist and grimacing. But with the winning points just 15 feet away, the pain in Green’s wrist went away as he sank both shot to put SC up 64-63. On the ensuing possession Watsonville was called for charging. Immediately as Valentino Cubales received a pass, he was fouled. He calmly converted both to advance the score to the final score 66-63.

Cards Topple Soquel 69-56. With a 21-8 advantage in the first quarter, SC had only to remember the 22-8 advantage Soquel had on them in their first game, that anything can happen. But a balanced Card attack kept the Knights at a distance. “We had to fight all night in our first game against Soquel and were determined not to let that happen again,” Coach Loden, whose team survived Soquel’s third quarter spurt. The Cards are now 12-12 overall and 8-1 in league. “Throughout the season, we have relied on Green more than we should, to do the bulk of the scoring. Tonight, our scoring was well balanced.” Loden. Green scored 14 points, but taking over some of the scoring was junior forward Bernie Escalante, who poured in a team high 16 points to go along with eight rebounds. Escalante, coupled with fellow forward Ryan Reber’s seven first half points tossed in eight points in the first half to build a solid 37-16 edge at intermission. Junior center Patrick Jones at 6-7, out rebounded his Soquel counter part 12-8 and tossed in six points in the first half. The closes Soquel came to the Cards was 11 points in the third quarter.

Cards Halfway To Title. SC Locks Up First Place in Round-Robin Season. Cards defeat Harbor 77-56. Since the first day of practice, SC has had one goal in mind, the SCCAL title. They break all team huddles during games in unison with one word, “league”. Meaning, the league title.
With only two games to play, the Cards at 9-1 have cinched the round-robin championship. The ultimate SCCAL champion well be determined by a post-season playoff among all league teams. If the Cards were to lose in the playoffs, they can win the league title by beating the tournament winner in a playoff game.
This win puts the Cards over .500 for the first time this year with a 13-12 overall record. After a tough non league schedule, the Cards were 4-11 and not considered a contender in league. This was the first time this year all five starters scored in double figures.
Patrick Jones led all scorers with 20, plus he was also the top rebounded with 14. As the numbers indicate, Jones was the difference. Harbor had no one to match up with the 6-7 junior and Jones exploited the situation. He not only took control around the boards, he also hit the open jump shot from the 15-18 foot range. People have to come out and guard him and that allows the Cards to pick up more offensive rebounds. It’s the most consistent shooting Patrick has done all year. Ryan Reber turned in one of his best offensive showings of the season, scoring 16 points, mostly on short range bank shots and baseline jumpers. All the starters can score, but they also get plenty of support off the bench. Loden plays nine players comfortable without a drop off. He substitutes early and often. Whether it be Valentino Cubales, Fernando Flores, Bobby Hultzen or Shawn Forgaard, the SC bench strength is just that, a strength. They contribute first with aggressive defense and secondly with some scoring. The foursome’s adequate skills allow Loden to rest starters. If a player get winded, he sits. When the fourth quarter rolls around, the Cards legs are fresh, while their opponents begin to drag.

Condors Already Look Tournament Tough as they defeated SC 81-75 after losing their first game to SC 73-57. The win puts North Monterey in second place with a 8-4 league record to SC’s 10-2. Overall North Monterey is 16-11 and SC 14-13. The Condors are on a roll as they ended their season with wins over third place Aptos and first place SC. SC has a bye in the first round. Ferreira, North Monterey’s top scorer had 27 points and Green with career high 36 points, showcased their abundance of talent and had their season high scoring totals. All night, both looked for the ball, then to the hoop. Ferreira took control in the third quarter with 11 points to help forge a 63-56 North County lead. After spending most of the first three quarters at the free throw line, where he went 11 for 16, Green assumed the offensive burden in the fourth quarter scoring 16 points, which were not enough. Patrick Jones led all rebounders with 15 and scored 17 points.

Cardinals Are No. 1. SC Defeats Aptos For SCCAL Title. After losing to Aptos, who won the league playoffs by 21 points, 70-49, 16 hours before, SC came back to beat Aptos 61-53 in the SCCAL playoffs final game for the out right SCCAL championship.
“We talked about how good teams are able to push those bad experiences aside,” said Coach Loden. “The loss was our worst experience of the season by far.”
In the finals, SC used the experience of senior point guard Jeremy Green, who pushed all the right buttons in the second half to score 26 points and led the Cards to the title. Aptos co-coach Ray Tanimoto said, “When Green got his hands on the ball he hurt us.” Green, the SCCAL leading scorer, scored all of the Cards points in a game breaking 12-2 run, starting with a drive to the basket for a 46-37 Card lead at 1:24 of the third quarter and ending with a pair of free throws at 5:52 of the fourth quarter, to put SC in command 56-39.
It’s the second straight SCCAL championship for SC, which went 10-2 in league round robin games, splitting with Aptos, which went 7-5 for third place. SC is now 16-14 and Aptos 20-9, both are headed to the CCS Division III playoffs.
Although Green is the catalyst of the SC offense, coach Loden put a new wrinkle into the Card offense in a per-game workout at 3PM at Fehliman Gym. It gave Green more room to penetrate the lane and either get a high percentage shot, like a lay in or end up at the free throw line, where he went 12 for 15.
The Mariners, despite going scoreless for the final six minutes of the first quarter, pulled themselves all the way back into a 29-28 lead, only a minute into the second half. But that effort, combined possibly with the after effects of three big tournament wins Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, might of taken its toll. SC immediately went into two mini-sprees that added up to a 23-8 spread that made the difference in the game. First, junior center Patrick Jones scored eight points as the Cards went from a point down to five up, 42-37. Then after the teams swapped baskets, Green scored the final six points of the period and a quick basket to open the fourth, for 52-37.
Unlike Friday night, SC was able to get a 14-5 lead the first quarter and bring Aptos out of its diamond and one defense, which Aptos used to clog the middle and shadow Green with a quick player. With 2:40 to play in the quarter, Coach Loden had the Cards pull the ball out and continued that tactic by keeping the ball out in its half court offense until Aptos went man to man after a couple of minutes of the second quarter.
“They knew we had some tired legs,” said Tanimoto of his players having had to hustle to beat Watsonville in the first round of the tournament on Tuesday, then battling back to edge North Monterey on Thursday and give everything they had left Friday night in defeating SC. “They did the right thing,” said Tanimoto of SC forcing the man to man game.”

Additional write up by Joel Domhoff in the Trident. SC put on a clinic in every phase of the game. They were clearly the more aggressive team, forcing turnovers and getting numerous steals that were converted into easy points. SC jumped out to a 16-5 first quarter lead. Bernie Escalante was the spark, scoring seven points. Pat Jones added 14 points coming of picks and shooting wide open 15 foot jumpers. Jones was waiting inside for any Aptos player who penetrated as he blocked six shots and ignited a majority of the Card fast breaks by clearing the boards and out letting the ball quickly to Green. Escalante played the top Aptos player tight and held him down. The whole SC defense played well.

Cards Get Bye In CCS. SC Seeded seventh out of 25 teams in Division III. SC is scheduled to play the winner of the Lincoln, 5-18 vs. Woodside, 14-7 on Thursday at home.

From the Trident. On Saturday February 25 in a CCS playoff game, SC played Jefferson, the defending Division III champions. Since Jefferson is highly rated, SC knew they would have to play an almost flawless game to come away with the win. For a while, they did just that. The first half was a see-saw battle that ended with Jefferson leading 27-25. SC was pleased to be down by two points, considering their competition. It was looking good for SC in the third quarter until Jefferson got its offense going and jumped to a 11 point lead. SC then was forced to play catch up. The closes they could get was eight points. The leading scorers were Jeremy Green with 21 points and Patrick Jones with 16. First year coach Tom Loden summed it up best when he said, “Our goal from the first day of practice on November first was to win the league championship and that’s exactly what the Cardinals did, finishing the league season 10-2.

At the end of preseason, new coach Tom Loden, who is filling in for Pete Newell who is out on sabbatical for this year, the Cards lost more games then they won. Many felt the Cards would not even come close to a SCCAL championship, as they did last year under the watchful eye of long time coach Pete Newell. Worry? Not Yet! After three weeks of the league season, the team had a 6-0 record and were at the top of the league. This years team was led by senior guard Jeremy Green, junior Pat Jones, Ryan Reber and Bernie Escalante. SC is known to be a weak preseason team, but as soon as league starts, you can bet that they have their guns loaded and springs on the buggy. Let us not forget that those close games would not have been won if it wasn’t for the cheering coming from the end of the bench…The Gumby’s,

On February 14 after 27 games, Jeremy Green led the league in scoring with 537 points for a 19.9 average. Pat Jones had 331 points for a 12.3 average. Bernie Escalante had 245 points for a 9.1 average. Pat Jones led the league in rebounding with 316 for a 11.8 average. Ryan Reber had 195 rebounds for a 7.2 average. SC as a team was third in the league in scoring with 1694 for a 62.7 average. And they were third on defense as well, allowing 1598 points for a 59.2 average.

Three starters will be back next year. Pat Jones, first team All County, Bernie Escalante third team All County and forward Ryan Reber. In addition, Newell said, “We’ve got six or seven players off an outstanding JV team coming up as well as several players off the varsity, who did not get a lot of playing time this year. We’ll probably be a typical SC team, quick with depth.”

April 20. Green Chooses Iona a Catholic college, just outside of New York City of 6,000 students and a member of the Metro Atlantic Conference. Iona last went to the NCAA tournament in 1984 and 1985. According to Green they play the same up tempo style as the Cards. Green just signed a national letter of intent. Green said, “This summer I am going to try to play with guys who are a lot better than me, at open gyms at Cabrillo and Stanford. I need to play against college completion.”

Sentinel ALL COUNTY team. Standing Guard. Card’s Speciality: Delivery. Card Guard Deliver When Needed. Jeremy Green was honored with the Player of the Year award and Coach Tom Loden was named Coach of the Year. Junior 6-7 center Pat Jones was named to the first team along with Green.
“When we got to tough games and needed a basket, or a key defensive play, Jeremy came through for us many times,” said coach Loden. In the league tournament finals against Aptos, Green took apart Aptos in the second half, to lead the Cards to the championship. “They had their box and one defense (designed to stop Green) “and it was psyching us out. But we got them into a man to man and then I knew I could take the ball and score or dish off,” said Green. Green won the league scoring title with a 19.7 average, According to his coach, Pat Jones was the best defensive player he saw all season. Bernie Escalante was honorable mention.

Jeremy Green was the SCCAL Most Valuable Player and Pat Jones was named to the SCCAL first team. Green led the league in scoring with 629 points for a 19.7 per game average and had a top game with 36 points scored. For the league season Green also led the scoring with a 22.8 average. Jones led the league in rebounding with 381 for an average of 11.9 per game. His high game was 26 rebounds. Danny Aldrich was honorable mention. SC coach Tom Loden was elected Coach of the Year. Pete Newell took a one year sabbatical this year and did not coach the team.

JV BASKETBALL
The Cards won the preseason Soquel JV tournament and are primed to win the league. With Von Barnes bringing the ball up court, you have a threat of him dishing the ball off or penetrating the inside and causing a commotion underneath. When not penetrating Von will dish off to forward Norman Hutchings, who can usually bust in from the outside or work the ball inside to the main shot blocker of the team, Django Sussman.

No list of team members.

FRESHMAN BASKETBALL
Team members were Jamie Carr, Jake McCormick, Nate Bell, Blake VanDeveer, Zack McCormick, Jason Williams, Ryan Coonerty, Josh Dunton, Ryan Mills, Ben Branch, Augi Guardino and Martin Gaona. Head coach Silviano Gaona and assistant Stuart Kumaishi.

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Practice games: Gilroy 32-45, Hollister 56-21, Lynbrook 50-57. Pacific Grove Tournament; Mercy of Burlingame 38-25, Monterey 60-61, Seaside 54-50 in double overtime for third place. A win is missing. Practice record 5-3. League: Soquel 37-18, 46-43; Watsonville 57-37, 34-31; Harbor 53-55, 34-39; SLV 48-36, 39-27; North Monterey 29-67, 43-57; Aptos 60-24, 73-38. League record 8-4 for third place in league. only a game and a half behind league co-champions North Monterey and Harbor both 11-1. SCCAL championship playoffs: beat Watsonville 60-35 and lost to North Monterey 35-65 in semi-finals. In CCS Division III, unseeded SC lost to fifth seeded Aragon. Many of the players will be returning next year. Overall record 14-9.

All information from the Sentinel unless labeled.
In her second season as coach, Kathy Wilson Pappas feels her program is headed upward . There has been a lot of improvement in every way, said Wilson Pappas, whose Cards were 8-4 in league and 14-11 overall last season. “The players are getting use to my system. Our starting point guard, Stacy Wilhelmsen is much further along than last year.” There are four returning starters led by the Monique James, who was a Sentinel ALL COUNTY first team center and averaged 11.4 points a game (tied for fourth in league and 10.7 rebounds (third) in the league will be controlling the middle for SC. Another top scoring threat is senior guard/forward Celia Homesley, who is hoping to improve her 7.2 scoring average from outside. Celia and Auddrena Mauga a senior forward are out best outside shooters,” said Wilson-Pappas, who will once again deploy senior point guard Stacey Wilhelmsen, who can almost always find Marshal inside to score some serious points or she can dish off to Homesley or Mauga on the wings as they can hit from the outside.

Nov. 30. Gilroy rod a third quarter surge to a 45-32 victory over SC. Gilroy led a halftime 13-12 outscore SC 16-8 in the third quarter to take control of the game. SC which is now 1-1 was led by Monique James with 15 points and Celia Homesley with ten.

Dec. 16. Big Win For ‘Small’ Cards. Monique James scored 16 points and had eight steals as SC defeated Mercy of Burlingame 38-25 at the Pacific Grove Girls Invitational Tournament. On defense the 5-10 James held the 6-1 Mercy center to four points. SC’s 5-8 freshman Heather Singer held Mercy’s 6 footer to four points. “It was a good team effort. They all played so well,” said Coach Wilson-Pappas. She also noted the rebounding work of Celia Homesley, seven rebounds and the defense of Stacey Wilhelmsen as the best defensive game she’s ever played.” The game was tied 8-8 at the end of the first quarter, but SC took a 16-8 lead at halftime by holding Mercy scoreless in the second quarter. SC is now 3-1.

Dec. 18. SC 54, Seaside 50 in double overtime in the third place game of the Pacific Grove tournament. SC made only 14 of 31 free throws, but was 9 of 11 in the two three minute overtimes.
\
The previous night SC lost to Monterey 61-60 in the semifinals. With 20 seconds left in the game,
Monterey hit the winning basket. Monique James scored 20 points. SC is now 4-2.

Monique James was the Sentinel Athlete of the Week of December 20. The senior in three games at the Pacific Grove Tournament scored 58 points, a 19.3 average; grabbed 32 rebounds a 10.7 average and had 16 steals for a 5.3 average as the Cards finished third. “She has put everything together this year. She played hard last year, went to camps this summer and decided that this would be her year,” said coach Wilson-Pappas. In the first game of the tournament, James held the opposing 6-1 center to four points and in the third game, she held the other center to eight points under her 20 point average. “Her all around play has really improved. She’s more confident. She

Dec. 21. Lynbrook’s center pumped in 28 points and Monique Jones countered with 25 of her own, but SC fell to 4-3 for the season. Lynbrook 4-0, led 36-26 at the half. Celia Homesley scored ten points.

Jan. 4. SC 80, Pacific Grove 28. The SC offense was hitting on all cylinders on its way to a season high output. “We weren’t pressing or anything, We just made some baskets,” Coach Wilson-Pappas. Monique James led all scorers with 28 points followed by Celia Homesley with 16, Meghan Kinney and Auddrena Mauga each with 15, all of the last three with their top production of the season.

Jan. 6. SC 37, Soquel 18. The Cards held Soquel to two points in each of the first two quarters of the game to lead 16-4 at halftime. In the league opener.

Jan. 8. SC 60, Aptos 24. SC could have scored a lot more points, but played the bench much of the game. Monique James scored 17 point and next was Meghan Kinney with ten.

Jan 11. SC 57, Watsonville 37. “For us it was probably our worst defensive game we’ve ever played, said coach Wilson Pappas. After several cancellations of games late in the preseason, the team hasn’t had the opportunity to work out the kinks. Monique James continued to led the Cards scoring 17 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. Celia Homesley had 12 rebounds and Meghan Kinney scored 12 to help the Card attack.

Jan. 13. Cards Ease Past Soquel 50-33. The game was over before the first half ended, as the Cards led 18-4 after one period. Monique James, the leagues leading scorer, tossed in 12 first quarter points. She finished with a game high 15, as the Cards connected on 50 percent of their shots going 7 for 14 from the field the opening quarter. The Card defense stymied the Soquel offense to the tune of 10 first half turnovers, enabling SC to take a commanding 27-10 halftime lead. Although she didn’t score a single point in the first half, point guard Stacey Wilhelmsen controlled the court, dishing out seven first half assist, most of which fell into the hands of James and Wendy Vajretti with 12 points in the paint. “Stacey had a really great game,” said coach Wilson-Pappas. “Her vision is so much better this year than last year. Monique played well inside, but if Stacey didn’t get her the ball, it doesn’t matter what she does inside.”

Jan. 15. James Better, But Bucs Win 55-53. In a clash of the city’s top high school girl’s forwards, SC’s Monique James may have gotten the better of Harbors Jenkins, but Jenkins got the best of SC. Harbor Coach Nick Adams said after James scored 30 point, “she is a great player. Not only that, she’s having a great year. She’s so strong; we just try and slow her down and tonight guard Stacey Wilhelmsen did a good job of getting her the ball inside Anytime we play SC, we have to try and figure out a way to keep her under wraps.” Celia Homesley got 10 points.
SC dropped to 3-1 in league and 7-4 overall. After James’ three point play gave SC a 36-31 lead with four minutes to play in the third quarter, the Pirates got within two points, 34-36. SC led 42-39 at the end of the third quarter. It was 49-49 with 3:25 to play, then James scored with 2:54 to play to make it SC 51-49. With two minutes left SC committed a crucial turnover. Meghan
Croghan who doggedly guarded Jenkins all night was picked off on a screen and Jenkins scored on a back door layup to put Harbor up by two points. Addrena Mauga scored three straight baskets to ignite the Cards to a 14-1 blitz en-route to their best lead of the game 23-16. Harbor then counter punched with a 11-4 run to knot the score at halftime 27-27.

Jan 18. SLV plays Well, But Cards Win 48-36. “It was such an emotional and intense game against Harbor and maybe we hadn’t fully recovered,” Coach Kathy Wilson Pappas said. SC owned a 25-12 halftime lead. But SLV out scored the Cards 16-10 in the third quarter. “We pressed them to get the lead back in the fourth quarter,” said Wilson Pappas. Monique James, the leagues leading scorer had 15 points and 11 rebounds, both game highs. Kelli Mullen and Heather Singer pulled down eight rebounds. SC is 4-1 in league, tied with Soquel and one game behind North Monterey.

Unbeaten Condors Roll Past Cards 67-29. North Monterey, at least on paper, was figured to win the SCCAL. Well they finished the first half of league play 6-0. They did not take the second place Cardinals for granted. SC fell to 4-2 in league and 8-5 overall.

Jan 29. Frosh The Center Of Attention In SC win over Aptos 73-38. Freshmen aren’t often the center of attention in varsity games, but Heather Singer, the Cards center, scored 19 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, blocked a few shots, tied up the ball on defense, causing several jump ball situations. “This was her best game. It’s was her highest rebounding and scoring game. Sometimes I expect more things from her, but I forget she is just a freshman. I depend on her pretty much for a freshman. She did a lot of good things tonight, ” said Wilson Pappas. Singer averages six rebounds a game as an occasional starter and averages 3.5 points. Monique James also had a good game, despite limited playing time. James scored 19 points. Pappas also credited point guard Wendy Marcenaro, for leading the Card offense and Celia Homesley, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds. SC stays in third place with a 5-2 league record and 9-5 overall.

Feb. 1. James, Homesley Lift Cards Past Cats 34-31. James scored 14 points and Homesley had 12. SC is 6-2 in league and 10-5 overall.

Feb. 3. SC 46, Soquel 43. Knight Mission Was Impossible. Soquel accomplished one mission, stopping Monique James from sinking too many field goals. But it failed at shutting James out at the foul line, as she hit 10 of 14 foul shots, including two in the final minute, to give SC a 46-43 victory. SC playing without Celia Homesley, who was ill, led much of the second half by three to five points, but Soquel tied the game 42-42 with 1:30 left. Auddrena Mauga sank two foul shots and James sank two more to ice the victory.

Feb. 5. Harbor Defense Leads The Way. Pirates Rally In Second Half To Beat Cards 39-34 in a key SCCAL game. SC led by five points at halftime, but Harbor came out the second half and scored seven unanswered points to take the lead. The leagues leading scorer, center Monique James scored ten points in the game, instead of her 19 point average, was held to only three points in the second half. Harbor dropped their whole team on her whenever the ball got into her hands. James was still able to rebound, getting 17 and Celia Homesley and Heather Singer each tallied 12.
SC is 11-6 overall and 7-3 in league.

Feb. 8. SC 39, SLV 27. It wasn’t until the final two minutes that SC could feel completely comfortable as SLV was within 31-27 with two minutes left. But three quick transition baskets pushed SC toward their 39-27 victory, which clinched third place in the SCCAL and the number three spot in next weeks league tournament. SLV hustled to hold Monique James, the league leading scorer to four field goals, as she scored 13 points. Auddrena Mauga was a constant spark and finished with 10 points.

Feb. 12. In the league finale North Monterey defeated SC 57-43 to earn a share of the SCCAL title with Harbor at 11-1 records. Two weeks ago SC lost to the Condors 67-29. The Condors playing a tough 2-3 zone forced 17 Card turnovers in the first half. North Monterey went out to a 18-4 lead in the first quarter, continue with a 33-12 lead at halftime and maintained a 20 plus point edge until the Cards went on a game ending 18-4 run to close the final gap. Running on all cylinders, the Cards got eight straight points during their run from their top scorer, James who finished with 20 points.

Feb. 15. SC 60, Watsonville 35 in the first round of the SCCAL championship playoffs. SC flew to a one sided victory, which was a switch from the last meeting between the two teams, when SC hung on for a 34-31 win. There was no repeat Monday as the Cards sprinted out to a early 14-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. SC led 33-16 at the half and never looked back. SC is now 14-7 on the season. SC was led by Stacey Wilhelmsen and Monique James with 13 and 11 points respectively. SC cleared its bench as 14 players got into the game and 11 scored.

Feb. 17. Condors Awake Sprint By Cards 56-35 in the semi-finals of the tournament. Following a steal and coast-to-coast layup by Monique James that drew the Cards to within 26-20 with 5:27 remaining in the third quarter, North Monterey took control. SC 14-8 was led by Celia Homesley with 14 points and James with 13.

Feb. 19. Unseeded SC will play number five seeded Aragon 19-10 in the first round of the CCS Division III tournament.

Other team members were Megan Kinney, Wendy Marcenaro, Mary Croghan, Val Kingdom, Heather Singer, Kellie Mullen and Wendi Vajretti. Head coach Cathy Wilson-Pappas and assistant brother John Wilson.

After twenty games James is leading the SCCAL in scoring and rebounding. She is averaging 17.9 points a game with a high scoring game of 30. In rebounding her average is 12.5 with a high of 18. Homesley is eighth in scoring with an average of 10.2 and a high of 16. She was eleventh in rebounding with an average of 7.7 and a high of 17. Mauga was fourteenth in scoring with and average of 7.5 and a high of 17. Heather Singer was eighteenth in rebounding with an average of 6.0 and a high of 13. After 20 games, SC as a team was third in scoring with a 49.4 average per game and a high of 80. On defense SC was fifth with a 38.9 average.

March 7 Sentinel scoring and rebounding stats listed by place in order, name, games played, total points, high game and average per game.
PA NAME GP TP HI AV
1 James 23 401 30 17.4
8 Homesley 22 225 16 10.2
17 Mauga 21 138 15 6.6
3 SC team 23 1124 80 48.9
Team Defense
5 SC 23 924 6 40.2

Rebounding by place, name, games played, rebounds, high game, average.
PL NAME GP R HI AV
1 James 23 276 18 12.0
11 Homesley 22 174 17 7.9
19 Singer 22 124 13 5.6

Monique James was selected first team center on the Sentinel All County team. She averaged 11.4 points a game, tied for fourth in the league and averaged 10.7 rebounds for third place.
(according to the next years Sentinel there were three All County Cardinals.)

ALL SCCAL. Senior center at 5-10, Monique James was also selected to the first team ALL SCCAL team. Celia Homesley a 5-9 senior was selected for the second team. Freshman Heather Singer was honorable mention. James lead the league in scoring and rebounding. Auddrena Mauga was honorable mention.

JV GIRLS BASKETBALL
Team members were Maggie Marini, Debbie Rayer, Megan Freitas, Vanessa Dunn, Susie Kingdom, Dana Sherwood, Keela Pierce, Kellie Dunn, Leslie Laurent, Erin Chandley, Josie Heywood, Lilly Sabin, Lamonica Bell, Melanie Arnott and Lyn Beach.
Coach John Wilson.

WRESTLING LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
Trident March. Cardinal Wrestlers Have Best Season In Seven Years. Under the coaching of John Corona and Chris Lovato, SC won the league title for the first time in seven years. They went undefeated in league dual meets and took second in the league tournament. This put Watsonville and SC in a tie, but SC beat them head to head during the season, which made SC the SCCAL champions.

List of starting team members:
Issa Brandt at 98 pounds had a great season
Robbie Perry at 105 had a good start, but an injury cut his season short
Ian Allison at 119 had his best season. Ian took first at the league tournament, placed fifth at CCS and advanced to the State Tournament.
David Royal and Josh Riggins battled for the 126 pound position. Josh had a great season, but it was David who wrestled at the league tournament and took second place and advancing to CCS.
Thomas Ronzano at 132 placed first for the third consecutive year. He placed fourth at CCS, losing his first two matches of the year. Thomas advanced to State and beat the top seeded wrestler in the semifinals to advance to the finals, but lost 3-10.
Chris Hillyard at 138 took second at league and advanced to CCS where he ended his best season.
Mike Hecht at 145 had his best season.
Seth Hiromura took third at the league tournament and went to CCS.
Jeff Thuringer at 165 did not finish the season due to ineligibility.

In the upper weights”
Nick Hawley at 175, but broke his hand and couldn’t wrestle in the league meet.
Derek Eselious at 191 took first at league and went to CCS
Joe Craw took first at league and advanced to CCS

At the SCCAL championship tournament.
Heading For Victory Sweating It Out. Final Two Matches Give Santa Cruz Just What It Needs. The Cards cinch the overall league title. Coach John Corona, “I’ve been sweating all year. It’s not over until its over. And its over.” Needing at least a second place finish in the league tournament to win the overall SCCAL championship, the Cards needed wins from their 191 pound Derek Eselius and heavyweight Joe Craw. They did it. Eselius won by pin with 19 seconds left in the first period. Craw won in a 4-3 decision. “Joe and Derek have been pulling through for us all year in the same situation. It was a tremendous team effort by the team,” said Coach Corona. SC second place tournament finish, combined with its first place finish in the dual meet season, gave it the overall championship. Technically, under the SCCAL point system, the Cards and tournament winner Watsonville tied for the championship. But since SC beat Watsonville in its dual match, the Cards claimed the title by virtue of the tie-breaker of head to head competition.
In the 126 pound match, David Royal lost by decision. Ronzano, now 28-0 added his twenty-four win in the 132 division.

SC Wrestler Grabs Second At State Meet. Ronzano One Short Of 132 Pound Title.
Senior Tom Ronzano made it all the way to the finals in the 132 pound division of the California High School wrestling championships at UOP. Taking second at the state meet, Ronzano went higher then any SC wrestler since the state meet started in 1973. Coach John Corona, himself a former SC wrestler said, “Ronzano was fired up going into the finals, after having won all three of his early round matches. One being a 57 second pin.” Ronzano lost the match for top honors 3-10. Coach Corona said, “ Tom was tired from having to run off five pounds the night before the meet to get his weigh in line with his division. “But he paid the price. He was pretty exhausted,” said Coach Corona. Ronzano won all three of his early round matches Friday, including a 57 second pin and a 1:46 pin and the won 5-4 in the quarterfinals. Craig Deane and Mark DiGirolamo both won the Northern California titles in the early seventies, before the State meet was held.

At the Three Way SCCAL event at Gonzales, where each team wrestled against three other schools, SC had a successful afternoon. SC beat North Monterey 39-18 and Gonzales 40-28. Some teams were late to weigh in and were disqualified. This is why SC had only two matches. At 119 pounds, senior Ian Allison pinned both his opponents in the first period to up his record to 17-3. Coach Corona was especially proud of his 175 pound Nick Hawley, who won pinning his Gonzales opponent despite breaking a bone in his hand earlier in the day and didn‘t want to let his teammates down. Hawley was slammed to the mat in an unofficial match against a disqualified wrestler. SC had a successful day wrapping up the dual meet league championship and improving its league record to 6-0-1.

At the tenth annual Coast Classic at Cabrillo College with more than 400 wrestlers from 36 schools competing for two days, SC’s Tom Ronzano won a 8-5 decision to win the 132 pound division. SC was fifteenth with 63 points just behind Soquel. Hoover from Fresno won with 152 points.

Dec. 4. Cards Pin Opponents to win Aptos takedown Tournament with 234 points. Six SC wrestlers won their weight divisions. SC winners were senior Ian Allison at 119; junior Josh Riggins, 126; senior Tom Ronzano, 132; senior Seth Hiromura, 154; junior Nick Hawley, 191 and junior Joe Craw heavyweight. Ronzano pinned two of his three opponents at the 15 second mark of the first period, winning the Tournaments fastest fall award for the third year in a row. He also pinned his other opponent.

Tom Ronzano was the Sentinel Athlete of the Week of December 6. Ronzano pinned two of his three opponents at the 15 second mark of the first period, winning the Aptos Takedown Tournaments fastest fall award for the third year in a row. He also pinned his other opponent. “He is a well balance wrestler. He has the strength to complement his speed,” said Coach Corona. In his four years in the Aptos tournament, Ronzano has a 11-1 record. Each win was by pin in the first round. He was 9-0 and un-scored upon the past three years. Ronzano is defending SCCAL champion at 132 pounds. He participated in the State Tournament last year.

Dec. 11. SC Fares Well In Tournament. SC place second at the Alisal tournament, finishing only two and a half points behind champion Monterey. Tom Ronano was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler for the second year in a row. He breezed to the 132 division championship with four pins in four matches. Joe Craw won the championship of the heavyweight division pinning each of his three opponents. Ian Allison picked up second place. Derek Eselius finished third and Seth Hiromura was fourth.

Jan. 12 Key Win For Santa Cruz Against Soquel. In the SCCAL season opener, two time defending SCCAL champion SC won 39-27. Heavyweight, first year Joe Craw saved the Cards with a pin win. “That could be the turning point in our season,” said Coach Corona of the key pin, which came with the match tied at 2-2. “We know can count on Joe to come through for us at the end.” Another key victory was at 105 pounds, where SC freshman Robbie Parry surprised his opponent with a first round pin. SC got a big boost from Tom Ronzano, who moved up two weight classes to decision his 145 pound opponent 10-4.

There were only six seniors who were Ian Allison at 119, Tome Ronzano at 132, Chris Hillyard at 138, Mike Hecht at 145, Seth Hiromura at 154 and Aaron Wainscoat at 154 for the JV’s. Next years team should also do well. Returning wrestlers are Issa Brandt, Robbie Perry, David Royal, Josh Riggins, Jeff Thuringer, Nick Hawley, Derek Eselious and Joe Craw. JV players that will be vying for varsity spots are Steve Marangi, Erik Medina, Darby Hillyard and Ben Jay.

TRACK GIRLS WIN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP.
BOYS WIN CCS REGION IV FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR and placed third at the league meet.

Sentinel June 22. Excellence On The Rise In SCCAL Track. If One of the barometers of excellence in high school track and field is qualifying for the state meet, then 1989 was a vintage year for the SCCAL. The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) meet, which brings together the finest athletes from a state of 28 million people and blessed with fine weather is considered by many experts to be the toughest state meet in the country. This spring, no less than eight SCCAL athletes went to the state meet, one of them in two events. Among local high school runners it was not that many years ago that qualifying for Region IV meet was a big deal, while going to the CCS section meet was a very big deal. The state meet was so elevated that it could be characterized as beyond comprehension. No longer is this true. Not at all.
The mental realization that real people from Santa Cruz county can make it to the state meet is spreading throughout the league. These athletes did not reach this pinnacle alone. Behind every one was a supportive, knowledgeable coach who was an integral part of a positive mental and training experience that is fundamental to improvement. The mental horizons of the coaches expanded right along with those of the athletes. Eight to the State! In a nutshell, that displays the quality of current coaching in the SCCAL. Lets look at one other element in all this: A state-of-art, all weather track now exists at Soquel high, thanks to the Wharf-to-Warf Race to help build the track.
The writer of the article in the Sentinel, Benjamin Sawyer and Coach Marty Kruger created their version of an honor role–Or Dream Team– for 1989. Girls are listed first, event by event, with top performances in parenthesis. In cases where choices were difficult, they added “Honorable Mentions.”
Girls: with just SC participants included
100 meters: Honorable mention: Mercedes Blair (12.6)
200 meters: Gwen Vilches (26.0)
100 meter low Hurdles: Maria Shanle (15.7)
300 meter low hurdles: Beth Burns tied with two other runners at (48.6)
1,600 meter relay: Santa Cruz in a school record (4:07.5)
Long jump: Mercedes Blair (17-7)
Boys
100 and 200 meters. Because of the amount of doubling and the evenness of the top sprinters, the two sprints are combined. A most difficult pick, so we go with a tie between Mike Jones, (10.9, 22.2), Matt Henry, (10.9, 22.1) and Watsonville White (11.1, 22.2)
400 meters: Mike Jones (a school record (49.2) Honorable mention: Fred Gustafson (49.9)
400 meter relay: “Speed City” SC team of Gustafson, Paul Pinkham, Henry and Jones set a school record of 42.72 and went to state.
1,600 meter relay: SC team of Pinkham, Victor Lang, Gustafson and Henry with another school record of 3:25.5
Long jump: Mike Jones (23-2) and went to state, where a Tulare jumper set a new interscholastic record of 26-4.
High Jump: Jones (6-6)
Mike Jones was tops in four individual events and was a member of the 400 relay team going to state. He also went to state in the high jump.

June 4.At The State Meet, Jones Sets Record In Long Jump. Mike Jones soared 23-1 in the long jump for a school record, but finished twelfth in the preliminary round and only the top nine move on to the finals. The winner of the event set a national scholastic record of 26-5. A dropped baton spoiled the efforts of the 400 relay team of Jones, Matt Henry, Paul Pinkham and Fred Gustofson.

May 26. Jones Wins Long Jump At CCS. Jones qualified for the finals of the long jump on his last attempt of the trials. Then waited to his last attempt in the finals to win the event with a school record leap of 22-9, to qualify for the State meet. The 400 relay teams time was a school record of 42.72,which was good for third place and qualified the team for the State meet at Cerritos College in LA. Swedish exchange student Fredrick Gustafson ran the first leg followed by Paul Pinkham, Matt Henry and Jones. “Some of the others started to pull away with about 50 meters to go and I couldn’t surge,” said Jones, who competed in four events. Jones took a sixth in the 400 in 50.05. Henry was sixth in the 200 in 22.70. Gustafson was seventh in the 400 in 50.29.

For the girls in CCS, the 1,600 relay took sixth in 4:08.49. Mercedes Blair, who won the long jump at the Region IV meet with a jump of 17-1, injured herself at the CCS meet. She caught a spike awkwardly on the runway during her approach and suffered an Achilles tendon injury.

May 26. Visions Danced In Jones’ Head. SC Junior Had a Dream That He Would Win the Long Jump at the CCS meet. With but one jump to go in the competition and with only the top three finishers qualifying for the state meet, he skied for his winning jump, finishing one inch in front of the second place finisher. “It was a shock to win. I wasn’t expecting it. It pumped me up,” Jones said. Moments later Jones helped his teammates in the 400 relay make State with a third place in 42.72. After all the excitement of the long jump and the relay, Jones finished out of the top three in the high jump and 400 meters. In the high jump he had to rush over to the pit after the relay and missed all three attempts at 6-6. Then, after trying to fight through a stiff breeze on the first curve in the 400 meters, he never really got on track, finishing sixth in 50.05. “There was no wind in my dream,” Jones said smiling. “I was really tired. This day’s finished finally.” Jones a personable, articulate young man, is close to his family. He had a stuffed Winnie the Pooh bear that stood guard over his equipment bag, he had as a baby to remind him of his family, who couldn’t be there. Do you have any more dreams for this season. “The state meet will be a good experience, but I want to go to Disneyland. I’ve never been there before.”

May 25. Busy Day On Tap For Cardinals Jones. It’s going to be a long day for Mike Jones. Jones a junior, is scheduled to compete in four events at the CCS Championships at San Jose City College. “It shouldn’t be as bad as it sound,” said assistant coach Bill Johnson, who coaches Jones in the 400 meter and the high jump. There is only one jumping pit available and the field events are scheduled to begin at 1p.m. with the boys long jump. Jones who set the SC school record last Saturday at the CCS Region IV meet to win the long jump in 22-8. Next up will be the high jump at 5 p.m., followed by the 400 relay at 6:30 p.m. and the 400 at 7:30 p.m. “I think he still has plenty of room for improvement, too,” said Johnson.
Other SC participants with their event and best time: the boys 400 relay team in 43.29. Girls long jump, Mercedes Blair at 17-1. Boys 1,600 relay in 4:07.5

May 23. Pre CCS championship write up for girls going to the meet. Workhorse, Mercedes Blair was the league leader in the 100, long jump and high jump, as well as earning top ten times in the 200 and 100 low hurdles. Blair’s performance at the Region IV meet in the 100 and long jump, qualified her for the CCS Championships in both events.

Boys Track Team Repeats As Region IV Champions for the second consecutive time. The whole meet seemed to center around Mike Jones. It all started on Soquel’s long jump runway. Mike began the winning trend for the Cards, leaping to a new school record, which was nearly two feet farther than anyone else at the Region meet. It was obvious that Mike was ready for a brilliant day. He continued his day by running the anchor leg on the 4 by 100 relay team of Fred Gustafson, Paul Pinkham and Matt Henry for another first place. All of these runners are ranked in the top five in the county. Watsonville had edged out the Cards at the league meet making them SCCAL champions. It was now time for SC to show why they were undefeated in the relay. The only time the race was close was before the gun sounded. Fred showed his quick start and put SC the lead. Paul and Matt increased the lead. When Mike received the baton the race was over. Mike blazed his way through the finish. Everything was looking good for SC boys. To balance out Mike Jones’ wins, it took Paul Pinkham and Matt Henry’s placing in the top four finishers in the 100 yard dash to send the team to the CCS finals and score some significant points.
Matt still had one more individual event before the mile relay. Matt finished in high position in the 200 meter dash. At this point Mike Jones had completed his third win in the high jump. Again without any competition. The repeat championship came closer as Mike won the 440, while breaking the school record and Fred Gustafson took second. The mile relay team composed of Paul Pinkham, Victor Land a sophomore, Fred Gustafson running his second 440 of the day and anchor Matt Henry. Armed with some of the fastest 440 runners in the county the team was ready. Matt Henry ran his best performance of the year to clinch the victory and complete SC quest for a REPEAT championship.

Sentinel. May 21. Santa Cruz Wins Region Again. Cardinals Jones First In Four Events. Mike Jones, who tossed and turned all night with the flu, couldn’t have done better as he set or tied three school records in winning the 400 meters, long jump and high jump and anchored the 400 meter relay team to victory in the first running event of the day. SC edged out Watsonville 68-64. Hollister was third with 57.
Watsonville had beaten SC in the 400 relay in their dual meet and the SCCAL meet, so when Jones broke the tape .23 seconds in front of Watsonville for a victory in 43.29, the Cards had something to cheer about. First, Jones won the long jump in 22-8. Then in the 400, He took the lead on the first turn and cruised to the win in 49.2 for his second individual school record. Finally, in the high jump, he tied his own SC record with a jump of 6-6 to win the event with the fewest misses.
With the top four finishers in each event qualifying for CCS, Jones is planning on a full day. “I have so many chances of winning, I don’t want to drop any of them, he said after winning four events in one meet for the first time since junior high.
In the 100, Matt Henry finished with a time of 11.1with two other runners, but lost out on first place by a hair. Again in the 200 Henry lost out on first place, this time, by one tenth of a second.
The team championship went down to the final event, the 1,600 relay, with SC needing to finish fourth or better to slip past Watsonville into the lead. SC won the first heat in 3:27.5 after a anchor leg of 50.3 by Henry, they had to wait through the second and faster heat to see if the time would hold up. It did, for third place and SC had its second straight Region IV title.

At the CCS Region IV meet the Girls got their chance to even the score with the two teams that beat them in previous SCCAL meets. North Monterey and Aptos were able to win by narrow margins due to Card injuries. The meet started with the 4X100 relay. The girls unfortunately lost control of the baton, causing them to pull out of the race. This did not stop the girls from continuing their jobs.
Maria Shanle came back in the 100 meter low hurdles with a powerful win. This started the day on the right note for the girls.
At the same time Mercedes Blair, the leagues best long jumper, came through with another win for the Cards, Blair’s day did not end with the long jump. She placed high in the 100 meter to make to put the Cards in contention for first place. First places seemed to be with the senior athletes.
Gwen Vilches decided to join the first place club with a dazzling finish in the 200 meter dash. Gwen ran the 200 after a daring performance in the 400 meters with girls ranked in the state. Yet Gwen held her own to place in this event.
In other events, Larkin Ferber and Heather Singer were also put in situations with state ranked competitors. Larkin kept close contact with the leader, who had to run her best to contend with Larkin’s blazing pace. Again Larkin placed high in an event that seemed impossible to place in.
Heather, who is already throwing within a few feet of the varsity record, also faced the same situation. Still, she performed well and placed high in the discus.
Beth Burns answered everyone’s performances with two of her own. First, with her unbelievable triple jump, leaped to a new school record to knock out some key people tin scoring position. But this was not enough for Beth as she finished the 300 meter low hurdles in blistering time, enough to shatter the school record by two seconds.
Two school records didn’t stop the girls mile relay team from breaking another school record. A team armed with Larkin Ferber, after finishing the 800, Rosalyn Pillars, Koren Clark and Gwen Vilches, her second 400 of the day came through and won the event, defeating the favored Aptos. This league title fulfilled the predictions made by the coaches four years ago.

May 14. Coaches Prediction Comes True for Cards. Card girls win the SCCAL meet with 114 points followed by North Monterey and Watsonville. It was a fine day. The coaching staff of Bryon Wall, Bill Johnson, Don Roberts and Marty Kruger predicted that the freshman athletes at that time were capable of winning the league crown. There were a lot of seniors on this years team who wanted that to happen. If you want to talk about clutch performers, you may just have to recite the entire SC roster.
“All day long, things just happened for us. It wasn’t record performances so much for us, as it was the fifth and sixth places. It was an incredible day for us as a team,” said coach Don Roberts. With two events remaining, SC led North Monterey 99-97, but in the 3,200 meters, Mari Lang took fourth and the Condors best was sixth. So, in the final event the 1,600 relay all SC had to do was not drop the baton. They didn’t. Although all the had to do was finish, the team of Larkin Ferber, Rosalyn Pillars, Koren Clark and Gwen Vilches set a school record of 4:09. Mercedes Blair won the long jump at 16-10.
Half way through the meet, the Cards confidence took a boost as three Card runners in the 200 placed. Vilches won in 26.7, Pillars took third and Clark fourth. SC won just three individual events. Aside from Vilches and Blair, Maria Shanle won the 100 low hurdles in 15.7, despite a pulled muscle. What pulled SC up from mediocrity were the outings like that of Beth Burns. She didn’t win an event, but still set two school records. She took second in the 300 low hurdles in 48.6 and second in the triple jump at 33-4. Ferber took and early lead in the 800, but she was passed by two runners in the last 50 meters to take third. The winner set a meet record. Blair took second in the 100.

Sentinel May 14. Condors Nab League Track Title in the boys division by scoring 151 points to Watsonville 122, SC 94, Soquel 51, SLV 51, SLV 50, Harbor 20, Aptos 6. The top five finishers in each event qualify for the Region IV Meet. Mike Jones won the long jump, high jump and 400, where he bested his previous best time of 52.1 to 49.7 in this meet. Jones cleared his best try at 6-4 in the high jump and won on fewer misses at 6-6. He barely missed each jump. He got his torso over the bar on each try. “I’ve jumped 6-6 once before and I think I can get it at the next meet. People at CCS are going to jump 6-8. With good luck, I might be able to do that.” Mike won the long jump with a 22-0 leap. Second place jumped 20-11.

PRESEASON MEETS AND INVITATIONAL MEETS.
Sentinel March 10. Santa Cruz Shows Its Depth. The boys team beat San Jose 77-31 in the first meet of the season. “the team looked a lot stronger than we though. We are a lot deeper than we thought. We have a lot of backup people and we’ll be able to score a lot better in our dual meets than we have in the past,” said Coach Don Roberts. Mike Jones helped SC win four events: The long in 19-3, the triple jump in 38-6, 200 meters in 24.2 seconds and led off the winning 400 meter relay team. “He’s taking off right where he left of last year,” Roberts said. Dave Cook was a double winner in the 110 high hurdles in 17 seconds and the 300 intermediate hurdles in 45.5. “That was real close to his best times last year,” said Roberts. Matt Henry turned in a 52.8 in the rain for a first place.

March 10. The girls took San Jose 96-10 in their first meet. Mercedes Blair continued the mainstay role she assumed last year, winning four events: the high jump in 4 feet, long jump in 15-10, 100 meters in 13.8 seconds in a head wind and anchored the winning 100 meter relay team. “She was a workhorse for us last year and she’s taking on the same load this year,” Roberts said. Beth Burns and Heather Singer were double winners. Burns won the 100 meter low hurdles in 17-9 and the triple jump in 31-1. Freshman Singer, won the shot put in 25-7 and the discus in 66-5. Roberts said, “She is going to do things.” Mari Lange won the mile in 5:56. “We looked real strong. We swept a few events. We’ve picked up some strength that we were weak in last year, like the shot put and discus. We’ll do well in the dual meets this year,” Roberts said.

Sentinel March 16. Boys beat Valley Christian 110-26. Matt Henry, David Cook and Mike Jones each won two events. Henry won the 100 in 11.4, the 200 in 23.2 and was a member of the winning 400 relay team in 45 flat. and the mile relay team in 3:51. Cook won the 110 hurdles in 17 flat and the 300 hurdles in 44 flat and was second in the triple jump at 39-8. Mike Jones won the triple jump at 42 feet and the high jump at 6 feet and was second in the 110 hurdles in 17-7.

March 16. Girls whipped Valley Christian 120-15. Senior Gwyn Vilches, celebrated her 18TH birthday with two individual victories and two relay wins. She won the 100 in 13.3 and 200 in 27.8 and ran the first leg for the winning relay teams: the 400 relay in 53.7 and the mile relay with no time available. Freshman Elly LaRoque was a double winner in the mile in 6:23 and the two mile in 16:07. Beth Burns won the triple jump in 31-7. Heather Singer took first in the discus at 76-7.

March 18. SC 82, SLV 25. Mercedes Blair was a triple winner and double winners were Gwen Vilches and Larkin Ferber. Blair won the long jump at 15-5, the high jump at 4-6 and the 100 in 13.5. Vilches captured the 200 in 28.2 and the 400 in 1:04.1. Ferber won the 800 in 2:38 and the triple jump at 27-2.

On March 27 the following headline in the Trident. Future Looks Bright For Track Team. Last year both the girls and boys took first place at the CCS Region IV meet. This year with an even larger turnout of athletes they are expected to do even better. Bill Johnson, the sprint coach said, “Our girls are untouchable and by watching the talent of the guys, I know the same goes for them.” The track team has come a long way. They’ve broken most of the school records in the last four years and this year they are expected to bring the record times down even lower. Five years ago the entire team totaled nine athletes. This year we have seventy!

Sentinel. March 28. In the Seventh Annual Santa Cruz Coast Multi- Event Track and Field meet, like a Heptathlon meet, senior Mercedes Blair competed in her first heptathlon since seventh grade. She set the school record for points with 5, 3,945. She won the 200 in 27.4, high jump at 5-2, long jump at 16-8 and the triple jump at 30-10. In the frosh-soph meet Heather Singer was tops with 2,877 points.
In the boys division, junior Mike Jones set a meet record of 5,743 points after taking second place last year. Jones won the 100 in 11.4, long jump at 6-0 and the triple jump at 41-9. He was second in the discus and 400 meters. His third place time of 16.7 in the 110 hurdles may have been his most impressive mark, since he doesn’t regularly compete in that event. David Cook took third place with 4,866 points that helped SC win the competition.

March 31. SC girls improved to 3-0 in dual meets with two wins from Mercedes Blair, Beth Burns and Gwen Vilches. Blair’s best effort for the day was a 15-6 mark in the long jump good enough for first place by one and a half feet. She also won the 100 in 13.3. Vilches won the 200 in 28.3 and the 200 in 1:03.9. Burns won the triple jump at 32 feet and the 300 intermediate hurdles in 53.3.

Sentinel. April 7. Girls. North Monterey 65, SC 62. Firsts Not Enough For Santa Cruz. SC had nine first to North Monterey’s six, but the ultra deep Condors managed to win 12 of 15 second places, to give the Cards their first league loss. Beth Burns had already won the 300 hurdles in 51.1 and the SC needed a second place from her in the triple jump, but her 32 feet jump was only good enough for third place, even though it was a personal best mark. “It was a great effort. It was more than we could ask from her, but she responded with all she had,” said coach Don Roberts. Mercedes Blair took three firsts in the 100 in 12.7, long jump at 16-9 and high jump at 4-8, plus anchoring the winning 400 relay team. One of the days best marks was by Maria Shanle in the 100 low hurdles, which she won in 16.3.
Boys. North Monterey 78, SC 58. North Monterey captured 10 of the 16 first places and 10 of the 13 third places to beat SC on depth. Matt Henry and Mike Jones were both double winners, but the Cards dropped to 2-2 in SCCAL dual meets. Henry was first in the 200 in 23.0 and 400 in 51.9. Jones won the long jump at 21-10 and the triple jump at 41-2. His third place in the 110 hurdles in 16.0 was a personal best.

Trident April 14. Track Team Performs Well Against Watsonville. In one of the biggest dual meets of the season, SC was missing some key athletes due to sickness and injuries, when the Cards met Watsonville. Although the energy level was high, the day started out with a sour note. The boys 400 meter relay team was beaten by just a pinch. The girls won the relay by a long shot, but were disqualified due to a hand off outside the legal zone as was Watsonville. No winner. In he boys mile, Saul Martinez led the first half of the race, before Watsonville’s two runners passed him to take first and second. Victor Lang had a great come back to take third place. The boys also swept the 110 meter high hurdles with junior Mike Jones taking first place in only his third time running the event. David Cook was second and Bobbie Hultzen finished third. Hultzen finished strong to take second in the 300 meter low hurdles. Vic Lang took second in the boys 800 meter. In the two mile, sophomore Nathan Johnson was first and Damion Shanley took second. Both runners continue to bring their times down lower and lower. Paul Pinkham was second in the 100 meter dash. The field events were incredible. It was the first time in seven years that SC has placed against Watsonville in the pole vault. Junior Danny Johnson in only his first year. Matt Henry came in second in the 400 meter and 200 meter dash. Flavio Cornajo placed second in the shot put, which hasn’t happened in three years. Doug Kishi was third in the discus. The boys mile relay gave Bennett Payne his new nickname, “Stickless”. A slight mental lapse caused Payne to start the race without a baton. It wasn’t before he almost finished his leg that he realized his mistake. Paul Pinkham, the second runner decided to hide the baton in his shorts until Payne was just close enough to surprise him. The crowd was amused with the expression on Payne’s face, when Paul pulled the baton out of his shorts. The race went on pretty much out of pride, because they knew they would be disqualified. SC did come in first, but didn’t receive any points. Little mishaps like this and a few others, along with the missing athletes were enough for the Watsonville boys to win the meet 82-57.

Against Watsonville the girls swept both the 300 meter low hurdles and 100 meter high hurdles. Maria Shanley took first in the 100 meter dash and Beth Burns out ran Alison Lawton in the 300 meters to take first and Alison held on for second, while Meghen Kinney finished third. Burns also took first in the triple jump going 31-11. Mercedes Blair won the girls 100 meter dash in 13.3 seconds followed by Roslyn Pillars second and Laura Shumate third. Next was the girls 800 meter won by Larkin Ferber jumping took third place. For girls, Monique James finished second in the shot put and Heather Singer took third. Finally the last race, the mile relay. Gwen Vilches ran the first leg and got the team off to a great start, building a huge lead. Laura Shumate took the baton and broke for the pole. She kept the lead and passed to sophomore Coren Clark, who will be a top runner in the league. She passed to Larkin Ferber to win the race. The girls won their meet hand and foot 68-39.

Sentinel April 14. Boys. SC 84, Harbor 52. David Cook was a triple a triple winner, winning the 110 high hurdles, 300 low hurdles and the triple jump at 41-3 for a personal best and the third best in the county. “This is the first time David has won three events in one meet,” said coach Marty Kruger, “He was ecstatic.” Matt Henry was a double winner, placing first in the 400 in 51.4 and the 200 in 23 flat. Mike Jones took two firsts in the 100 in 11.4 and the long jump at 20 feet.
Girls: SC 75, Harbor 39. Blair won three events, including the 100 in 12.8, long jump at 15-8 and high jump at 4-5. “She does it at every meet. She was real solid,” said Kruger.

April 10. SC Pair Take Firsts at the Gilroy Invitational. Mercedes Blair won the long jump at 17-7 which equals her school record. Then took seventh in the 100 in 12.7. Mike Jones won the long jump at 21-8 and was sixth in the high jump at 6-2. Matt Henry was fourth in the 200 in 22.2. Freshman Heather Singer was sixth for a personal record in the discus at 111-6. Maria Shanle was eighth in the 100 hurdles in 16.1.

April 14. Boys. SC 84, Harbor 52. David Cook was a triple winner, winning the 110 high hurdles, 300 low hurdles and the triple jump. Cook’s triple jump of 41-3 was a personal best and the third best in the county this season. “This was the first time David has won three events in one meet and he was ecstatic,” said assistant coach Marty Kruger. Matt Henry was a double winner placing first in the 400 in 51.4 and 200 in 23.0. Mike Jones took two first in the 100 in 11.4 and long jump at 20-6.
Girls. SC 75, Harbor 39. It was a Mercedes Blair Show as she won three events, including the 100 in 12.8, long jump at 15-8 and the high jump at 4-8. “She does everything well. She’s real solid,” said assistant coach Kruger.

April 16. Eleven teams from the SCCAL, MBL and the Mission Trail leagues competed at the Santa Cruz Coast Invitational at Soquel.
Boys. Mike Jones was a double winner with firsts in the long jump at 21-6 and the 200 in 22.7.
Girls Mercedes Blair was a double winner in the long jump at 17-4 and the 100 in 12.8. She also anchored the first place 400 meter relay team in a time of 52.0.

April 21. Boys. SC 88, Aptos 34. Junior Mike Jones, hasn’t let up since his quick early season start, won three events and anchored the winning relay team as the Cards improved to 2-2 in dual SCCAL meets. Jones won the 100 in a personal best 11.0, the 200 in 22.5 ant the long jump at 19-8 and broke the tape for the 4X100 meter relay team. Nathan Johnson took firsts in the mile in 4:52 and two mile in 10:35.
Girls. Aptos Clears Big Hurdle: SC. 1,600 Relay Decides 60-58 Meet.
The last event of the day was the 1,600 relay and SC had a 25 to 30 yard lead on the hand off to the anchor runner, but “Aptos won by no more than an inch or two,” said the Aptos coach, who also said, “this was ‘the meet’ …this can’t compare to any other meet,” he gushed. Mercedes Blair won the 100 in 13.3, the long jump at 15-8, anchored the winning 400 relay team in 52.6 and was favored to win the high jump, but the event was not held because of insufficient landing pads. Gwen Vilches took first in the 200 in 27.3 and freshman Heather Singer won the discus with a toss of 109-8.

April 28. Girls. Trio Leads Santa Cruz Triumph. Led by double winners, Gwen Vilches, Mercedes Blair and Larkin Ferber, SC won all but two events to defeat Soquel 83-43. Vilches led a 1-2-3 sweep for SC in the 200 meters, as she won in a season best 26.9 and her 1:01.9 time in the 400 was also good for first place. Blair high jumped 4-8 and long jumped 15-6 for firsts and she was second to Vilches in the 200. Ferber won the 800 in 2:28.8 and the triple jump at 30-10. SC moved to 5-2 in league dual meets. Other winners were Mari Lang, who ran the 3,200 with a season best time of 12:37. Monique James won the shot put at 30-6. Heather Singer won the discus at 108.0. Maria Shanle the 100 low hurdles in 16 flat and Rosalyn Pillars the 100 in 13.4.
Boys. Cardinals Handle Knights. Mike Jones nailed down his usual three wins and SC leaned on its dominant roster depth to beat Soquel 76-60. SC moved to a 3-2 league dual meet record. Soquel won nine events and SC won seven, but SC captured 20 seconds and thirds, while Soquel had only eight. Soquel’s runner out leaned David Cook in the 110 hurdles in times of 15.7 to 15.9 for the two quickest times in the county this year. Jones won the long jump at 21-8, which he has won in all the league meets. He barely missed three attempts at 6-6 in the high jump and settled with a jump of 6-4. He won the 100 meter in 11.3. Other SC winners were Flavio Cornejo’s shot put of 42-4, Cooks triple jump of 41-0, Fred Gustafson’s 400 in 52.5 and a second in the 200 and Victor Lang coming up from the frosh-soph team to take second place in the 800 in 2:04.4 to finish just a half second behind the winner. Lang’s time set a new record for a frosh-soph runner, even though he did it in a varsity meet.

April 29. Santa Cruz Breaks Tradition At Relays. For the first time in 20 years a team other than Soquel or Watsonville captured the annual Kiwanis Relays. The scoring is a combination of the boys and girls. SC’s boys and girls team won 13 of the combined 27 events for 194 points in the five school event at Soquel. Aptos 148, Soque1 142, SLV 128 and Harbor 118. Watsonville was at a meet in Carson City. Mike Jones set a school record and county season best 6-6 in the high jump. Jones helped tie another season best, when he teamed with Nate Bell, Paul Pinkham and Matt Henry to win the 400 meter relay in 44 seconds flat. The 800 relay team of Frederick Gustafson, Bell, Pinkham and Henry set a meet record with a first place time of 1:32.2.
For the girls, freshman Heather Singer came within two feet of setting a school record in the discus, with a throw of 118-6, the third best effort in the county this season.

Sentinel April 30. SC finished second in both the boys and girls team standings at the Pacific Grove Invitational. David Cook won the triple jump at 41-3, then led the 440 yard relay team to a first in 46.4 seconds along with Fredrick Gustafson, Paul Pinkham and Danny Johnson. Gwen Vilches won the 220 in 27.6 and was second in the 100 in 12.2.

From the Sentinel’s Best times for boys and girls track an field as of April 29. (not all the events are listed as what is here came from the back of a softball write up and part of the track information had been cut off.)
The information is listed by event, place in order, name and time or distance.
Girls
3,200 meters: 3. Mari Lang, 12:55.0
100 meter low hurdles: 4. Beth Burns, 17.1; 6 tie between Mercedes Blair and Alison Lawton, 17.5.
300 meter low hurdles: 4. Lawton, 50.5; 5. Kinney, 50.8; 7. Burns, 51.1 and 8. Shanle, 51.5.
400 meter relay: 1. SC, 51.8
Long jump: Laura Shumate, 15-1
Triple jump: 4. Burns, 32.2; 7. Larkin Ferber, 31.8 and 9. Gwen Vilches, 30.8
High jump: 1. Mercedes Blair, 5-2; 6 tie between Heather Singer and Lawton, 4.6
Shot put: 8. Monique James, 30-11

Boys
400 meter relay: 1. SC, 44.0
1600 relay: 2. SC, 3:35.6
Shot put: 5. Flavio Cornejo, 42-4; 7. Fred Gustafson, 40-6
Long jump: David Cook, 19-11. (cut off the above his name)
Triple jump: 4. David Cook, 41-3 and 8. Haney, 40.0
Pole Vault: 8. Danny Johnson, 11-6

May 5. Girls. SC 97, SLV 19. Larkin Ferber, Heather Singer and Gwen Vilches each won two events. SC finished the dual meet season with a 4-2 record. Ferber won the 800 in 2:40 and the triple jump at 32-7, Freshman Singer won the high jump at 4-0 and the discus at 102-6. Vilches won the 400 in 61.9 and the 200 in 26.9.
Boys. SC 108, SLV 33. “Times are starting to come down in anticipation of the league meet,” said coach Roberts, whose team ended the league season 4-2. Matt Henry’s winning times of 11.1 in the 100 and 22.9 in the 200 were good indicators of the improved times, considering they were recorded at the SC dirt track. Mike Jones was a triple winner, matching his area best 22 feet in the long jump to win the event. He also won the high jump at 5-10 and the 400 in 52.1.

Sentinel Athlete of the Weeks of March 28, May 23 and May 30 was Mike Jones.
Coach Don Roberts comments: “I’ve never seen any thing like Mike’s four first in the Region IV meet. I knew he had the talent to do it, but you can never tell against that type of competition. It seems that when the competition gets tougher, he gets better. He’s an amazing athlete.” Jones’ first in the 400, long jump and high jump are all school records and SCCAL season bests, giving him the leagues top mark in four events. The all time records, he is second in three events, third in one and seventh in the other. “He could do anything. Next year he’ll probably try some new events,” said coach Roberts. “He’s an ideal kid to coach. He learns immediately what you’re try to point out to him. He’s a technician. He takes home books and reads all the technical things. He’s inspired to do his stuff. If I could dream up a kid to coach, he’d be a perfect one. As a freshman running the anchor leg of the mile relay team against the top North Monterey team, he took the baton at the same time as his opponent and dove at the finish line to just miss winning against a top senior.

June 1. Sentinel area prep bests in the SCCAL in boys track and field.
By place, name, time and date accomplished.

100 METERS
PL NAME TIME DATE
1 Jones 10.9 4-29
2 Henry 11.0 5-11
2 Pinkham 11.0 5-25
4 Gustafson 11.3 5-4
7 Bell 11.5 4-15

200 METERS
1 Henry 22.1 4-8
2 Jones 22.2 4-29
4 Pinkham 23.3 4-6
6 Gustafson 23.5 4-13
7 Bell 23.7 4-15
7 Cook 23.7 5-4

400 METERS
1 Jones 49.2 5-20
2 Gustafson 49.9 5-25
4 Henry 51.4 4-15
6 Lang 52.4 5-11

800 METERS
7 Lang 2:04.1 4-29
9 Richards 2:07.8 5-13.

1600 METERS
2 Lang 4:30.3 5-13
6 Johnson 2:07.8 5-13
7 Shanle 4:43.2 5-13

3200 METERS
8 Johnson 10:31.0 4-27
10 Shanle 10:41.9 4-13

110 METER HIGH HURDLES
2 Cook 15.3 5-13
5 Jones 16.0 4-6

300 METER INTERMEDIATE HURDLES
6 Cook 42.8 4-6

400 METER RELAY
1 SC 42.72 5-25

1600 METER RELAY
1 SC 3:25.5 5-25

SHOT PUT
8 Cornejo 42-6 5-13
9 Gustafson 40-6 4-22

DISCUS
5 Craw 132-4 5-4

HIGH JUMP
1 Jones 6-6 4-22
6 Richards 5-10 5-13
6 Gustafson 5-10 4-13

LONG JUMP
1 Jones 22-9 5-25
8 Cook 20-1 5-4

TRIPLE JUMP
2 Cook 42-9 5-4
3 Jones 42-9 4-6
6 Haney 40-0 4-1

POLE VAULT
5 Johnson 12-0 5-13

June 1. Sentinel area prep bests in the SCCAL in girls track and field.
By place, name, time and date accomplished.

100 METERS
PL NAME TIME DATE
1 Blair 12.6 5-11
3 Vilches 12.9 4-15
4 Pillars 13.1 5-4
5 Burns 13.3 5-4
6 Clark 13.4 4-6
8 Shumate 13.8 4-15

200 METERS
4 Blair 27.0 4-27
5 Pillars 27.1 5-13
6 Clark 27.2 4-27

400 METERS
3 Vilches 1:00.1 5-20
5 Clark 1:00.6 5-13
7 Ferber 1:03.0 4-13
10 Shumate 1:05.3 4-6

800 METERS
3 Ferber 2:21.9 5-25
7 Lang 2:34.0 3-15

1600 METERS
5 Lang 545.0 4-20

110 METER HIGH HURDLES
1 Shanle 15.7 5-13
4 Burns 17.1 4-15
5 Lawton 17.3 5-13
6 Blair 17.5 3-20

300 METER INTERMEDIATE HURDLES
3 Burns 48.6 5-13
5 Lawton 50.5 4-27
7 Kinney 50.8 4-29
8 Shanle 51.5 3-9

400 METER RELAY
3 SC 51.8 4-6

1600 METER RELAY
1 SC 4:07.5 5-20

SHOT PUT
6 James 32-3 5-4
7 Singer 31-6 5-4

DISCUS
3 Singer 118-6 4-22

HIGH JUMP
2 Blair 5-2 4-15
5 Singer 4-6 3-20
5 Lawton 4-6 4-22

LONG JUMP
1 Blair 17-7 4-8
7 Shumate 15-1 3-15

TRIPLE JUMP
4 Burns 33-1 5-13
5 Ferber 32-7 5-4
8 Blair 31-5 3-15
9 Vilches 30-8 4-22

Track team members were Laura Anderson, Juan Ascencio, Laura Ross, Nate Bell, Mercedes Blair, Ben Broadbent, Cynthia Bruce, Jeremy Bruce, Beth Burns, Koren Clark, David Cook, Norman Cook, Flavio Cornejo, Jennifer Craw, Joe Craw, Larkin Ferber, Megan Freitas, Fidel Guerrero, Fred Gustavson, Rachel Heit, Kent Henneuse, Matt Henry, Josh Homan, Bobby Hultzen, Norman Hutchings, Monique James, Danny Johnson, Nathan Johnson, Amy Jones, Mike Jones, Doug Kishi, Mari Lang, Vic Lang. Elly LaRoque, Alison Lawton, Ed Machado, Peter Machado, Bates Marshall, Kenny Martinez, Saul Martimez, EZ Menis, Tanja Miller, Mark Northcutt, Erin O’Connel, Cesar Oliva, Bennett Payne, Rosalyn Pillars, Paul Pinkham, Claire Ricker, Grace Robinson, Rafael Rodriquez, Lilly Sabin, Pete Sanchez, Damon Shanle, Maria Shanle, Danielle Sharpen, Chad Sherlock, Dana Sherwood, Laura Shumate, Heather Singer, Fred Smith, Jennifer Smith, Rob Tranchina, Tai Vautier, David Warren, Monik Williams, Charis Williamson.

BASEBALL SCCAL CO-CHAMPIONS
Practice games: Gilroy 1-5, Palma 0-2, Monte Vista 11-2, Monterey 0-9, Carson City, Nevada 10-7. Soquel Tournament: Cupertino 2-5, Monte Vista 14-1, Aptos 5-2, Monterey 4-1, Skyline of Oakland 7-15 for fourth place. Practice record 5-5
League: Harbor 9-1, 14-4; Aptos 2-0, 5-3; North Monterey 11-0, 19-7; SLV 3-1, 6-2; Soquel 8-13, 4-8, Watsonville 10-4, 13-7. League records 9-3 tied for first place. Lost to Palma in first CCS Division 3A playoff game 2-3.. Season record 15-9.

Sentinel preseason write up on February 27. One of the players SC coach Fred Pfyffer is counting on is right-hander Greg Press, who was 6-6 with a 3.34 ERA last year. “Greg is bigger and stronger this year. As far as how much support we can give him, I don’t know, said Coach Pfyffer. Right-hander Jeremiah Carr, a senior from defunct Marello will share pitching duties with Press. Other pitchers are right-hander Junior Chavez a junior and left-handers Jon Koch a senior and Andre Pacheco a junior. The catcher will be Bernie Escalante a returning junior. Infield returnees are Ryan Reber and Mike Park. Last year the Cards were 8-6 in league for fourth place and 12-13 overall.

March 1. Gilroy 5, SC 1. Jeremiah Carr pitched three hitless innings, collected the Cards only two hits and scored the only Card run. Gilroy took advantage of four SC errors and two hit batsmen, scored three decisive runs in the third inning. Koch and Junior Chavez were the other two pitchers for SC, allowed only three hits, two coming on infield single. None of the Gilroy runs were earned. Carr tripled and score when Chavez hit into a fielder choice.

March 5. SC lost a practice game to Palma 0-2 as the Cards managed only three hits, by juniors Mike Park and Junior Chavez and senior Jeremiah Carr. Seven errors led to the games two unearned runs and overshadowed the five inning effort by Greg Press, who gave up one hit, no walks and five strikeouts. SC out hit Palma 3-2. SC’s record fell to 0-3. “We have new people in the infield, but I feel comfortable that we’ll improve,” said coach Pfyffer

March 8. SC 2, Valley Christian 0. The game was rained out in the fourth inning. Jeremiah Carr struck out eight batters and gave up only one hit.

Sentinel. March 17. Big Rally By Cards. Loni Adams broke a 2-2 tie with a run scoring single in the fifth inning, triggering a seven run parade as the Cards defeated Monte Vista Christian 11-2 in a non-league game. Adams a right fielder, drove home Greg Press, who had walked and stole second. Press improved his record to 1-1, and struck out five in his three innings pitched Junior Chavez pitched the final four innings and fanned eight for the Cards, who are now 2-3.

Sentinel. March 19. Rain No Help For Cards. The Cards lost to Cupertino 5-2 in one of the few games played in the first round of the Soquel High/Capitola Host Lions Club Tournament at Harvey West. Greg Press, who is 1-1 pitched a complete game giving up three earned runs, while walking one. Shane King drove in Press with a second inning double and then scored on a double steal. SC is 3-4 on the season. In their next game, SC defeated Monte Vista 14-1. SC scored five runs in the fifth inning and six more in the sixth. Senior left-hander John Koch pitched six innings.

March 22. Playing The Press Offense. Home Run Sparks Cards Past Aptos. Gregg Press hit a two run home run to ignite SC to a 5-2 win over Aptos in the Soquel tournament. With the game scoreless in the bottom of the fourth inning and Ryan Reber on first via a error, Press teed off and deposited the ball over the left field fence into the trees. SC scored two more unearned runs in the inning as Aptos committed four errors in the inning. Aptos bounced back and scored twice in the top of the inning to pull within 4-2. Jeremiah Carr went the first four 2/3 innings and struck out ten batters, including the side in the second and fourth innings. Cesar Guzman and Jon Koch combined to blank the Mariners over the final two 1/3 innings.

March 24. Cards Get Even With Monterey. Behind the gutty pitching of Gregg Press, SC beat Monterey 4-1 in the Soquel Tournament. “He was outstanding. It was probably his best game of the season so far,” said Coach Phyffer. Press struck out ten and walked none in going seven innings. The only run Press allowed was a home run in the third and then he struck out the next three batters. SC advances to the tournaments third place game. What made the victory even better was that the rematch for the Cards against a team that ripped them and Press a couple of weeks ago by a 9-0 score. SC took command of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring twice for a 3-1 lead. Shane King walked, went to third on Ryan Reber’s hit and run single. Press tried to squeeze, but missed and the catcher tried to pick off Reber at second and the ball went into the outfield, allowing both runners to score. In the sixth, Mike Park doubled to drive in Lonnie Adams to make the score 4-1.

Cards Settle For Third. Skyline Tips SC At Soquel Tourney. An eight run fifth inning brought Skyline of Oakland to life and put SC to rest with a 15-7 win. Two SC errors aided the big rally, which gave Skyline the third place trophy. SC had taken a 3-1 lead after one inning on Jon Koch’s two run single. Skyline scored in the second inning and SC countered with two more runs to make the score 5-2 SC. Jeremiah Carr walked, stole second and scored on two pass balls. Gregg Press’ double drove in Jeff Thuringer, who had singled. Skyline added two runs and SC tallied one to make it 6-4 SC, before Skyline broke the game open. Jeremiah Carr and Gregg Press were named to the All Tournament team.

March 28. Timely Hitting Carries Cards. SC opened the league season with a methodical 9-1 victory over rival Harbor. SC scored first, when third baseman Ryan Reber led off the top of the second with a walk and then stole second. On designated hitter Greg Press’ ground ball, he went to third. Bernie Escalante walked and then Jeremiah Carr lofted a sacrifice fly to score Reber. The Cards stole three bases and the Pirate pitchers threw six wild pitches, gave up nine walks and hit one batter.
In the fourth inning SC scored four unearned runs. Andre Pacheco led off and reached second on a throwing error. Mike Park drove him home with a single and moved to second on Fernando Flores’ sacrifice bunt and eventually scored on a wild pitch. After Reber and Press both walked and moved up a base on a wild pitch, Escalante drove them home with a single to make the score 5-0.
Coach Pfyffer was pleased with his offense, defense and pitching. “Jeremiah gave us some good solid pitching . Our first league game is a victory and that’s what’s important.” Carr pitched five innings for the victory giving up no earned runs and struck out four. Santa Cruz is now 6-4 overall. Offensive leaders were Park, who went 2 for 4, drove in a run and scored another. Reber scored two runs and stole two bases. Junior Chavez went 2 for 3, drove in two runs and scored a run.

April 2. Santa Cruz’s Press No Hits Aptos to win 2-0. It was a good day for a both pitchers. SC’s senior Gregg Press pitched a complete game no hitter. Over six innings he faced the minimum 18 batters. He had allowed a base runner on a walk, but catcher Bernie Escalante threw him out stealing. At this point the game was scoreless as the Aptos pitcher had allowed only one hit in five innings. Mike Park started the bottom of the sixth with a walk and was promptly sacrificed to second by Fernando Flores. Ryan Reber drew a walk and Park stole third to put runners on the corners. A pass ball allowed Park to score and Reber to take second. Press doubled to the base of the left field fence to drive in Reber. In to the seventh inning, Press need just three more outs and a no hitter would be his. He got it, but it didn’t come easy.
Through six innings, Press made just 58 pitches, an average of less the 10 an inning. But in the seventh he would need 25 pitches to get the necessary three outs. Shortstop Shane King threw the ball past first baseman Cesar Guzman and Aptos had a runner on second. A pop up and a groundout left only one more out needed. Press then walked the next two batters to load the bases and had the tying run on second.
But Pfyffer never considered taking Press out. “I have confidence in Greg. If he’s not the best pitcher in the league, then he’s second or third. He obviously was quite nervous. No one said a word to him, but he knew he had a no-hitter going. He was just trying to fit the ball in there instead of just throwing it.” The third out came on a slow chopper to third that Reber had to charge hard and make a good throw to get the out at first. Press finished with only three strike outs, but only allowed one ball to the outfield. The infield of Reber at third; King at short; Park at second; Guzman at 1B and Escalante behind the plate played just super” said the coach.

April 5. SC 11, North Monterey 0 in the Cards third league win. Senior right-hander Jeremiah Carr, a transfer from now defunct Marello Prep, started and pitched six of his best innings of the season, giving up one hit, striking out six and walking two, while throwing only 63 pitches. Carr is now 3-0 for the season. SC ace Gregg Press pitched the last inning. SC scored five runs in the third, highlighted by a two run triple by catcher Bernie Escalante. Shortstop Shane King was the leading hitter going 3 for 4 with three RBI’s. Right fielder Junior Chavez went 3 for 3, scored three runs and added two RBI’s.

April 9. SC 3, SLV 1. Gregg Press struck again, striking out eight batters and allowing four hits for the Cards, who are now 4-0 in league. SC scored all of its runs in the second inning. Reber scored on a pickoff attempt at second base got away. Carr singled in Press, who had walked. A sacrifice fly by Andre Pacheco scored Escalante. SLV scored in the sixth.

April 12. Soquel Cools Off Santa Cruz as the fog rolled into Harvey West. Both teams came into the game undefeated. SC at 4-0 and Soquel 3-0. Soquel won 13-8. With the exception of the bottom of the seventh, when SC rallied for six runs, when two Soquel pitchers lost the strike zone. Soquel came right out and scored two runs in the first inning. In the bottom of the first Mike Park and Fernando Flores both walked and were thrown out at second stealing. Soquel scored at least one run in all seven innings. Soquel’s big inning was the third when they scored four times.

April 16. SC 11, Carson City, Nevada 7. Shortstop Shane King was 2 for 4 with a double, scored two runs and had three RBI’s to lead a 14 hit offensive attack. Winning pitcher Jeremiah Carr threw 6 2/3 innings, allowing nine hits and four earned runs. Junior Chavez earned a save by getting a bases loaded groundout to end the game. SC is 9-6 overall. Mike Park, Fernando Flores, Bernie Escalante and Carr also had two hits each.

April 23. SC 14, Harbor 4. SC took advantage of seven Harbor errors in the game and scored eight runs in the second inning on three walks, three errors and five hits, including a bases loaded triple by Escalante. Gregg Press started and threw four innings of one hit ball, walked none and struck out five for the victory. SC had ten hits. SC is tied for second with Watsonville at 5-2.

April 19. Cats Knock Off Cards 10-4. SC went off to a 3-1 lead, but Watsonville scored three runs in the third inning to go ahead 4-3, then added two runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Soquel is leading the league with a 5-1 record with SC and Watsonville tied for second at 4-2. SC was led by Junior Chavez, who went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a stolen base.

April 26. Cards Handle Aptos From Start To Finish in a 5-3 win. On the first pitch of the game at Aptos, Steve Bruce hit the ball out of the park. A three run fourth inning sealed the game for SC, which moved to a 6-2 league record, staying within a half a game of league leader Soquel. Bernie Escalante started the inning with a walk, advanced to third on Jeremiah Carr’s double. Mike Park, who had three RBI’s drove in both runners with a double and scored himself on an error. Greg Press pitched a complete game giving up two earned runs, four hits, one walk and struck out six. The Cards played errorless ball, while Aptos had six.

April 30. SC 19, North Monterey 7. The win vaulted the Cards into first place with a 7-2 record, a half a game ahead of Soquel. After 1 1/3 innings, the Cards led 13-2. SC was led by Mike Park, who went 3 for 6, scored two runs, tripled and had an RBI.

May 3. SC 6, SLV 2. A five run third inning carried SC to an easy victory and allowed first place SC to extend its league lead to 1 ½ games over Soquel and Watsonville. SC batted around in the third on five hits, a walk and a hit batter. The key hits were a two run single by Gregg Press and a RBI double by Bernie Escalante. Press was 2 for 3 and Shane King 2 for 2 to lead a nine hit attack by SC. Jeremiah Carr pitched a complete game win, holding SLV to six hits.

May 7. Soquel Tightens The Race. Only Half A Game Back After Beating Cards 8-4. SC held a 4-1 lead in the top of the second inning, but were not able to hold it. SC is still in first place with a 8-3 record, 14-8 overall. Soquel and Watsonville are one game behind at 7-3. Soquel started the scoring with a run in the top of the first inning, when it sent seven batters to the plate. SC starting pitcher Greg Press had a rough time finding the strike zone. He walked the first two batters and a hit scored the run. SC retaliated with a two out rally in the second. Bernie Escalante and Shane King both singled, then Jeremiah Carr drew a walk to load the bases. Fernando Flores drove in Escalante on a slow grounder up the middle that was misplayed and King also scored on the error. Mike Park drove in Flores with a double. In the bottom of the second Soquel scored three times to tie the score 4-4. Soquel took a 8-4 lead in the fourth inning. The Soquel’s starting pitcher held SC hitless the last three innings.

Assistant coach Angelo Ross on 5-7, 140 pound Mike Park, “He’s really been the go-guy for us, when we’re looking for a rally.” Parks is quick reacting in the field and he is quick with the bat as well. He’s been a magnum force with his .357 batting average. He leads SC in at bats, 70; hits, 25; runs batted in, 17; Triples, 3; steals 16 and has committed just five errors in his new position at second, after catching for most of his career. Park comments, “My strong point is my hitting, I love to hit more than anything. I’ve caught some teams off guard, because of my size they don’t expect me to be able to hit the fence. Ross said Park’s influence hasn’t been limited to the batters box and in the field. “Down in the dugout, he’s shown some tremendous leadership and that’s unusual for a junior, especially on a league leading team.”

Sentinel May 14. Cardinals Earn Share Of Title by defeating Watsonville 13-7 to share the SCCAL title with Soquel with both teams ending with 9-3 records. It was SC’s first league title since 1983 and Soquel’s second consecutive title. SC entered the game without two starters in the infield, one because of a one game suspension and the other being academically ineligible. At new positions were Fernando Flores at second, Ryan Reber at shortstop and Steve Hamblin at third.
But the Cards had plenty of experience on the mound, where ace right-hander Greg Press was in complete control and didn’t give up anything until he’d already been staked to a one touchdown lead. Press picked up the complete game victory giving up five hits and one earned run. Through four and a half innings, it was a scoreless tie. But in the bottom of the fourth, little designated hitter Andre Pacheco bounced a two run single to right with the bases loaded to give SC a 3-0 lead. The next inning, Press and Jeremiah Carr both hit home runs and Pacheco drove in another run to make the score 13-2. SC scored six runs in the fourth inning and seven more in the fifth inning.

A second story on the next page of the Sentinel which covered the four teams that could possibly play in the CCS playoffs.
Cardinals Are A Strange Bird. A Little Motivation Goes A Long Way. Clinging to the chain-link screen in front of their dugout like a bunch of crazed, caged animals, the Cardinals suddenly broke out chanting in unison in the bottom of the fifth inning Friday night. “You got to want it, to win it, and we want it more!” Under their red caps, most of the Cards heads were shaved in some fashion, both as inspiration for battle and as a sign of their unity. They were one victory away from the first league baseball championship in too many years at a school that once dominated high school baseball in the area. Santa Cruz hadn’t finished first since 1983, when then coach Bill Dodge notched his fourteenth and final league championship in a 30 year career.
Friday night, the current Cards were not about to lose their last chance at a title in the ‘80s because they lacked emotion. “We were totally psyched for this,” Card senior ace pitcher Greg Press explained, rather rationally considering the left, right and back sides of his head were shaven, courtesy of teammate Jeremiah Carr. “It was the most pumped up we’ve ever been.” The rooting, though, easily could have been construed as unnecessary by Watsonville, considering Press had just jacked a two run homer out of Harvey West to give SC an insurmountable 9-0 lead.
But as much as the chant seemed inappropriate, ill-timed at least, it aptly portrayed the intensity with which the Cards stalked their share of the SCCAL baseball championship. “We knew what we had to do,” said Press. What the Cards did was thrash a Wildcat team that also was playing to assure itself of a berth in the CCS playoffs. “We thought at the beginning of the season that we’d just like to finish at .500. But when we got to the league season, we just said let’s go see what we can do and here we are,” said coach Pfyffer. Where they are is in the CCS playoffs.
The Cards as the SCCAL number two team and Soquel as the number one team based on Soquel’s two league wins over SC. Soquel runner-up in the CCS tournament last year, today will be seeded into the CCS Class 4A division and SC into the 3A division based on enrollment. Soquel was ranked number one in the final State Class 2A poll last year after nearly beating perennial 4A power Bellarmine Prep in the CCS finals.
Watsonville and Aptos tied for third with 7-5 records are submitting a bid to be in the playoff, since third place teams with the best records will be included. (In 1985 the Cards were tied with Watsonville third place in the SCCAL and on points made the playoffs and ended up playing in the semi-finals. No separate divisions at that time.)

From the Trident on the Watsonville game. The Cards posted one of their most thrilling victories of the season, beating Watsonville 13-7 in the last game of the SCCAL season, which moved them into a tie for the league title with Soquel. The victory came at a crucial point in the season. If they had lost, the Cards would have moved all the way down to third place and probably out of contention for a birth in the CCS playoffs. The win was especially emotional for the seniors on the squad, because there was a possibility that this would be the end their high school career. It was obvious that the entire team was pumped up for this game, because most of the players had their heads shaved, in order to show a sense of team unity.

The Cards, who ended the regular season with a 15-8 record, entered the CCS playoffs as the seventh seed in a 16 team Division 3A tournament.

Palma Holds Off Santa Cruz 3-2. The first game was against Palma with whom they had split their two practice games. Mike Park led off with a first pitch ground ball that was ruled an error. He later came around to score on a pass ball. The Cards scored another run, when catcher Bernie Escalante singled sharply to left, moved to third on singles by Jon Koch and Fernando Flores, then scored on Park’s sacrifice fly to put SC up 2-0. Twelve Cards were retired in succession between the second and sixth innings. The lead held until the fifth inning, when Palma scored an unearned run to make it 2-1 SC. Starter Jeremiah Carr pitched strong through the fifth giving up only one unearned run. In the sixth inning after Carr hit a batter and gave up a hit, Greg Press relieved and Palma scored a run. Their ace pitcher and winner of the game singled to tie the score 2-2. In the seventh inning Palma scored on a single followed by a double to put them ahead 3-2. Although the Cards threatened in the seventh, when with one out Fernando Flores got the first SC hit since the second inning and stole second, but a strike out and force play ended the game.

Pfyffer Had The Makeshift Moves. “We knew we weren’t going to hit the cover off the ball this year, which we never did. But we had a pretty good team speed, so we decided to make things happen. We ran a lot. From a coaching stand point and from a spectators standpoint, it made the season much more fun,” said Coach Fred Pfyffer. These facts and plus being SCCAL Co-champions and making a trip to the CCS playoffs are the reasons the Sentinel has selected Pfyffer as the All Santa Cruz County Coach of the Year.
After a 0-3 start, the Cards gradually improved to 10-7 overall, then won five of their last six SCCAL games. SC lost in the first round of CCS to finish with a 15-9 overall record. It was the first baseball title for SC since 1983, after five years of not placing higher than third. Pfyffer comments, “When we started the season, we felt we were going to be competitive, but not real dominating. At times we were dominating, mostly due to pitching. In the preseason we struggled quite a bit, but we kept hoping we would finish strong and get a shot a making the playoffs.”
At one point, it didn’t seem like the Cards were a playoff team. After one ugly loss, Pfyffer said he was “embarrassed” about his team’s play. No doubt that made a few players and maybe some parents angry. Maybe it made the players angry enough to play better, because they did. “The playoffs didn’t feel realistic to us until the last couple of weeks. And before league began, we were just getting kids into positions,” said Pfyffer.
The real string pulling came at the start of the year when Pfyffer had to decide whether he should make two good outfielders, Shane King and Mike Park into his shortstop and second baseman respectively. They had not played the infield before, much less together, but the choice was clear. “We were concerned about the middle and we had a surplus of outfielders,” Pfyffer explained. Next year, Pfyffer will have to start pulling some of the same strings all over again. But with a junior varsity that placed second in the SCCAL to Watsonville, “I’m looking forward to next year,” he said.

In the May 2 edition of the Trident. The Cards two man pitching rotation of Press and Carr had a combined record of 9-4. Gregg Press had a pitching record of 4-3 and an ERA of 1.32. Jeremiah Carr had a record of 5-1 and a ERA of 1.77.

In a profile in the same edition. Press has five different pitches: fastball, curve, slider, change up and his favorite pitch when controlled, his knuckle ball. Greg has received letters from Stanford and Santa Clara. Scouts from major league teams have come to watch him pitch. After college he hopes to go pro. (which he did)

Top Card hitting averages for the year are Shane King .417, Park .356 and the league leader with 17 stolen bases and Escalante .309.

Team members were Steve Cardoza, Cesar Guzman, Jeremiah Carr, Jeff Thuringer, Ryan Reber, Greg Press, Jon Koch, Mike Park, Loni Adams, Shane King, Jesse Trumbull, Andre Pacheco, Steve Hamblin, Junior Chavez, Joe Cacace, Fernando Flores and Stan Pillsbury. Head coach Fred Pfyffer and assistants Angelo Ross and Don Keathley.

May 30. Sentinel end of the year stats.
Individual hitting by place in order, name, at bats, runs, hits, RBI and average.
PL NAME AB R H RBI AV
3 King 48 15 20 11 .417
12 Park 73 14 26 18 .356
22 Carr 55 15 18 11 .327
30 Escalante 55 14 17 15 .309
40 Chavez 57 14 16 4 .281
41 Reber 54 25 15 5 .278
49 Pillsbury 36 10 9 6 .250

Leading individuals in triples were third place, Park with 3. Stolen bases leader Parks with 17, followed by Reber with 15 and fifth place Chavez with 12.
Team batting: SC third with a .277 average.
Individual pitching by place, name, won-loss, innings pitched, hits, walks, strike outs and ERA.
PL NAME W-L INP H BB SO ERA
3 Press 7-6 72 58 23 68 1.85
8 Carr 7-1 56 54 33 62 2.25
14 Koch 1-1 20 18 14 16 3.10

Team pitching, SC was first with 158 innings pitched, 139 hits given up, 110 runs, 79 walks, 158 strikeouts and ERA of 2.39.

June 7. Sentinel ALL COUNTY team. On the first team were seniors: shortstop Shane King and pitchers Gregg Press and Jeremiah Carr. On the second team were juniors: catcher Bernie Escalante and second baseman Mike Park. Coach Fred Pfyffer was selected Coach of the Year.
All the comments below on the players came from Coach Fred Pfyffer.
Carr lost only one league game and obviously he was one of the keys to our success.
Shane King had never played shortstop before, but he worked hard and came on at the end and played really sound.
Gregg Press was the top pitcher in the league this year. He and Carr got us where we are.
Bernie Escalante takes charge of the game and pitchers. He has been a steady influence for us the whole year.
Mike Park played well at second base even though playing in the infield was a new position for him this year. His normal position has been catcher.

Sentinel Baseball Dream Team Lineup Card.
Number nine hitter and right fielder Jeremiah Carr, batting average 327, 18 hits, 15 runs and 11 RBI’s. Best number two pitcher in league and also a solid outfielder. Strong arm. Hit ball well.

ALL SCCAL players were seniors, pitcher Gregg Press, who was an unanimous choice with a 1.80 ERA and outfielder Jeremiah Carr with a .373 batting average. Second team selections were second baseman Mike Park and Bernie Escalante. Ryan Reber was honorable mention. Coach Fred Pfyffer, who led the Cards to a share of their first league title since 1983 was honored as Coach of the Year.

JV BASEBALL took second place in league to Watsonville.
Team members were Zack McCormick, Jake McCormick, Mike Hendren, Blake Vandeveer, Todd Trowbridge, Glen Leadbeter, Brad Nichols, Ryan Mills, Augie Guardino, Dennis O’Connor, Andrew McGraw, Bill Orton, Jamie Carr and Nick Marini. Coach Tony Cuellar.

SOFTBALL SCCAL CHAMPIONS
Practice games: Monterey 4-9, Pacific Grove 6-5, Carmel 3-2, Hollister 7-2, Eureka 6-7, Monte Vista 22-1. Las Vegas tournament: El Dorado of Las Vegas 14-4, Hilltop of San Diego 1-2 in nine innings, Clark of Las Vegas 4-5, Needles, CA 5-10; Saddleback of Santa Ana 6-10. SC played five games in the tournament and went 1-4. (Practice record 6-7 according to the Trident)
League: Aptos 10-5, 9-0; Harbor 5-3, 8-1; North Monterey 5-0, 6-5; SLV 0-1, 8-4; Soquel 6-4, 4-1; Watsonville 2-1, 0-3. League record 10-2 for SCCAL Championship.
CCS Division II South: Carmel 8-5, North Salinas in semifinals 0-3.
Season record 17-10.

Trident. In preseason the team was 6-7, but turned it around in league. In the CCS playoffs they beat Carmel 8-5 after falling behind 4-0. Kelli Mullen had two doubles, three hits and three runs. Audrena Mauga had three RBI’s on two doubles. Stacey Wilhelmsen had two hits and drove in a run. Debbie Chavez pitched a five hitter with the three walks and two strike outs. In the semifinals they lost to North Salinas 6-7. Last year they also lost to North Salinas in he semifinals.

Team members were Tyrene Partlow, Val Kingdom. Debbie Chavez, Kelli Mullen, Sarah Dalbey, Diane Gergen, Jenny Posey, Lori Welch, Sara Daughters, Stacey Wilhelmsen, Audrenna Mauga, Elizabeth Dietrich and Amy McKee. Coach Vic Miguel.

Sentinel. Feb. 27. This Could Be A Red Letter Year For SC. Red could very well be the dominant color this year at the head of the SCCAL standing. As in Cardinal red. Seven starters return, led by All League and All County pitcher Debbie Chavez, who was also name All County Junior of the Year. If SC has a potential weak spot, it could be hitting. Perhaps like one carried by All County outfielder Kelli Mullen, who hit .324 and struck out only four times all season.

Sentinel. March 1. Monterey 9, SC 4. After getting g out to a 4-0 lead, SC made several untimely errors and gave up nine unanswered run in losing the season opener. Debbie Chavez went all the way on the mound. Tyrene Partlow led the SC offense with a two run single in the third inning.

Sentinel. March 2. Santa Cruz Rallies To Beat PG 6-5. Chavez pitched for seven innings, not given up a walk, scattered five hits and retired 16 batters in a row at one point, but had only a 5-5 tie to show for it. In the bottom of the seventh, Tyrene Partlow and Sarah Daughters led off with walks. Then Amy McKee dropped a sacrifice bunt that turned into an infield single to load the bases. Jenny Posey singled to drive in the winning run. Leading the offense for SC, which is 1-1, were Diane Gergen and Kelli Mullen, each with two hits and two RBI’s and Stacey Wihelmsen with two hits.

March 5. SC 3, Carmel 2. Pitcher Debbie Chavez upped her record and SC’s to 2-1 with a two hitter and also scored the winning run in the seventh on a squeeze bunt by Auddrena Mauga.

SC 22, Monte Vista 1. Pitcher Debbie Chavez drove in five runs and tossed a three hitter. SC scored four runs in the second inning, eight more in the fourth and seven in the fifth. Senior left fielder Kelli Mullen drove in five runs on three hits, including a bases loaded double over the center fielders head. Chavez was 3 for 5 with a bases loaded triple. On the mound, she is now 3-1 and struck out seven and walked three.

March 16. Cardinals Driven To Another Win. If there is any question who plays the catalyst role for SC, the answer is Debbie Chavez. Chavez solidified her grasp on the teams steering wheel, as she was the driving force in the Cards 7-2 win over Hollister. It upped her pitching record to 5-1. She threw a five hitter and drove in three runs on two hits. In the fourth inning Chavez hit SC’s first home run of the season. “It was a deep shot over the left fielders head. There is no fence there, so she had to hustle. But she was around third by the time they got to the ball,” said Coach Miguel. Stacey Wilhelmsen and Chavez hit run scoring singles in the second inning and Diane Gergen stole home to put SC up 3-0. Lori Welch tripled home Gergen and Jenny Posey hit an RBI single. Chavez got her third RBI, when she walked with the bases loaded. SC finished with seven stolen bases.

March 19. North Salinas 11, SC 1. The usually sure-handed Cards had eight errors and the Cards dropped to 5-2 as did pitcher Debbie Chavez, who drove in the lone Card run with a double in the fifth. Tyrene Partlow, who singled twice in the game, scored on the double. North Salinas jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning.

March 21. Eureka 7, SC 6. A seventh inning rally by the Cards was almost enough to overcome a 7-1 deficit. Earlier, three costly errors led to a six inning fifth inning for Eureka. SC 5-3 received strong pitching from Debbie Chavez, who allowed only two earned runs on six hits, struck out four and did not walk a batter. Tyrene Partlow was 2 for 4 and Diane Gergen was 2 for 3 with one RBI a piece.

Trident April 14. Over the Easter vacation, the team traveled to Las Vegas to play in a tournament featuring teams from California and Nevada. In the opener on March 23, SC whipped El Dorado of Las Vegas 14-4 behind the pitching of senior Debbie Chavez. Offensively, Tyrene Parlow drove in two runs on four hits and Diane Gergen had two triples.
Later in the day, SC met Hilltop of San Diego and lost a nail bitter 2-1. SC had only two hits by Auddrena Mauga. Debbie Chavea, who pitched a great game, took the loss.
The next day SC lost two games. The first was a 5-4 loss to Clark of Las Vegas. The Cards thought they had this one in the bag, being up 4-3 in the seventh, but Clark came back with two runs to win. Chavez struck out seven and walked only two in another good outing. Gergen continued to hit the ball well, finishing with two singles and an RBI.
In the second game that day SC lost to Needles of California 10-5. Falling to 1-3 for the tournament, the Cards shuffled their lineup with freshman Thea Lincoln pitching the first five innings. She gave up eight runs in the third inning on two hits and five walks. Kelli Mullen led the Card hitting going 2 for 3 with a triple and one RBI. Amy McKee went 2 for 3 and both Auddrena Mauga and Chavez tripled. SC is 6-6 overall.
On the next day, which was get-away-day, pitcher Chavez suffered her fourth loss in Las Vegas, to Saddleback of Santa Ana 10-6. But as Coach Vic Miguel put it, “She just didn’t have the defense behind her as six Card errors allowed five runs to score. SC lead 6-3 after two innings, but the errors where the difference in the loss. The loss left SC 6-7 on the season. The tournament was very exciting for the team.

March 29. SC 5, Harbor 3. The host Cards survived a bases loaded no out bind in the first inning and were aided by four Harbor errors as they opened league play with a win. A couple of fine defensive plays by SC held the Pirates to only one run in the first inning. SC scored four runs in the second inning highlighted by Chavez’s two run double and Sarah Daughter’s steal of home. Chavez pitched a complete game and did not walk a batter. Chavez’s record is now 7-6. All Card runs were unearned.

Trident, March 28. In Vegas, Cards Cash In. In a Las Vegas Tournament, the first day the Cards won 14-4 over El Dorado of Las Vegas. Tyrene Parlow drove in two runs on four hits and scored twice. Chavez threw five innings and earned the win before the game was stopped after a 90 minute game limit. Gergen tripled twice and Mauga singled twice.
In the second game of the day SC lost to Hilltop of San Diego 2-1 in nine innings. Two Card outfielders collided on a fly ball and allowed the winning run to reach base before being doubled home. Coach Miguel said, “Chavez probably pitched her best game to date and maybe of her career.” She faced just five batters over the minimum for 8 1/3 innings. The Hilltop pitcher threw a two hitter. Mauga, who had both SC hits, tripled and scored on an error in the first inning. Hilltop tied the game up in the fourth 1-1. SC is now 6-4 Tomorrow the Cards play Clark of Las Vegas and Needles, California.

April 2. Big Rally Boosts Cards Over Mariners 10-5. A four run fifth inning sparked SC to a 10-5 win over Aptos, who led 3-1 going into the top of the fifth. Kelli Mullen tie the score with a two run single. It was the only hit of the inning as SC sent eight batters to the plate, because of errors and walks, which put SC ahead 5-3. Chavez pitched a complete game, allowing four hits, four earned runs, walked one and struck out one. SC is now 2-0 in league. Both teams had only four hits. Mullen had two of SC’s hits and went 2 for 5 and drove in three runs.

April 5. Chavez Sparks Cardinal Win. Debbie Chavez had a career day against North Monterey for a 5-0 shutout. After the first inning, Chavez retired the Condors in order, while pitching a two hitter with no walks and three strikeouts. Coach Miguel said it was probably the best outing of her career. Sarah Daughters was 2 for 2 with one RBI. Kelli Mullen went 2 for 3 with a double and Auddrena Mauga had a double. SC remains tied with SLV in league at 3-0.

April 9. The Valley, Zobrosky Nip Santa Cruz, 1-0. (Zobrosky’s father is a former SC athlete, who played on two league championship baseball teams at second base) She struck out 15 batters, allowed four hits and no walks. Debbie Chavez had a sparkling three hitter, fanned six and walked one, but was a victim of an unearned run. Auddrena Mauga singled in the sixth inning, stole second and took third on a pass ball to be the only Cards to get that far. But she was left stranded as the next batter struck out. SC is 3-1 in league and 9-8 overall. SLV is 4-0 in league.

April 11. Debbie Chavez Sentinel Athlete of the Week. Chavez, senior pitcher on the Cardinal softball team beat North Monterey 1-0 on a one hitter and faced only 22 batters, one over the minimum, walked one and struck out three. Chavez also pitched a three hitter against SLV, but lost 1-0 on an unearned run. “She’s always had good control, but she’s been able to throw a couple of different pitches now, a drop and a rise ball and has great control of them,” said coach Miguel. “Her favorite pitch is the changeup and she uses it extensively and fools a lot of people. Chavez, now in her fourth year as the Cards ace has thrown 514 of the teams 561 innings. As a sophomore in 1987, she threw all 127 innings. “We have come to depend on her so much these last four years and she’s always come through for us,” Miguel said.

April 12. Cards Go Ten Innings To Turn Back Soquel 6-4. A three run rally in the top of the tenth inning started with two outs. Auddrena Mauga opened the rally with a single. She was doubled in by Sara Dalbey, who in turn scored on Debbie Chavez’ double. Stacy Wilhelmsen knocked in Chavez to put SC ahead 6-4. Soquel tied the game in the seventh inning. Chavez led the Cards going 2 for 4 with two doubles. Wilhelmsen was 3 for 5 with a triple. Chavez pitched a compete game giving up 11 hits and striking out three. SC is now 4-1 in league.

April 19. Cardinals Forge Tie For First. Chavez survived three consecutive singles to lead off the game, but only allowed one run in the first inning, but held on to beat Watsonville 2-1. The win pulled SC to 5-1 to tie SLV for first place. With the game tied 1-1 in the fourth inning, when Tyrene Partlow put down a suicide squeeze bunt to score Sara Dalbey. Coach Miguel, “It was a close clean game. It was important for Debbie to finish off the first half of the league season as well as she has to build her confidence.” Chavez gave up just one hit after the dicey first inning. She finished with four strikeouts and no walks. Her record for the season is 11-7. Chavez tied the game in the second inning, singling in Dalbey, who had tripled. Watsonville’s run was unearned. Chavez, Dalbey and Auddrena Mauga each had two hits of the Cards total of nine. SC is now 11-8 overall.

April 23. SC 8, Harbor 1. Sara Dalbey smacked a bases loaded triple down the left field line in the fifth inning as the Cards rolled into first place in the SCCAL. She then scored on a fielders choice for a 7-0 lead.

April 26. SC 9, Aptos 0. Chavez chalked up her second shutout in eight league starts, holding Aptos to three hits and facing just two batters over the minimum. SC supported Chaves with two double plays and no errors. Chavez is now 13-7 overall. Stacey Wilhelmsen triggered the five run fifth inning with a run scoring triple, Diane Gergen, Kelli Mullen and Lori Welch had RBI singles in the inning. Wilhelmsen, Chavez, Gergen and Tyrene Partlow each had two hits to lead a 11 hit attack.

April 30. Rally Keeps Cards Alone In First with a 6-5 come back win over North Monterey. SC trailed North Monterey 5-4 going into the bottom of the seventh, but Sara Dalbey saved the day, when she drove in the tying and go ahead runs with a triple over the center fielders head. After playing two consecutive games of flawless defense, the Cards seemed to be giving the game away at times, with their five errors. Three miscues contributed to two unearned runs in the second inning to put North Monterey ahead 2-0. SC answered with a run in the bottom of the second, then added three more in the bottom of the fourth to go ahead 4-2. Chavez helped her own cause by driving in two runs with a triple. She then scored herself on a bases loaded walk to Kelli Mullen, who picked up an RBI.
The Condors scored their only two earned runs in the sixth to tie the game up 4-4. In the top of the seventh they took the lead 5-4. In the bottom of the seventh, the first two Cards were walked. Two batters later Dalbey connected for the game winner. SC is 14-8 for the season. In league SC is 8-1 and SLV 7-2 and they will meet in the next game.

Cards Clinch Tie For Title. Santa Cruz Comeback Beats SLV 8-4. SC fell behind 4-0 in the first inning, but none of the runs were earned. SC came back to win 8-4 and clinch a tie in the SCCAL. SC is 9-1 in league and SLV is 7-3 with two games to play. Pitcher Debbie Chavez was simply pumped to start the game. “I just wanted to go out there and strike them all out. I wanted to win this game so bad. I knew we would come back. Monday at practice, we hit the ball so well, I knew we could do it,” said Chavez about the four runs in the first inning and she gave up no more the rest of the game.
In the top of the second inning, the Cards came right back to tie the score 4-4. Tyrene Partlow started things off with an infield single, and scored when the SLV pitcher threw the sacrifice bunt away at first for a three base error. Gergen scored on Sara Dalbeys single. Five batters later, Kelli Mullen singled in two runs to tie the score. Mullen the second baseman went 3 for 3 with a run scored and two RBI’s.
There was some who felt the TV cameras of KRUZ may have effected play, putting extra pressure on the players. But after the score was tied, both teams settled down and played some quality softball. Chavez, started the fifth with a single. She took second on a pass ball, third on a wild pitch and came home on Dalbey’s infield single to put SC ahead 5-4. After the first inning, Chavez settled into a groove. She didn’t allow a base runner to reach third. She pitched a seven hitter, struck out four and walked two. SC added three insurance runs, all unearned, in the sixth. SLV committed five errors in the game. Only one of the Cards runs was earned, which meant only one run in the whole game was earned.

May 7. Card Tops Knights To Clinch Championship. Like an ordinary blue collar pitcher Debbie Chavez punched the clock after a full days work and went home with another win 4-1 over Soquel. She wasn’t absolutely dazzling, a four hitter, one walk and one strikeout, but she kept the ball over the plate and Soquel off balance. “She was in control. The hits were scattered and the defense was able to turn in some good plays,” said Miguel, whose team is 10-1 in the SCCAL, two games ahead of SLV. Soquel went out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. SC countered with two runs in the bottom of the second. Partlow led off with a walk and was sacrificed to second. Sarah Dalbey singled to drive in Partlow and tie the game. Stacey Wilhelmsen’s fielders choice scored Lori Welch, who had singled. In the seventh, Chavez got three outs on three pitches to wrap up the Cards sixteenth win against eight defeats.

May 14. Watsonville 3, SC 0. Debbie Chavez gave up four hits and only one earned run. SC had only three hits in the loss, but is going to the CCS playoffs, while Watsonville will be staying home after a much improved season.

Final Sentinel stats for the county
Hitting by place in the county, name, at bats, runs, hits, runs driven in and average.
PL NAME AB R H RBI AV
11 Mauga 83 24 33 9 .397
12 Chavez 69 20 27 18 .391
20 Mullen 91 13 30 19 .329
29 Partlow 76 18 13 6 .303
38 Dalbey 69 13 19 18 .275
45 Wilhelmsen 71 22 19 10 .268

Doubles: Chavez first with 7 and Mullens tied for second with 6. Triples: Mauga first with 4, Chavez and Wilhelmsen tied for second with 3. Home runs: Dalby with one. Stolen bases: Wilhelmsen third with 23.
Team batting: SC is fifth with a .285 average.

Pitching: Chavez fifth with a 17-9 record, pitched 184 innings, gave up 130 hits, 28 walks, 82 strikeouts and ERA of 2.28. Team pitching fourth with 191 innings pitched and a 2.27 ERA.

CCS Division II South playoffs.
May 18. Comeback Cards. Santa Cruz Rallies Past Carmel in the first round of the CCS Division II South to win 8-5. The 1989 version of the Cards, champions of the SCCAL, fell behind Carmel 4-0 after two innings at Sherwood Park in Salinas. At that point it didn’t look like the team would return to the semifinals, where it lost to North Salinas a year ago.
But Coach Vic Miguel’s team wants to be known as the New and Improved Cardinals, so they rallied for the win. “This is another notch in their belts. We sort of carved a hole for ourselves, but came back strong. It was a great comeback victory. It didn‘t take one individual, it took a whole team effort. The girls are elated to get through this one,” Miguel said.
Credit the top three hitters in the SC order with the technical knock out. Third baseman Stacy Wilhelmsen, shortstop Auddrena Mauga and second baseman Kelli Mullen combined for seven of the Card ten hits and seven of the teams eight runs. Mullen did the most damage with her bat, driving in three runs on three hits, including two doubles. Mauga had three RBI’s on two doubles. Wilhelmsen had two hits and drove in a run.
Debbie Chavez pitched a five hitter with three walks and two strike outs. She was charged with four earned runs. “She had a tough time at the beginning, but then she settled down and let the team play some good defense behind her,” Miguel said. SC committed just one error. Carmel jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning with one scored on an error. In the second, the Padres scored two more runs. Wilhelmsen got things going in the third inning with a one out single. Mauga’s double sent Wilhelmsen to third. Mullen then doubled them both home. Mullen went to third on a pass ball and scored on Dalbey’s groundout to slice the deficit to 4-3.
Designated hitter Jenny Posey started the game winning rally in the fourth inning. With two outs, she singled up the middle and was replaced by pinch runner Amy McKee. Wilhelmsen tripled to score McKee with the tying run. Mauga hit a run scoring double for the go ahead run and Mullen doubled Mauga home for a 6-4 lead. SC padded the lead with two runs in the sixth inning on errors. Carmel closed to 8-5 in the bottom of the sixth. But in the seventh, Chavez closed the game out with a groundout, a lineout and another groundout.
SC will play North Salinas a 3-2 winner over Salinas Notre Dame in the semifinals. Last year the Cards lost to North Salinas 3-0 in the semifinals.

Profile of Debbie Chavez, who started playing and pitching for the varsity all four years. She has her dad as her private pitching coach and practices two hours on weekends. There are four different kinds of pitches she can throw. The curve, drop, change up and fastball. Her two favorites are the change up and drop ball. “I’m not sure if softball is part of my future. Right now academics are first for me.”

June 7. Santa Cruz Sentinel – Miguel’s Guidance Led Way for Cards
When Santa Cruz High softball coach Vic Miguel talks about the 1989 edition, the word character is first and foremost on his lips. “The most memorable aspect of this team was the character they showed in the way they hung together during some tough games,” Miguel said. “They came back a number of times. This is one of the few teams that I can look up at the team picture on the wall and all 13 girls that started the season back in February, finished the season.”
It was Miguel that led this team to the SCCAL championship and into the CCS playoffs, thus earning him the Sentinel’s All Santa Cruz County Coach of the Year honors. To Miguel, the key to building a successful softball team is having a good pitcher, then building a defense around her strengths and weaknesses. He saw his team go through good times and bad times. The bad featured a trip to an early season tournament in Las Vegas where the Cardinals were humbled. They departed the desert with one win and four losses.
“When we came back, we started league at less than full strength,” Miguel said. “Our third baseman Stacey Wilhelmsen, was hurt. When you don’t have that anchor in the hot corner, it can be tricky. But we pulled through the adversity.” And it was Miguel that led them through the hard times. But he is reluctant to take any credit for what the girls accomplished on the field. “We had some very close games particularly against SLV and Soquel,” Miguel said. “And it wasn’t any of my play calling that won or lost those games. I see my role as coach as reinforcing the girls’ play on the field and keeping them upbeat.” Miguel did not call pitches for start hurler Debbie Chavez, “but if we were playing a very special game, we talked about a game plan,” he said. It may be the little things that Miguel did throughout the year that added up to such great success. He recalled a game against North Monterey County when centerfielder Sara Dalbey was batting the seventh inning. “She had already been up twice and struck out both times,” Miguel said. “She didn’t seem to be getting around fast enough. I thought perhaps the bat she was using was too heavy, so I called time and made her switch to a lighter bat. On the very next pitch, she tripled to left-center field. It was those types of moves that enabled the Cardinals to win with regularity–and made Miguel the Coach of the Year, whether he thinks he deserves it or not.

June 7. Sentinel All County Softball. Card Star Does More Than Pitch. Chavez A Hit At Plate, Too, For Champion Santa Cruz.
Debbie Chavez is PLAYER OF The YEAR. Auddrena Mauga is Junior of the Year and Coach Vic Miguel is Coach of the Year. First string players are Chavez, Kelli Mullen and Auddrena Mauga. Stacey Wilhelmsen was selected for the second team.

Sentinel. The Softball Dream Team Lineup Card
Leading off and playing second base, Addrena Mauga with a .397 average, 33 hits, 17 stolen bases, 24 runs and 4 triples. A natural at second, where she played last year. This year she was needed at shortstop. Top base stealer.
The number four hitter, right fielder Kelli Mullen, who hit for a .329 average, 30 hits, 19 RBI’s and 6 doubles. Found a home in the outfield this season. Strong arm. Hits for average and power.
Number nine batter is Stacey Wilhelmsen at third base. Batting average .268, 15 stolen bases, 22 runs, 10 RBI’s and 3 triples. Heads-up, solid on defense. Has the speed to bat ninth ahead of the lead off batter and steal bases.
Chavez finished the season with a 17-9 record and while hitting clean up, fourth in the batting order, she hit for a .400 average. Her father was a softball pitcher and she would accompany him to his games, which got her interested in softball. He started teaching her how to just under hand the ball in fifth grade, but did not start teaching her the windmill until seventh grade. Debbie’s mother also has motivated her to practice, by saying, do you want to beat SLV or Soquel. Or do you really want to win, you have to go out and practice and I do.
Help also comes from her battery mate, catcher Lori Welch with whom she grew up playing catch with. “Sometimes, if I’m not following through, Lori will yell out at me to do so. Rosalio, Debbie’s father and Steve, Lori’s father (who pitched for the Cards) will be coaching the two girls team this summer. Debbie feels that others think her hitting just comes naturally and don’t realize all the work she has put into hitting as well as her pitching. We hit against the pitching machine and off Coach Miguel, who used to be a softball pitcher. She plans on studying Business Administration at Fresno State in the fall. If her success, determination and hard work on the field can be gauged in the world of work, the Donald Trumps of the world better beware.

ALL SCCAL players
May 17. Cards Chavez Player Of The Year On The ALL SCCAL softball team. Senior outfielder Kelli Mullen, who hit .301 and drove in 14 runs and junior shortstop Auddrena Mauga hit .375 were also first team members. On the second team were Stacey Wilhelmsen and Sara Dalbey. Diane Gergen was honorable mention.
Debbie Chavez has pitched for the Cards for four seasons. In twelve games, she has a 10-2 record with a 1.28 ERA, 40 strike outs and just six walks. Plus she hit .375 and drove in nine runs. “She’s been a steady performer for all these years,” said Coach Vic Miguel, who himself was selected Coach of the Year. Chavez made the first team ALL SCCAL list for the second straight season. In league, Chavez held hitters to 51 hits over 87 innings. For the overall season, Chavez is 16-8 with a 2.22 ERA, given up 112 hits, struck out 79 and walked only 24. At the plate she owns a .413 batting average.

JV SOFTBALL
Yearbook. Team members were Colleen Schaffer, Kirsten Silbaugh, Susie Kingdom, Kelli Dunn, Kim Berry, Josie Hayward, Mysti Doughty, Vanessa Dunn, Melanie Arnott, Debbie Reyer, Heather Kunnanz, Krista Lombard, Marisol Garcia, Maggie Marini, Becky Long, Thea Lincoln, Marissa Cruz, Margarita DePaz.

BOYS SWIMMING
Practice swim: North Salinas 87-49. League: Harbor 61-108, Soquel 98-49, Gilroy 106-26, Watsonville 103-54, Aptos 97-53. League record 4-1 for second place and was second in the league finals also.

May 7. SC took second at the SCCAL finals and in the league. Winner Harbor had 412 points followed by SC with 199, Aptos 167, Watsonville 110, Soquel 91, Gilroy 43.
Many swimmers had shaved heads and bodies to decrease friction and improve their times, which it did. Harbor High with the biggest swim program in the county took first place. SC was led by Rob Bacons first place in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:09.13. Zack Gallagher, who was disqualified for an improper stroke was the rightful winner.
The 200 medley relay team, consisting of Richard Harbison, Rob Bacon, Zack Gallagher and Cameron Forester, took second place in 1:48.89. Individually, Seb Sussman took second in the 50 freestyle and fourth in the 100 free with times of 23.50 and 52.37 respectively. Django Sussman swam the same events and received sixth place in both in times of 24.10 and 53.43.
Tim Mockus and Jeff Wickum, the teams distance swimmers, swam the 200 free and the 500 free. Mockus took fourth in the 200 in 1:54.55 and third in the 500 in 5:13.17. Wickum received fifth place in his two events with times of 1:56.74 and 5:19.81. Zack Gallagher placed fifth in the 200 individual medley and Rob Bacon placed fifth in the 100 butterfly. Richard Harbison placed third in the 100 backstroke in 101.19. Casey Mervine, the team’s top diver had a bad day and placed fourth.

Going to CCS were two relay teams of Richard Harbison, Seb Sussman and Casey Mervine. The 200 Medley team bettered their time by five seconds, beating Harbors team. The 400 freestyle relay team consisting of Seb and Django Sussman, Tim Mockus and Jeff Wickum bettered their top time by five seconds also. Casey Mervine, one of the top divers in the area had another bad day and placed fourteenth at CCS, the same results he had last year.

Sentinel. March 1. Card Aquanauts Win over North Salinas 87-49 in the season opener for the swim team. Richard Harbison and Rob Bacon were both individual double winners. Harbison won the 100 yard backstroke in 1:06.10 and the 200 individual medley in 2:24.25. Bacon grabbed top honors in the 100 butterfly in 1:04.58 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:13.90. Other individual winners were Cam Forster, 50 freestyle in 25.89 and Tim Mokus, 200 freestyle in 2:06.07. Mockus teamed with Jake Wormhoudt, Adam Sullivan and Ben Smith to win the 400 freestyle relay in 4:19.16. SC won the frosh-soph meet 101-22. David Thompson, Django Sussman and Oscar Barreto were double winners.

Oct. 2. Harbor 108, SC 61. Harbor won eight of the 11 events. Jeff Mockus won the 500 free in 5:20.37. Casey Mervine won diving with 193.80 points.

Sentinel. April 9. Santa Cruz Cruises Past Unbeaten Soquel 98-49, as the Cards won eight of the 11 events including both relays. Richard Harbison was the lone individual double winner. He won the 200 yard individual medley in 33.31 seconds and also captured the 100 backstroke in 1:06.59. SC individual winners were Tim Mochus, 200 freestyle in 1:58.07; Seb Sussman, 100 free in 53.38 and Jeff Wickum, 500 free in 5:34.50. Casey Mervine won the diving event with 165.40 points.

Tim Mockus a senior was the Sentinel Athlete of the Week of April 18 had personal best times in winning the 200 freestyle in 1:57.74 and the 500 freestyle in 5:19.61 in a 106-26 victory over Gilroy. “He didn’t have much competition, but he’s still hitting his times, which is real impressive. I think at the end of the year, his times are really going to drop,” said Coach Mike Bennett. Earlier in the day, before the meet, he had swam 3,000 meters. “He’s really torn down right now, just waiting to taper and he reminds me of it every day,” Bennett said. Mockus’ two older brothers Jeff and John swam for the Cards in the 1970’s. “I think this is definitely going to be his best year. He’s put a lot more time into it, more so than the last two years. He’s matured a lot as a swimmer and he’s getting more confidence in himself. He knows what to do now and that’s half the game,” said coach Bennett.

From the May 2 edition of the Trident. SC And A Winning Season. With only two weeks before league finals, the team record is 3-1. It’s that time of the season, where training is at a peak. “We’re hitting 7000 sometimes 7500 yards a day,” said senior Tim Mockus. The Cards are not only doing well as a team, but their individual performances are outstanding as well. The Cards have 10 top swimmers in all of the events except the 200 yard individual medley.

In the county meet, the Cards 200 yard medley relay team of Richard Harbison doing backstroke , Zack Gallagher doing breaststroke, Rob Bacon doing butterfly and Seb Sussman doing freestyle place fourth with a time of 1:52.77. In the 200 freestyle, Tim Mockus placed fifth in 1:57.70. Seb Sussman placed eighth in the 50 freestyle in 24.20. He also placed tenth in the 100 freestyle in 53.38. Rob Bacon placed sixth in the 100 butterfly in 1:01.35. Tim Mockus placed fourth in the 500 freestyle in 5:20.37. Recently he improved that time by a second, gaining a personal best time for this event and received the Sentinel’s Athlete Of The Week Award. Richard Harbison placed fifth in the 100 backstroke in 1:02.60. In the 100 breaststroke, the Cards have three top ten finishers. Zack Gallagher place third in 1:10.41. Rob Bacon placed sixth in 1:11.18. Cameron Forester placed tenth in 1:12.12. With the increased yardage in practice and now to start tapering down, the Cards times should get even better for the league finals.

Sentinel. April 16. SC 106, Gilroy 26. Going into a league dual meet against a weak Gilroy team, coach Mike Bennett knew his swimmers might need an extra boost of motivation. So he assigned races by having his swimmers draw their events from a hat. “They had 20 seconds to try and trade after they drew,” said Bennett, whose Cards won every event. “It was fun to watch.” Distance specialist, Tim Mockus drew the 200 and 500 frees, his best events and of course won both going 1:57.74 in the 200 and 5:19.61 in the 500, which is his personal best this season. Other double winners are Zack Gallagher, who won the 200 individual medley in 2:24.55 and the 100 breast stroke in 1:10.11. Cam Forster’s victories came in back to back events, the 100 fly in 1:08.20 and 100 free in 59.13. SC improved its record to 2-1.

April 23. SC 103, Watsonville 54. SC won ten of the 11 events to claim their third SCCAL win of the season against one loss. Tim Mockus, Rob Bacon and Seb Sussman all won two individual events. Mockus won the 100 free in 1:59.76 and 500 free in 5:32.60. Bacon claimed the 100 butterfly in 1:00.51 and 100 breast in 1:10.11. Sussman won the 50 free in 24.48 and 100 free in 53.52.

April 30. SC 97, Aptos 53. Senior Tim Mockus won the 200 in 1:57.09 and 500 freestyle in 5:18.06 to help SC move to 4-1 in league dual meets. Zack Gallagher posted his best time of the season in the 100 breast in 1:09.33.

Other team members were Geoff Pala, Jason Ward, George Clamp, Kenny Clamp, Ben Smith, Rob Smith, Jake Wormhoudt and David Field.

Sentinel Area Prep Bests: Boys Swimming as of May 11, by place, name and time.

200 FREE STYLE
PL NAME TIME
6 Mokus 1:54.55
7 Wickum 1:56.74

200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLY
8 Gallagher 2:18.26
10 Harbison 2:18.80

50 FREESTYLE
6 Sussman 23.50

DIVING
2 Mervine 205.05 points
5 Reyes 161.75
8 Pratt 132.75

100 BUTTERFLY
6 Bacon 1:00.19

100 FREESTYLE
7 Sussman 52.37

500 FREESTYLE
3 Mokus 5:13.07
6 Wickum 5:19.81

100 BACKSTROKE
5 Harbison 1:01.19
6 Phillips 1:04.94

100 BRESTSTROKE
3 Bacon 1:09.13
5 Gallagher 1:09.33
10 Thompson 1:10.83

300 MEDLEY RELAY
2 SC team of Harbison, Gallagher, Bacon and Sussman in 1:48.89

400 FREESTYLE RELAY
4 SC team of Mockus, Wickum, Harbison and Sussman in 3”34.53

All SCCAL were Rob Bacon, Seb Sussman, Tim Mockus, Casey Mervine and Richard Harbison

TENNIS WINS LEAGUE TITLE AGAIN
Trident. Card Tennis Players Continue to Dominate. Coming off a long string of preseason victories, the Cards closed out the first half of league play undefeated with a 6-1 victory over Aptos. Continuing to hammer their way through league, the Cards disposed of SLV 6-1 in the second half opener.

Despite the fact SC beat Harbor 7-0, the Harbor coach, whose team is 2-2 in league, found plenty to be positive about. After all, the Pirates aren’t the first and won’t be the last to be shut out by the Cards. “We did have some bright spots, we took two sets off them.” Harbors number one man gave SC’s Benjy Goldrank all he could handle before losing 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. “It was probably the best match of his life. Benjy really had to work.” SC leads the league with a 4-0 records and 11-1 overall.

Next to lose to the Cards was Soquel to make the Cards league record 7-0 and season record 15-1.

Two seniors Benji Goldfrank at number one singles and Danny Aldrich at number two are the team leaders. They are followed by number three man junior John Sanford, senior Dave Kardon and junior Art Marcum. Brendan Walsh and Mike Minium are the number one doubles team. Joe Marini and Chris Coulson are at number two doubles. The Cards should continue their winning streak through the last two weeks of the season and then do well in CCS. Other team members were Scott Simmons, Josh Barthel, Scott Pierce, Josh Bruce, Sean Kilpatrick and Tao Stadler. Coach Dennis Mullen.

Sentinel. Mar. 1. Shutout For Cards. Even though the lineup isn’t settled, the Cards opened the season with a 7-0 victory over Live Oak. “We have about ten players, who could play number one singles. We’re either really, really strong, or really, really weak,” said Coach Mullen. Benji Goldfrank at number one and Danny Aldrich at number two, each won with straight set wins.

Sentinel. March 5. Cardinal Boys Sweep. Only two matches lasted three sets as SC routed Gilroy 7-0. SC’s number one and two singles players, Goldfrank and Aldrich were forced to play three sets.

April 2. SC 6, SLV 1 in the league opener. SLV won the number one singles against Goldfrank 6-2, 6-2. Aldrich won the number two singles 6-3, 6-2. SC improved to 7-1.

April 5. SC 7, Soquel 0. SC won all the singles matches with identical scores of 6-1, 6-0.

April 9. SC 7, Watsonville 0. SC lost only one set. Aldrich won the number one singles 6-1, 6-4. Goldfrank won the second singles match in three sets, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1. Singles winners were no. 3 John Sanford; 4. David Karden; 5. Art Marcum. The number one doubles team of Brendan Walsh and Mike Minium won 6-0, 6-1. SC is 9-1.

April 16. No question SC The Best. The two unbeaten SCCAL teams met and SC displayed their depth of talent beating Aptos 6-1. “They are as deep as the Monterey Bay,” said the Aptos coach. SC improved to 5-0 in league. Every SC wins came in straight sets. Leading the way for the Cards was number two singles player senior Danny Aldrich, who won 6-1, 6-0. At no 3, John Sanford won 6-0, 6-0. Number one Card singles player Benji Goldfrank lost 0-6, 0-6. In no 1 doubles Brendan Walsh and Mike Minimum won 6-2, 6-0.

April 16. Aldrich Inspires Cards. Danny Aldrich the Cards number two singles player had one of his best matches of the season as the Cards beat Carmel 5-2. “Danny lost his first set and then came back strong,” said Coach Mullen, whose team is 12-1 on the season. Numbers 4 and 5 singles players David Kardon and John Sanford won their matches in three sets.

April 23. SC 6, Soquel 1. Number one Card, Danny Aldrich lost 6-7, 2-6. Number two Benji Goldfrank won 7-5, 6-4. John Sanford, David Kardon and Art Marcum each won their singles matches in straight sets.

April 26. Playing Number One Singles For SC Can Be A Losing Proposition. SC is 8-0 in league play, have won three times by 7-0 scores and five times by 6-1 scores. Their last match was a 6-1 win over Watsonville. SC is unbeaten at the two though five singles and both doubles. The only place the Cards are having any trouble is number one singles where Goldfrank and Aldrich are a combined 3-5. Goldfrank lost 7-6 (7-5 tie breaker), 6-1. For the season SC is 16-1. Their only lost was 4-3 to Monta Vista of Cupertino. Five wins have been 7-0 and seven have been 6-1. Only two each have been 5-2 and 4-3.

April 30. SC 7, Harbor 0. The Cards 9-0 and 18-1 overall, yawned through another victory as every match was decided in two sets. In number one doubles, there was a nail bitter set between the SC pair of Mike Minium and Brendan Walsh and their opponents. After the first set 6-1 win, the Cards fell behind 4-1 in the second set before rallying to win 7-6 (7-3 in the tie breaker) At number one singles Aldrich won 6-4, 6-4. Number two Goldfrank, 3. John Sanford; 4. Art Marcum; 5. David Kardon and the number two doubles team of Joe Marini and Josh Barthel all won handily.

May 3. Team Of The Decade. Cards Win Seventh Straight League Title. There’s no doubt who the team of the decade is in local high school tennis. “These kids are very competitive,” said Coach Mullen, whose 1989 Cardinals beat Aptos 6-1 to go 10-0 in the SCCAL for the fourth straight season and are seeded fourth in the CCS team championships. When SC beat RLS 4-3 last month, the RLS coach told coach Mullen, “ Dennis your kids strokes aren’t that great, but they are great competitors. My kids have million dollar strokes, but they aren’t as competitive,” But Tuesday marked something almost as big as the Cards nine SCCAL titles in the last ten years and twelfth out of the last 13. It’s the first time a SCCAL champions has been seeded one of the top four team in the CCS tournament. “What makes it so neat in my mind,” said Mullen, whose team is 19-1 overall, is that we play just one division in CCS. We play everybody. We don’t play Division II or III or X or L. We’re all in the same boat. I think it’s something special. People lose perspective that we have to play everybody. It says a lot for our kids in the program.” SC plays Leigh of San Jose at Los Gatos high in the first round. The Cards depth has been key all season. While Benji Goldfrank and Danny Aldrich have alternated between number one and two singles the rest of the ladder, three singles and two doubles spots are a combined 94-6 on the season. Senior David Kardon is 17-3 at three singles; junior Art Marcum is 20-0 at four and Junior John Sanford is 19-1 at five. Juniors Mike Minium and Brendan Walsh are 20-0 at one doubles, while juniors Chris Coulson, Joe Marini and Josh Barthel rotate playing number two are 18-2.

May 10. At the SCCAL individual players championship, the doubles team of Art Marcum and Benji Goldfrank won 6-1, 6-1.

May 14. CCS Tennis Matchups at the individual singles and doubles championships. Benji Goldfrank and Art Marcum won the SCCAL doubles championship to qualify. They will be matched against the number four seeded pair from Carmel.

GOLF Yearbook. This has been one of the best golf seasons for a while, as the team placed third in league and sent two men to the CCS playoffs.
At one point in the season, the team was tied for first place in league.

Trident. Card Golfers Nip Watsonville 284-285 in the closes match of the season. Senior Jeremy Green blasted a 2 iron for 220 yards to within 4 feet of the final hole to set up a birdie that allowed the Cards a one point win. Green’s birdie helped him to his lowest 12 hole score this year, a 5 over 52. The Cards were also helped by senior Josh Breeden, who shot and even par 47. The victory raised the Cards chances of gaining a CCS berth, if they beat Soquel and Harbor.

At the Seventeenth Annual Aptos Invitational, the Cards entered four players: Josh Breeden, Jeremy Green, Fudgie Miller and Phil Pedemonte. The Cards were led by Breeden, who fired a 79 and Miller and Pedemonte fired matching 90’s.

Trident on March 27, Card Golfers Take Tough Losses. Lost to Los Altos at the Los Altos Country Club 212-222. The Cards were led by senior medalist Josh Breeden, who fired a one over par 36 for the nine hole match. Another bright spot was Joel Miller, who shot a career- low 4 over par 39. Despite firing their lowest team total of the year, the Cards dropped to 0-3.

In the league opener against Harbor the Cards lost 210-234. The low scorer for the Cards was Josh Breeden, who fired a 4 over par 39 and earned a three way tie for medalist honors. Finishing second for SC at 46 were senior Jeremy Green and sophomore Phil Pedemote, Their record is now 0-4.

The top golfer Josh Breeden was featured in the Trident. This season SC has one of its better golf teams. A big part of the success is senior Josh Breeden, who is a four handicap and probably the best golfer in the league. He has been playing for six years. Right now Josh is probably playing his best golf of the season. Recently he was a 2 over par for twelve holes a the Pasatiempo Golf Course against Soquel and Harbor, He was also a 2 over par against Bellarmine at the tough and narrow LaRiconada Country Club in San Jose. For now Josh hopes to finish strong and do well in the CCS playoffs. He plans to play at Cabrillo for two years and then transfer to Fresno State or Arizona State.

Trident April 14. Card Golfers Roll Over SLV. At the DeLaveaga Golf course, SC prevailed 228-258, behind the consistent showing of seniors Josh Breeden who shot 37, Jeremy Green 43 and Fudgie Miller 40. The win boosted SC’s league record to 3-1 going into their next match against undefeated Soquel.
Cards Upset Soquel. Cards came away with a narrow 309-313 victory Josh Breeden led the Cards shooting a 2-over-par 50 for 12 holes. Jeremy Green shot 61 and Miller shot 62. There is now a three way tie for the SCCAL lead between SC, Soquel and Harbor all 4-1.

Sentinel. April 21. SC 316, Soquel 320. SC still has a chance to tie for second place, after their win over Soquel in a 14 hole match at De Laveaga Golf Course. SC is 8-3. Consistent play from top to bottom won the match, according to coach Pete Pappas. “Our top four guys have been consistent all year, but It’s number five guy, Andy Verprauksus who shot a 15 over par 69, who came through.” Scoring for by order of the ladder: Josh Breeden 58, Jeremy Green 60, Joel Miller 63.

Team members were Andrew Aldred, Phil Pedemonte, Jeremy Green, Josh Breeden and Peter Verprauskus.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Trident. Boys volleyball has been started this year as a new unsanctioned sport on a trial basis. But there is no school funding. So far the team has played two games, which they won and had two cancelled. The team is led by seniors Val Cubales, David Kemp and Saun Foregaard. All have competitive experience from playing for Team Santa Cruz.

Sentinel April 26. Soquel Takes Tourney. Soquel won the first Santa Cruz County Volleyball League tournament, by a single point over SC. Soquel was 8-0 during the regular season and SC 6-2, finished the tournament with identical 7-1 records. The two schools split their two head-to-head tournament games, but Soquel was declared the champion on a points-for and points-against tiebreaker. Soquel defeated SC 3-2 in a 2 ½ hour match for the regular season title. The coaches, selected Soquel sophomore Peter Piexoto and SC senior David Kemp as the leagues Co-Most Valuable Players.

SURF TEAM
In the March twenty-seventh edition of the Trident the headline was Santa Cruz Surf Team “Ripping It Up” They are currently tied with Soquel for first place. SC defeated Soquel early in the season at Steamer Lane, where most of SC’s surfers dominate. Soquel came back in early February to narrowly beat SC at Manresa Beach. Z Haas put on a strong performance taking two first places. Earlier in the morning, the Cards beat Aptos. In that contest, Marco Foreman surfed extremely well taking two first places. Other top team members are Marin Brandt, Buddy Perez, Darryl Virotsko, Troy Virotsko and Team captain Shawn Barron. Lily Ann Popkins has been largely responsible for putting the league together along with SC coach Charlie Heitmen. Bob Gallagher, the advisor, has been of great help also. Senior Marin Brandt said, “without him we wouldn’t really be able to do it. Last year he volunteered and gave us a great start. He gives us a place for meetings and handles all the league forms.” The contests have been set up so that there are two rounds, four heats in each round. Each heat is 15 minutes and includes three surfers from each school. The second round consists of the same 12 surfers from each school, but matches up the top surfers according to their previous performance. The contests are judged by members of the Santa Cruz Long Board Union. The championships will be held later in the month at Steamer Lane.

INDIVIDUALS

Outstanding performances in cross country came from senior Mari Long, who won some competitions and placed in the State Regionals.

In cross country, Nathan Johnson placed twenty-first out of 350 at the Junior Olympics Nationals in Reno, Nevada. A profile of Nathan Johnson in the Trident. In every meet since seventh grade, Nathan has finished among the top five places of his event in cross country, usually in the top three. Nathan is a very competitive runner. In the past year, he has won a medal both for the most valuable team member in track and the most valuable Junior Life Guard. He earned a third place medal at the West Coast Championship for distance running. And his most prized medal he won for placing as the twenty-first fastest sophomore in the country at the qualification meet of the National Junior Olympics. After winning at the junior Olympics, Nathan was entitled to compete in Seattle’s World Championships. If successful there, he would go to Germany to compete. In a months time, he gathered sponsorships from the Sentinel, Brink’s Trophies and Reebok. But he was told that he was ineligible to compete as the competition was meant only for seventeen and eighteen year olds. Nathan encourages everyone interested in running to try out for the team. He says, “It is just a matter of doing it and doing your best. If you really think you can do it, go for it!”

Girls tennis team seniors Kristy Bennington and Kelli Mullen led the team in singles to a perfect league records with Mullen remained undefeated overall along with the undefeated team.

Senior soccer center-forward Laura Shumate, senior left wing Maureen Pacino, goalie Liz Baron and senior sweeper Sara Johnston were chosen for the ALL SCCAL team.

Jeremy Green was the SCCAL Most Valuable Player and Pat Jones was named to the SCCAL first team. Green led the league in scoring with 629 points for a 19.7 per game average and had a top game with 36 points scored.

Pat Jones led the league in rebounding with 381 for an average of 11.9. His high game was 26 rebounds. SC coach Tom Loden was elected Coach of the Year. Pete Newell took a one year sabbatical this year and did not coach the team.

Senior Tom Ronzano made it all the way to the finals in the 132 pound division of the California High School wrestling championships at UOP. Taking second at the state meet, Ronzano went higher then any SC wrestler since he state meet started in 1973. Coach John Corona, himself a former SC wrestler said, “Ronzano was fired up going into the finals, after having won all three of his early round matches. One being a 57 second pin.” Thomas advanced to State and beat the top seeded wrestler in the semifinals to advance to the finals, but lost 3-10. Coach Corona said, “ Tom was tired from having to run off five pounds the night before the meet to get his weigh in line with his division. At the league meet, Tom placed first for the third consecutive year. He placed fourth at CCS, losing his first two matches of the year.

Ian Allison at 119 had his best season. Ian took first at the league tournament, placed fifth at CCS and advanced to the State Tournament.

David Royal took second place at the league tournament and advancing to CCS.

Chris Hillyard at 138 took second at league and advanced to CCS where he ended his best season.

Seth Hiromura took third at the league tournament and went to CCS.

Derek Eselious at 191 took first at league and went to CCS

Joe Craw took first at league and advanced to CCS. His outstanding performance helped the team win the league title.

Profile of Debbie Chavez, who started playing and pitching for the varsity all four years. She has her dad as her private pitching coach and practices two hours on weekends. There are four different kinds of pitches she can throw. The curve, drop, change up and fastball. Her two favorites are the change up and drop ball. “I’m not sure if softball is part of my future. Right now academics are first for me.”

Summary of Mike Jones day at the CCS Region IV track meet: Mike won the long jump, high jump, 440 and ran the anchor leg of the 4 by 440 yard relay team to give him four first places to lead his team to the Region IV championship for the second consecutive year. The whole meet seemed to center around Mike Jones. It all started on Soquel’s long jump runway. Mike began the winning trend for the Cards, leaping to a new school record, which was nearly two feet farther than anyone else at the Region meet. It was obvious that Mike was ready for a brilliant day. He continued his day by running the anchor leg on the mile relay team. Watsonville had edged out the Cards at the league meet making them SCCAL champions. It was now time for SC to show why they were undefeated in the relay. The only time the race was close was before the gun sounded. Fred Gustafson showed his quick start and put SC the lead. Paul Pinkham and Matt Henry increased the lead. When Mike received the baton the race was over. Mike blazed his way through the finish. At this point Mike Jones had completed his third win in the high jump. Again without any competition. The repeat championship came closer as Mike won the 440, while breaking the school record.

Fred Gustafson ranked in the top five 440 runners in the county helped win the mile and 440 relay teams win the Region IV races and repeat as region champions for the second year. He placed in the top four in the 100 at the meet.

Paul Pinkham ranked in the top five 440 runners in the county helped win the mile and 440 relay teams win the Region IV races and repeat as region champions for the second year.

Matt Henry ranked in the top five 440 runners in the county helped win the mile and 440 relay teams win the Region IV races and repeat as region champions for the second year. He placed in the top four in in the 100 at the meet. Matt also place high in the 200 meter dash.

Victor Land a sophomore, ran a leg on the Region IV champion 440 relay team.

The girls won the CCS Region IV title for the second year in a row.
Maria Shanle won the 100 meter low hurdles. This started the day on the right note for the girls.

At the same time Mercedes Blair, the leagues best long jumper, came through with another win for the Cards, Blair’s day did not end with the long jump. She placed high in the 100 meter to make to put the Cards in contention for first place. First places seemed to be with the senior athletes.

Gwen Vilches decided to join the first place club with a dazzling finish in the 200 meter dash. Gwen ran the 200 after a daring performance in the 400 meters with girls ranked in the state. Yet Gwen held her own to place in this event. She also ran on the school record breaking mile relay team which won the event.

Larkin Ferber in the 800 kept close contact with the leader, who had to run her best to contend with Larkin’s blazing pace. Again Larkin placed high in an event that seemed impossible to place in. She also ran on the school record breaking mile relay team which won the event.

Heather Singer, who is already throwing within a few feet of the varsity record, also faced the same situation. Still, she performed well and placed high in the discus.

Rosalyn Pillars ran on the school record breaking mile relay team which won the event.

Karen Clark ran on the school record breaking mile relay team which won the event.

In the May 2 edition of the Trident. The Cards two man pitching rotation of Press and Carr had a combined record of 9-4. Gregg Press had a pitching record of 4-3 and an ERA of 1.32.
Jeremiah Carr had a record of 5-1 and a ERA of 1.77.

At the county meet, Tim Mockus placed fourth in the 500 freestyle in 5:20.37. Recently he improved that time by a second, gaining a personal best time for this event and received the Sentinel’s Athlete Of The Week Award. At the league meet, he took fourth in the 200 in 1:54.55 and third in the 500 in 5:13.17.

Two seniors Benji Goldfrank at number one singles and Danny Aldrich at number two are the team leaders as the tennis team wins the league title again.

The top golfer Josh Breeden was featured in the Trident. This season SC has one of its better golf teams. A big part of the success is senior Josh Breeden, who is a four handicap and probably the best golfer in the league. He has been playing for six years. Right now Josh is probably playing his best golf of the season. Recently he was a 2 over par for twelve holes a the Pasatiempo Golf Course against Soquel and Harbor, He was also a 2 over par against Bellarmine at the tough and narrow LaRiconada Country Club in San Jose. For now Josh hopes to finish strong and do well in the CCS playoffs. He plans to play at Cabrillo for two years and then transfer to Fresno State or Arizona State.

ALL SCCAL football Bernie Escalante a two way starter at running back and linebacker (and a three sport ALL SCCAL player in football, basketball and baseball. The last two sports won the SCCAL championships) Escalante led the team in yards rushed with 393.

ALL SCCAL Jeff Thuringer was second in rushing with 314 yards. Thuringer teamed with Stan Pillsbury to form one of the stingiest secondaries in the league in allowing passing yards.

Defensive lineman Doug Kishi was second team ALL SCCAL football.

Ryan Reber was named honorable mention ALL SCCAL football.

The writer of the article in the Sentinel, Benjamin Sawyer and Coach Marty Kruger created their version of an honor role–Or Dream Team– for 1989. Girls are listed first, event by event, with top performances in parenthesis. In cases where choices were difficult, they added “Honorable Mentions.”
Girls: with just SC participants included
100 meters: Honorable mention: Mercedes Blair (12.6)
200 meters: Gwen Vilches (26.0)
100 meter low Hurdles: Maria Shanle (15.7)
300 meter low hurdles: Beth Burns tied with two other runners at (48.6)
1,600 meter relay: Santa Cruz in a school record (4:07.5)
Long jump: Mercedes Blair (17-7)
Boys
100 and 200 meters. Because of the amount of doubling and the evenness of the top sprinters, the two sprints are combined. A most difficult pick, so we go with a tie between Mike Jones, (10.9, 22.2), Matt Henry, (10.9, 22.1) and Watsonville White (11.1, 22.2)
400 meters: Mike Jones (a school record (49.2) Honorable mention: Fred Gustafson (49.9)
400 meter relay: “Speed City” SC team of Gustafson, Paul Pinkham, Henry and Jones set a school record of 42.72 and went to state.
1,600 meter relay: SC team of Pinkham, Victor Lang, Gustafson and Henry with another school record of 3:25.5
Long jump: Mike Jones (23-2) and went to state, where a Tulare jumper set a new interscholastic record of 26-4.
High Jump: Jones (6-6)
Mike Jones was tops in four individual events and was a member of the 400 relay team going to state. He also went to state in the high jump.

GRADUATES

Darryl Ratliff, who graduated last year is having a fine season for the league leading Cabrillo baseball team. He has had at least one hit in 18 of Cabrillo’s first 19 games. He is currently on a 8 for 10 streak.

Former SC tennis star Jenny Newman, who thrice won the SCCAL singles championship, compliled a 12-3 singles record during her sophomore year at UC Davis.