Download complete file with overview and stats:

Unedited

2010
Jan. 2. Sentinel, Sports from March 5, 2010 In Review
Santa Cruz County’s Highlights Of 2010, of just SC players

March 5. Pauli Pappas scores 13 points and teammates Elle Sanders and Caylah Novak each add ten, as SC 24-6 wins the girls basketball CCS Division IV Championship 49-35 over Mercy of San Francisco for the Cards second straight CCS title.

March 6. SC girls soccer team defeats league rival Scotts Valley 1-0 in the CCS Division III championship game. In the fifty-third minute, Carmela Roberts took a pass from Ashlee Wilhelmson and scored the lone goal of the game.

March 6. The SC boys also won the CCS Division III championship, beating Sacred Heart Cathedral 1-0, when John Chronopoulos took a pass from Yosef Richardson and scored the only goal of the game in the sixth minute. The section title was the fourth in the last ten years for SC.

March 28. Taylor Kientzel won the triple jump at 47-8 and long jump at 22-20.5 at the CCS track and field championships. At the state meet, Kientzel takes seventh in the triple jump at 47-01.75 and ninetieth in the long jump at 22-01.75.

May 8. Anthony Daoud wins the 100 and 200-meter dashes and wins the Bob Enzweiler outstanding athlete award while leading the SC boys to their first track title since 1994. The girls also won, making it the Cards first shared title in school history.

May 22. The SC baseball team in CCS Division II fell out of the post season in the quarterfinals with a 11-5 loss to Hillsdale.

2011, Jan. 7. The Wharf to Wharf Race gave its largest gift to SCHS of $78,000 for its new track facility. The race started in 1973 and has grown into one of the premier road races in the country. This past year more than 15,000 people ran the race from Santa Cruz to Capitola.

VARSITY FOOTBALL
Practice games: Carlmont 20-27, Watsonville 20-27, Seaside 6-26, Los Altos 24-6. Practice record 1-3. League: Soquel 21-28, Scotts Valley 3-21, Harbor 20.0, SLV 28-28, Saint Francis 17-14 and Aptos 14-14. League record 2-2-2. Season record 3-5-2.
League standings; Soquel 4-2; Scotts Valley 3-1-2; SLV 3-1-2; St. Francis 3-2-1; SC 2-2-2; Aptos 2-3, Harbor 0-6.

Missing Seaside and Aptos

Sentinel pre-game write up for the season opener. Sept. 4. In the first meeting between Carlmont and SC, coach Bubba Trumbull liked what he saw defensively from his team at the jamboree, noting his defensive secondary will face a team that throws 60 percent of the time.

Sept. 6. Miller Shines In Cards’ Loss. Carlmont 27, SC 20. SC appears to have found its quarterback, but Peter Miller’s performance wasn’t enough to prevent a loss. Miller passed for 173 yards and had a hand in every Card point, running for two touchdowns, passing for another and running in a two point conversion. “I think Pete won the job today,” Coach Jesse Trumbull said.
Trumbull came in with the intention of rotating Miller and Ted Kovats-Wildenradt each quarter. Kovats-Wildenradt got the start and completed two of three passes, but also threw an interception. In his second quarter audition, Miller led the Cards on two touchdown drives and showed a strong arm and a hard-nosed running style, gaining 42 yards on six carries. “Once we saw what he did in the second quarter, we settled on Peter. He finds a way to get things done,” Trumbull said.
SC playing without injured two way back Derrick Delucchi, still gained 340 yards in total offense, 125 rushing and 215 passing. Miller completed 17 of 35 pass, plus two interceptions. Tight end Ben Damon caught five passes for 77 yards. Six foot seven wide receiver Daoud Anthony caught four passes for 58 yards in the first half, out jumping a defender for a lofted pass to complete an 11 yard touchdown play for SC’s first score. But he was limited to only one second half reception for four yards. Anthony had two first down catches on SC’s next drive, which culminated with Miller’s 11 yard scoring run on a quarterback draw that drew SC within 14-12 with 57 seconds left in the second quarter. Carlmont struck back quickly running the kick off 85 yards for a score to go ahead 20-12. There was no scoring in the third quarter and each team scored once in the fourth quarter, when Miller scored on a 11 yard run.
Rushing: Fukai, 13-58; Miller, 6-42; Berg, 9-18; Williams, 1-4; Bonner, 1-2. Passing: Kovats-Wildenradt, 2-3-1-42; Miller, 17-35-2-173. Receiving: Damon, 5-77; Anthony, 5-62; Nunez, 5-40; Fukai 2-8; Bonner 1-10.

Sept. 12. Wildcats Scorch SC. Santa Cruz Suffers Its Second Tough Loss, 27-20 in one of the longest rivalries in the state of over 100 years, The first quarter was tied 7-7, when Daoud Anthony caught a 22 yard pass from Peter Miller for a score and Miller kicked the extra point with 1:47 left in the quarter. Watsonville went ahead 20-7 at halftime.
SC scored in the third on a 7 yard run by Bjorn Berg, but the extra point kick failed making the score 20-13. With 4:51 remaining in the game, Bjorn Berg scored again on a 5 yard run and Millers kick was good to tie the score.
SC out gained the Cats 144 to 57 on the ground, but Watsonville made 310 yards through the air to SC’s 84. While Watsonville was airing it out, SC was busy with a smash-mouth attack. Berg finished up with 96 yards in 18 carries.
Stats: Rushing: Bjorn Berg, 18-96, Dylan Fukai, 17-43, Miller 5-4; Byron Williams, 2-1. Passing: Miller 514-84-1. Receiving: Anthony, 2-33; Miguel Nunez 1-32; Fukai 2-19.
Defensive: Interception: John Warren. Sacks 3: Cole Collins, Calvin Ohtake and number 47.

Sept. 28. Cardinals Get In Win Column. Defense Holds Eagles to 101 Yards. Santa Cruz 24, Los Altos 6. SC earned its first win of the season behind a strong showing from Peter Miller. Miller kicked a 32 yard field goal in the second quarter, threw a 40 yard touchdown pass to Miguel Nunez and converted three extra points. Bjorn Berg scored on a 5 yard run in the third quarter and Ted Kovats-Wildenbradt completed a 12 yard pass to Daoud Anthony five minutes into the fourth quarter to round out a team effort.
Coach Trumbull singled out great efforts by middle linebacker Cole Collins and sophomore call up Jonah Hodges. The Cards defensive line had 12 sacks on the day and squelched the Eagles running game, holding them to 101 yards total offense. SC had more than one reason to celebrate after the victory as strength and conditioning coach Daniel Garcia was married to Jenny Williams later in the day.

Oct. 5. Soquel scored the game winning touchdown with 57.3 second left on the clock. SC seemingly had stuffed a sweep to the right side, but the runner cut back and went untouched for a 60 yard winning TD.
SC scored first on quarterback Peter Miller’s 24 yard touchdown pass to Miguel Nunez on a third and 14 play, capping a 12 play, 73 yard drive in the first quarter. Miller, who completed 14 of 22 passes for three touchdowns and one interception. Receiver Daoud Anthony scored on a 33 yard reception on a tipped and nearly intercepted pass by the Knights. Anthony caught the ball in stride, which silenced the home crowd in the third quarter tying the score at 14 all.
For a minute with the teams battling the way they were, thoughts of officials sawing the Stump in half, a wooden trophy bearing all the scores of 48 year old rivalry seemed unavoidable. But Nunez added his second touchdown reception from 39 yards out, early in the third quarter to give SC a 21-14 lead. Soquel went on a seven play drove to tie the score. With 8:13 remaining. Soquel fumbled away a punt late in the fourth, giving SC the ball on the Soquel 29. SC turned the ball back over on downs, thanks to a costly holding penalty. Two plays later, Soquel scored the winning TD.
SC marched from its own 15 to the Knights 42, before Millers final pass fell incomplete as time expired. “We didn’t make enough plays. Both sides played their hearts out. It was a great effort, but they made one more play,” coach Bubba Trumbull said.
Soquel has now won seven of the teams last eight meetings, with four games decided by less than a touchdown and leads the series 37-10-1. “That’s why we love it. The stands are full and the bands are out. It’s always a great football game,” Coach Trumbull.

Oct. 10. Falcons Offense Ambushes Cardinals. SC fumbled the games opening kick off and Scotts Valley scored on its third play from scrimmage. Strong defense by both teams kept the game close throughout the first half, as the teams traded possessions frequently.
Scotts Valley opened up their passing playbook the second half and scored on its first possession of the second half. Quarterback Peter Miller finished with eight completions on 20 attempts for 46 yards and two interceptions. Miller was responsible for the Cards only points, when he kicked a 27 yard field goal in the second quarter.
Six foot, seven wide receiver Daoud Anthony caught three passes for 32 yards. Rushing by name, carries and yards gained from the stat sheet the following day. (they do not agree) Byron Williams, 10-37; Peter Miller, 7-35; Dylan Fukal11-24; John Warren, 2-22, Jona Hodges, 3-13. Passing: six for 17 for 39 yards and one interception. Receiving: Anthony 2-17; Byron Williams, 2-7; Hodges, 1-5, Fukal, 1-0. Scotts Valley out gained the Cards 295 yards to 170 yards. SC is now 0-2 in league and 1-5 for the season.

Oct. 25. Takeaways Help SC Hold Onto Shell. Cardinals Harass Harbor With Blitzes, Create Six Turnovers. SC has won the SC city championship for the third straight year, by putting the pressure on the Harbor quarterback. Harbor which leads the lifetime series 22-18-1 had trouble holding onto the ball from the start against SC’s aggressive defense.
Cornerback Gustavo Cortes intercepted a pass on the Pirates first offensive series and ran it back for a 15 yard touchdown. SC intercepted four passes and recovered two Harbor fumbles. SC blitzed heavily all game, sacking the quarterback three times and forcing him to throw on the run all game. SC varied their blitzes to confuse Harbor’s offensive line.
SC took a 14-0 lead with 2:35 left in the first quarter as wide receiver Daoud Anthony caught a six yard pass form quarterback Peter Miller, shook a defender and ran for a 46 yard touchdown. Anthony finished with three catches for 63 yards. Miller completed four of eight passes for 79 yards with an interception, before leaving the game with an injury midway through the second quarter. Ted Kovats-Wildenradt replaced him.
SC’s third touchdown didn’t come until 9:46 left in the fourth quarter, when sophomore running back Jonah Hodges found an opening on third and seven from Harbor’s 32 yard line and went the distance for his first varsity touchdown. “It was his birthday today, so that was a nice birthday present for the youngster,” Coach Jesse Trumbull said.
Hodges led SC with 59 yards on eight carries, followed by Byron Williams with 58 yards on 13 carries. Other Card stats: Rushing: Dominic Bonner, 7-28; John Warren 2-12; Matt Dietz, 2-5; Dylan Fukai, 2-5; Peter Miller 1-1. Passing: Ted Kovatz-Wildenradt, 2-5, 0, 20. Receiving: Anthony, 3-63, Bonner 2-20; Damon 1-16. Yards gained by the two teams was divided by only 5 yards. SC 239 and Harbor 231.
Defensive Stats: Interceptions: Gustavo Cortes, Damon, Dylan Fukal and Calvin Ohtake. Fumble recoveries: Team and John Warren. Sacks: Michael Schuhe, Zach Henry and Warren shared one.

Nov. 1. Tie, Tie Again For Cougars. SLV Plays To Its Second Tie In As Many Games, this Time vs. Santa Cruz. SLV tied the score with just 55 seconds left on the clock with a four yard pass and two point conversion pass. SLV scored first on its opening drive. SC produced two touchdown in less than a two minute span in the second quarter. Unable to punch the ball in from the 3 yard line, SC made the most of a botched field goal attempt. Holder Gustavo Cortes gathered a bad snap and threw a swing pass to place kicker Peter Miller, who stormed 10 yards for the score.
After the SC kick off, SLV fumbled on the 22 yard line. Quarterback Ted Kovats-Wildenradt connected with running back Dominic Bonner for a 22 yard touchdown pass to give his team a 14-7 halftime lead. In the third quarter, SLV scored two touchdowns for 33 and one yard out to go ahead 20-14.
But the Cards, who finished with 353 yards of offense behind a balance attack, weren’t done. SC gained 192 yards rushing and 161 passing. SC tacked on two unanswered scores to jump to a 28-20 lead. Jonah Hodges scored on a 6 yard run and Bonner added a 9 yard run with 3:59 left. That was enough time for the Cougars to march from their own 39 and tie the game. “We were disappointed. We lost a few plays we should have had. But we hung with one of the top teams in the league. We ran the ball more than usual. We got the running game going,” Bonner said. SC attempted a 38 yard field goal as time expired, but it was well short.
Offensive stats: Johan Hodges, 16-80; Dominic Bonner, 12-70; Byron Williams 7-29; John Warren 4-20; Dylan Fukai 1- minus 6. Passing: Kovats-Wildenradt, 12-19-151-0. Cortes, 1-1-10-0. Receiving: Bonner, 5-77; Anthony 2-32; Hodges 3-29, Ben Damon, 2-13. Peter Miller, 1-10. Miller converted all four extra point tries.
Defensive stats: Fumble recoveries: Williams and Bonner one each. Sacks: John Warren. SC is now 2-5-1 and 1-2-1 in league. SC gained 19 first downs to 15 for SLV. SLV out gained SC by 5 yards, 358 to 353. SC fumbled twice, but recovered their own fumble. SLV fumbled twice and SC recovered both of them. SC had 20 penalty yards and SLV had 60.

Nov. 8. SC Spoils St. Francis’ Title Hopes. Running back Jonah Hodges capped an improbable 99 yard touchdown drive for and insurance score in the fourth quarter and it held up as the game winner as SC won 17-14. Hodges, a sophomore called up from the junior varsity earlier this season, scored on a three yard run to culminate an eight play drive against the counties top defense. SC 3-5-1 overall and St. Francis 5-3-1 are both 2-2-1 in league.
“We’re not playoff bound, but we have a say and we’re messing with all that stuff. We’re still pumped, like it was the first game or any other game,” Hodges said of the spoiler role. St. Francis jumped in front of SC on running back Jacob Millers 65 yard touchdown run in the first quarter, were stunned after the game. SC’s first ten points came off turnovers. St. Francis fumbled five times and lost two of them.
After John Warren recovered a fumble at the Sharks 17 yard line, a play later, quarterback Ted Kovats-Wildenradt connected with receiver Daoud Anthony for a touchdown to tie the score. The Sharks coach said, “SC has been battling every team in the league. There’s not one team that has been devastated by them.” Julio Flores recovered a fumble in the second quarter that set up Peter Millers 23 yard field goal with 11 seconds left in the half and gave the Cards the lead for good.
SC held to 254 yards of offense, produced nearly half of its yardage total in the final scoring drive. Backed up to their own one yard line on a fine punt by the Sharks. SC got some timed breaks on their long drive. Hodges busted loose against the Sharks tiring defense for a 48 yard gain and receiver Miguel Nunez hauled in a tipped pass in triple coverage for a 36 yard gain on third and 11.
“It’s not that crazy,” Hodges said of the win. “We’ve been a good team all year. A couple of games, we should have won. We came out angry and wanted to win. Down 17-7m St. Francis scored on an 18 yard pass with 2:57 remaining in the game. The Sharks tried an onside kick, but SC recovered the ball and ran the clock down to 10.3 seconds left and St. Francis with no time outs. Gustovo Cortes intercepted a pass to end the game.
“We were pretty opportunistic,” said coach Bubba Trumbull. “We took advantage when things were presented to us.” Each team totaled 254 yards in the tightly fought game.
Rushing: Hodges 12-67; Williams, 7-25; Bonner, 5-2. Passing: Kovats-Wildenradt 11-21-113-1; Miller, 2-4-58-0. Receiving: Damon 3-80; Nunez. 1-36; Hodges, 5-33; Anthony 2-20, Bonner, 2-2.
Defensive Stats: Fumble recoveries: John Warren and Julio Flores. Interceptions: Gustavo Cortes. Sacks: Byron Williams.

The stats for Santa Cruz County Kept by the Sentinel.
SC was fourth on defense giving up 191 points, 1276 rushing yards, 1633 passing for a total of 2909 yards for an average of 290.9 per-game.
On offense the Cards were last scoring 173 points, rushing 1270, passing 1176, total 2446 yards for an average of 244.6 per game.

Out of the 13 rushers list, SC had none (as most of their backs did not play the whole season)
Peter Miller was seventh in passing completing 60 of 131 passes attempted for 793 yards. He threw 8 touchdowns and had 9 interceptions. Miller also kicked the longest field goal of 37 yards.
Dauod Anthony was twelfth in receiving with 22 receptions, for 346 yards and seven touchdowns.
Listed under the longest interception returns for touchdowns. John Warren, 37 yards against Aptos and Gustavo Cortes 15 yards against Harbor.

Sentinel ALL COUNTY. junior offensive lineman, Michael Schuhe, 6-3, 220. In defense, senior line backer Cole Collins, 6-2, 240. On special teams, senior punter, Peter Miller, 6-2, 220.

ALL SCCAL picked by the league coaches.
First team offense: Erik Colombini and Michael Schuhe, linemen. First team defense: Felipe Jauregui, line. Cole Collins, linebacker. Special teams: Peter Miller at punter and kicker.
Second team offense: Codi Bell, line. Jonah Hodges, back. Doud Anthony, wide receiver.
On defense: John Warren, linebacker.
Honorable mention: Chase Simons, Dominic Bonner, Gustavo Cortes, Ben Damon and Julio Flores.

JV FOOTBALL
Yearbook.

FROSH-SOPH FOOTBALL
Yearbook.

CROSS COUNTRY BOYS
League: SLV 21-19 loss, St. Francis 31-24 loss, SLV 50-15 loss, defeated Soquel and Mt, Madonna as they were incomplete.

Sept. 26. Juan Salinas medaled in the Ram Invitational at Westmoor high, recording a 13:55 time on the 2.4 mile course. His effort landed him a 26TH place overall.
Oct. 2. Scotts Valley 19, SC 21. At Schwann Lagoon, 3.1 miles. Kyle McNulty won in 18:23 followed by Juan Salinas second in 18:28.

Oct. 11. At the Crystal Springs Invitational at Lynbrook on a 2.95 course, Juan Salinas ran a 17:07.

Oct. 16. In a four way meet at UCSCs 2.08 mile course, St. Francis 24, SC 31. SC defeated Soquel and Mt. Madonna, both of which ran incomplete. Juan Salinas took second in 12:29.9. Chris Esposito was fifth in 13:31.1. SC is 3-2.

Oct. 30. SLV 15, SC 50 at the UCSC 2.08 course. SLV took all of the first nine places.

Nov. 15. At the CCS Division IV race at the 2.95 Crystal Springs course in the Belmont Hills, the SC boys team qualified for the state meet. (no further information)

Nov. 22. SC standout cross country runner Juan Salinas crossed the finish line at the Santa Cruz Turkey Trot 5- kilometer race held at Natural Bridges. Salinas shaved one minute and 50 second off last years ninth place finish, breaking the tape at 17:06.

SC had no members on the ALL SCCAL squad.

CROSS COUNTRY GIRLS
League: Scotts Valley 29-25, loss, St. Francis 22-34, SLV 33-22 loss

Sept. 13. SC placed fourteenth out of 32 schools at the Early Bird Invitational, a solid performance for a Division IV school competing against several higher ranking teams, according to coach Gregg Brock. Elle Sanders came in thirteenth overall in the senior race at 20:38. Mandy Cole finished seventeenth at 21:03 in the junior race and Elena Venable followed closely behind at 22:00, good for twenty-sixth. Sophomores Carmela Roberts and Cassidy Burr rounded out the Cards top five with times of 22:01 and 22:10 respectively.

Sept. 26. SC came in fourth in its division at the Ram Invitational, with seven runners earning medals. Elle Sanders paced the Cards with a 15:37 time for fifth overall. Mandy Cole took seventeenth in 16:37, Cassidy Burr followed at 18TH in 16:43. Elena Venable was twenty-first in 16:55, Carmela Roberts 28TH in 17:05, Kiara Burkett thirteenth in 17:17 and Tanya Naranjo 34TH in 17:27.

Oct 2. Scotts Valley 25, SC 29. At Schwann Lagoon, 3.1 miles. Elle Sanders took second place in 20:32.

Oct. 11. SC girls turned in impressive efforts at the Crystal Springs Invitational in Belmont on a 2.95 mile course. Elle Sanders took tenth at 19:10, just 17 second behind the Card record for the course. Other placers: Amanda Cole 20:34; Elena Ramirez 20:53. Cassidy Burr 20:56. Kiara Burkett 21:34.

Oct. 16. SC defeated St. Francis 22-34 in a race at UCSC’s 2.08 mile course. Elle Sanders finished first in 13:48 and Mandy Cole third in 14:29/

Oct. 30. SLV 22, SC 33 at the UCSC 2.08 course. Mandy Cole took first in 14.08. Elana Venable 14:48.

Nov. 15. At the CCS Division IV race at the 2.95 Crystal Springs course in the Belmont Hills, SC took second trailing champion Half Moon Bay 60-80. Mandy Cole was the Cards top finisher placing seventh in 19:15. Scotts Valley was third two points away from SC. It was a satisfying time for SC as it was the first time they had finished ahead of their rival this season.
“Our team came out and did what they were capable of doing. It was not my best race. I heard my team did really good. I was hoping it would be enough to go to state,” said Elle Sanders. (and it was)

Nov. 20. State Cross Country Championship Division IV race Mandy Cole led the Cards in 19:28 good for thirty-fifth place in a 188 runner field. Elle Sanders was second for SC finishing forty-second in 19:39, followed by Elena Venable, seventy-four in 20:16. Carmela Roberts, eighty-fourth in 20:30. Cassidy Burr, 131 place at 21:20. Elena Rameriz 141 in 21:36 and Tanya Naranjo, 143 at 21:38. “Six of those seven girls will be back next year. We have tow more waiting in the wings. We are excited about next year,” coach Greg Brock.

ALL SCCAL first team of seven players, selected by the league coaches, included senior Elle Sanders. Mandy Cole was named to the second team.

GIRLS TENNIS
League: Harbor 6-2, 3-4; Aptos 2-5, 2-5; St. Francis 7-0, Soquel 7-0

Sept. 11. In the first match of the season, SC defeated Harbor 6-2. After splitting singles play, the Cards took control of the doubles, winning all four matches. Doubles winners in order of the ladder were Catherine Sordo and Luci Shook 6-0, 6-2. Emma Brokaw and Lauren Yien 7-5, 6-2. Kiauna Day-Smith and Rachel Zhang 6-2, 4-6, 10-8. Katie Walton and Kaitlin Begin 6-2, 6-1. Singles winners were Laura Aitken 6-4, 6-3. Pauline Seftel 6-2, 6-4. Suzana Wong lost 3-6, 5-7. Alice Winst lost 4-6, 5-7.

Sept. 26. Aptos 5, SC 2. Suzanna Wong won the number one singles 6-7, 6-3, 10-7. Catherine Sordo and Luci Shook won the number one doubles 6-3, 6-2. SC player who lost in order of ladder: Alice Mintz, Laura Aiken, Pauline Seftel. Doubles Emma Brokaw and Rachel Zhary. Kiauna Day-Smith and Katie Walton. Both teams have 3-1 records.

Oct. 2. Harbor defeated SC 4- 3 in a close match. After splitting the singles matches, Harbor took two of the three doubles matches to win. Number one, Suzana Wong lost 2-6, 0-6. Alice Mintz won 4-6, 6-2, 7-6, 7-4. Laura Aitkens lost 4-6, 3-6. Kathryn Sordo won 6-0, 6-0. Doubles: Luci Shook and Emma Brokaw won 6-4, 7-5. Gianna Day-Smith and Kaitlin Bogin lost 3-6, 3-6. Rachael Zhang and Katie Walton won 6-3, 6-3. SC is now 3-3.

Oct. 7. SC swept St. Francis 7-0 to improve to 4-3 in SCCAL play. Number one singles player Suzanna Wong won 7-5, 6-1. Alice Mintz won 6-4, 6-1. Laura Aitken won 6-1, 6-2. Pauline Seftel won 6-0, 6-1. In doubles: Catherine Sordo and Luci Shook won 6-1, 6-0. Emma Brokaw and Rachel Zhang won 6-2, default. Gianna Day-Smith and Katie Walton won 6-2, 6-1. SC is now 4-3.

Oct. 8 tennis standings: Scotts Valley 7-0, Aptos 4-2, SC 4-3, Harbor 3-3, Soquel 1-5, St. Francis 0-6.

Oct. 10. SC topped Soquel 6-1. Suzanna Wong won the number one singles 6-0, 6-3. Other players are listed in order of the SC ladder: Alice Mintz, 6-3, 6-2; Laura Aitken 1-6, 6-4, 4-0; Pauline Seftel 6-4, 6-4. (some one in singles lost but is not listed) Doubles: Catherine Sordo and Luci Shook 6-2, 6-3. Emma Brokaw and Kaitlin Begin 6-1, 6-4. Kiauna Day-Smith and Madison Griffin 6-3, 6-2. SC is now 5-3.

Oct. 17. Aptos 5, SC 2. Number one singles; Suzanna Wong won 6-0, 6-2. In number one doubles Catherine Sordo and Luci Shook won 6-3, 6-1.
Other SC competitors. Singles losers in order of the ladder: Alice Mintz, Laura Aitken, Pauline Seftel. Doubles number two, Kaitlin Begin and Emma Brokaw, Rachel Zhang and Kati Walton, lost. SC is 3-4 and Aptos 7-2

SCCAL TOURNAMENT . FIRST ROUND Singles: Alice Mintz won 6-3, 6-4.
Doubles Laura Aitken and Pauline Seftel 7-5, 6-3.

SEMIFINALS Singles: number three seed, Suzanna Wong and Alice Mintz each are in the semifinals
Doubles: Laura Aitken and Pauline Seftel against the number two seeds.
Number three seeds: Luci Shook and Catherine Sordo

JV GIRLS TENNIS
Yearbook.

BOYS WATER POLO
From mbayprep.com. Practice games: Mitty 8-14, John Schmidt tourney: Acalanes 3-20, Fairfield 6-5, Tokay of Lodi 2-9, San Marin of Novato 4-8, Lynbrook 5-8; Homestead tourney: Palma 4-7, Half Moon Bay 14-10; Monta Vista tourney: Pioneer 6-13 Gilroy 9-3, Carmel 6-12. Practice record 3-8 League: SLV 20-9, 14-3; Harbor 13-6, 10-8; Aptos 0-1, 4-14; Soquel 2-20, 0-13. League record 4-4. In the league playoffs lost to Aptos and beat Harbor 9-7 for third place. Does not equal the Sentinel league standings shown later, which says 4-2, In the first round of CCS Division II lost to Pioneer 6-10.
The above shows the overall record to be 8-14, which is what Monterey Bay Prep has.

Bmayprep.com Roster: Matt Allen, Pheonix Pelstring, Joe Raimondi, Alex Ivany, Cole Garner, Aaron Marquez, Alex Munishkin, Austin Par, Carson Staudt and Kirk.
Scoring leaders: Garner 17, Raimondi 13, Staudt and Marquez 11 apiece and Allen 8. Goalies savies: Pelstring 53 and Munishkin 10.

Sentinel Boys Water Polo Preview
Coach: Chris Melcer, first year. 2009 results: 5-8 overall and 2-6 in league for fourth place. Top returners: Rudy Faimondi, senior, 2-meter offense. Aaron Marquez, senior, 2-meter defender. Top newcomers: Matt Allen, sophomore, driver. Pheonix Pelstring, sophomore, goalie. Notable: SC welcomes a newly built pool and a new coach Chris Melcer. Melcer coached the Nordic Water Polo Club in San Jose between 2002-2007. He began coaching the Soquel based Wax’em Water Polo Club, which he continues today. He said he plans to focus on fundamental tactics and skills.

Sept.11. Raimondi Scores Nine For SC Water Polo. SC 20, SLV 9. Rudy Raimondi nine goals, Cole Garner 5 goals, Goalie Pheonix Pelstring seven saves in three quarters. SC 1-1 overall and 1-0 in league.

Sept. 23. Cole Garner scored four goals and Matt Allen and Carson Staudt each added three goals as SC defeated Harbor 13-6. Cards are 4-7 overall and 2-0 in league.

Oct. 7. Along with the girls team the boys finished its first game in its new pool with a 14-3 victory over SLV. Anthony Marquez scored four goals, Cole Garner added three and Austin Park two goals for SC with a 5-9 overall record and 3-2 in SCCAL play. Goalie Phoenix Pelstring had a shutout through the first half and 10 saves in the game.

Oct. 16. SC 10, Harbor 8. Goalie Phoenix Pelstring had 9 saves. Goals: Carson Staudt 2, Mats Allen 3, Aaron Marquez 1. SC is 6-10 overall and 4-2 in league.

Oct. 21. Aptos beat SC 14-4

Nov. 11. CCS Boys Water Polo. SC STALLS. Cardinals Can’t Keep Pace With No. 5 Pioneer. SC slowed, but couldn’t stop Pioneer in the first round of the CCS Division II playoffs. Twelfth seed SC played conservative and hung with number five Pioneer through the first half, before Pioneer pulled away for a 10-6 victory. Pioneer 21-5 overall had to work for every goal as SC refused to be burned by their quick counter attack. “We dedicated three guys to defense and all of a sudden, we’re in the game. The main thing was not to turn it into a swim meet,” said coach Chris Melcer. SC ended the season 8-16 overall and 4-4 in league for third place.
SC found early success working the ball into the hole set Aaron Marquez, whose goal 1:30 into the first quarter gave the team an early lead. The teams traded scores until Pioneer struck twice in the final minute of the first half. In the second half, Pioneer started to look like the team that beat SC 13-6 on October 10 in the Monta Vista Tournament.
SC sophomore goalie Phoenix Pelstring kept the game within reach for the Cards with 13 saves. Marquez and Mats Allen each score two goals. Cole Garner and Austin Parker each added one. “We knew about their counter and we knew they could shoot. We were able to stop it better this time,” said Marquez.
It was SC’s first CCS appearance since 2006, when it lost in the second round to Sacred Heart Prep. “They did everything they were supposed to do. They played their best polo at the end of the season. That’s all I asked,” said coach Melcer.

Soquel won its fifteenth straight league title, beating Aptos 14-9

Nov. 28. ALL SCCAL Cole Garner a junior first team. Matts Allen, sophomore, second team.
Honorable mention: Carson Staudt and Phoenix Pelstring.

BOYS JV WATER POLO

GIRLS WATER POLO CO-CHAMPIONS. Won the regular season SCCAL championship for the fourth time in five years going 8-0 in league, but lost to Soquel in the league tournament and had to settle for a co-championship. SC finished second in the CCS Division IV standings.
Practice games: Clovis Invite: Lincoln of Stockton 4-0, Casa Roble of Orangevale 16-6, Lincoln 8-5, Buchanan 2-3 of Fresno, Leland 3-10, Edison of Fresno 3-5. Ended eighth out of 32 teams; Monterey Bay shootout: Monterey 13-5, Santa Clara 19-0, Livermore 8-1, Aptos 5-4 for tourney championship. Los Gatos Tournament: Presentation 13-1, Valley Christian 16-3, Salinas 9-2, Los Gatos 3-10 for third place. Salinas 8-5. Practice record 11-4.
League: Soquel 7-4, 12-4; SLV 13-5, 18-3; Harbor 15-3, 17-2, Aptos 7-3, 6-5. League record 8-0. SCCAL playoffs: In the semifinals defeated Harbor 16-5and lost to Soquel 5-6 in the finals to end up co-champions.
SC defeated Stevenson 14-3 in the first round of CCS Division II. Lost to Mitty 3-9. Overall record 21-6.

Sentinel Girls Water Polo Preview
Coach Mark Townsend, sixth year. 2008 results: 14-11 overall and 5-5 league for third place. Top returners: Sophie Calhoun, Sr., utility, Kristen Kelly, Sr., attacker. Top Newcomers: None. Notable: The Cardinals return all of the starters from last season. Townsend believes the team has a chance at winning the league. He says the girls will focus on training hard. They’re also excited to play in their new pool, which is scheduled to open in mid-September.

Rising Back To The Top. Calhoun Looks To Return Cardinals To Championship. Though it’s only the beginning of the high school water polo season, SC senior Sophie Calhoun has set her sights on the end. “I really want to win league,” Calhoun said, “I think we’re better than last season and we’re prepared.”
Calhoun who is the tallest player on her team at 5 feet 11 inches and the only player to compete all four years on varsity, knows what it takes to get to the top.
She began her high school athletic career helping the Cardinals win the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League title as a starting center defender. Her sophomore year, the varsity team tied with Soquel for the league title. And, after finishing behind Aptos and Soquel last season, Calhoun is more than determined to help Santa Cruz reclaim the title.
“She’s worked very hard for her team and has sacrificed a lot,” Cardinals coach Mark Townsend said. “She fools around a lot but works very hard.”
Calhoun is in the water year-round and has played all four prep seasons as a utility player, what Townsend calls the most dangerous position.
“I’ve seen her cover three girls in the front court at one time,” Townsend said. “She’s the best defensive player in the league.”
Indeed, Calhoun was a first-team all-SCCAL selection last year, and has been named all-Central Coach Section second-team and honorable mention. Aside from being a key player for the Cardinals, she plays for Soquel’s Waxem club in the winter and the Santa Cruz water polo club in the summer. This summer, Calhoun made the Pacific Zone Water Polo Olympic Development travel team.
Calhoun’s speed in the water has contributed to her fast maneuvers and shots.
Calhoun swam three years on varsity for Santa Cruz and helped win league last year by placing first in the 100-yard freestyle, second in the 200 free and swimming a leg of the 200 free relay to qualify for CCS in the event.
Along with her many accomplishments in the pool, she also excels in the classroom. She has held about a 3.5 grade point average throughout high school. Math, she says, is her favorite subject.
She certainly knows this equation fun + hard work = success.
Calhoun is known by her team for being silly and wearing a smile on the pool deck, but once in the pool she plays a fierce game.
“She is really energetic,” teammate Kristen Kelly, 17, said. “In the water she is all about helping her teammates out and doing her best.”

Sept. 11. SC 18, SLV 3. Kristen Kelly and Sophie Calhoun four goals apiece. Heather Mullowney and Nicole Patel three goals apiece. Nikki Dessault and Adriana Baaade two goals apiece. SC is 3-3 overall and 1-0 in league.

Knights Rule SCCAL. Girls Shock Cardinals, Come Back To Win Share Of Championship. Soquel won a share of the league title with a come from behind 6-5 victory in the SCCAL tournament final. SC finished the regular league season undefeated 8-0, led the majority of the championship game, but a late Soquel goal put them ahead with only three minutes left in the fourth quarter. Soquel went 4-4 in league play.
No one at the pool was thinking upset after a blazing start from the Cards in the opening three minutes. SC won both regular season games, the first 7-4 and the second 12-4, looked well on its way for a third straight triumph early in the first quarter. Goals from seniors Nicole Patel, Sophie Calhoun and Adriane Baade put SC up 3-0 with 4:27 remaining in the opening frame. Soquel scored twice to close out the first quarter with the score 3-2 SC.
But SC still took a two goal lead into the half after a heads up defensive play by senior Nikki Dussault led to a goal. Dussault poked the ball free, then raced the length of the pool and flipped a scoring shot past the keeper with only 51 seconds left in the first half. SC led 4-2 at the break.
After three quarters of action the score was tied 4-4. Both sides traded goals early in the fourth, “We weren’t getting the calls we normally get,” coach Mark Townsend said. “Because of that, we started making some bad passes.” The SC scorers were Kristen Kelly, Nichol Patel, Nikki Dussault, Adrian Baade and Sophie Calhoun.

Sept. 5. Calhoun Leads SC At Clovis Invite. SC won its first two games of the season at the 32 team Clovis tournament. SC defeated Casa Roble 16-6 and Lincoln 8-5 to move into the eight team championship bracket. Calhoun scored four goals in each game and held a USA National Youth Team player to two goals on defense in a come from behind victory. Kristen Kelly added five goals on the day.
In the championship bracket, SC lost three games to take eighth place at Clovis. SC lost to Buchanan 3-2, Fourth ranked Leland 10-3 and Edison 5-3. Adrian Baade scored 3 goals and Calhoun scored another four goals, while Kristen kelly contributed on defense.
It was the second best placing in SC history, behind a fifth place finish two years ago, according to coach Mark Townsend.

Sept. 25. Santa Cruz Water Polo Tops Aptos Remains Undefeated In SCCAL. Calhoun, Rollo Score Two Goals Apiece For Cardinals. As the Cards down Aptos 7-3. SC 5-3 overall and 3-0 in league. Mullowney, Kelly and Baade had one goal apiece.

Sept. 26.Cardinals Cruise In Shootout. Santa Cruz Girls Water Polo Team Sweeps Weekend Matches. At the Monterey Bay Shootout. SC started out by besting Monterey 13-5 with four goals from Sophie Calhoun and three from Kelsey Rollo. In the second match SC bludgeoned Santa Clara 19-0 behind goalkeeper Molly Gilholm’s first varsity shutout. Calhoun had six goals and Kayla Pearson scored four times. Rollo and Calhoun combined for seven goals as SC took down Livermore 8-1 to vault into the finals against Aptos. Calhoun and Rollo couldn’t be stopped as they struck for two goals each in a 5-4 nail bitter championship win over Aptos.
SC outscored its opponents 45-10 over the tournament a feat coach Townsend attributed to “Exceptional team defense.” SC moves to 9-3 overall and 3-0 in league.

Oct. 7. SC Teams Christen Pool With Wins. SC in its first game at its new pool defeated SLV 13-5. Sophie Calhoun led the attack for SC by scoring six goals and Kelsey Rollo added three goals. Six players scored for the Cards. Goalie Molly Gilholm. SC is now 11-4 overall and 5-0 in league.

Oct. 16. Santa Cruz Girls Water Polo Remains Unbeaten In SCCAL Play. Sophie Calhoun scored six goals, Adriane Baade 3 goals and Blanca Grossi 3 in a 17-2 win over Harbor. SC is 12-3 overall and 6-0 in league.

Oct. 18. SC Girls Water Polo Third In Los Gatos. Sophie Calhoun scored five goals and Adriane Baade added three as SC beat Presentation 13-1 for third place at the Los Gatos Invitational. Goalie Molly Gilholm made 12 saves and carried a shutout into the fourth period in SC’s final match. Other scorers were Kristen Kelly 2, Nicole Patel 2, Heather Mullowney 1.
Calhoun scored 13 goals in for games as the Cards 15-4 also beat Valley Christian 16-3 and Salinas 9-2 in the eight team tournament. The lone loss to Los Gatos 10-3.
Scorers against Valley Christian: Nikki Dussault 4, Calhoun 3, Mullowney 3, Patel 2, Baade 2, Pearson 1, Kelsey Rollo 1.
Scorers against Salinas: Calhoun 3, Rollo 2, Patel 1, Dussault 1, Kelly1, Baade 1.
Scorers against Los Gatos: Calhoun 2, Baade 1.

Oct. 21. SC Girls Polo Fends Off Aptos. SC’s Nicole Patel and Heather Mullowney each scored two goals in defeating Aptos 6-5 to remain unbeaten in league. Mullowney scored the game winner with 28 seconds remaining. SC is 16-4 overall and 7-0 in league to second place Aptos at 5-2 in league.

Nov. 1. SC 8, Salinas 5. Highlights: Sophie Calhounn 5 goals. SC 19-4 overall record.

Previous game a loss to Soquel.
Nov. 12. CCS Division II playoffs first round: SC 14, Stevenson 3. Cardinals Trounce Stevenson. Santa Cruz Move Into Quarterfinals Against Mitty. The team wasted little time erasing any unpleasant thoughts over a loss to Soquel in the SCCAL tournament final. The Cards scored five goals in the first quarter and six more in the third. They started hot and never looked back.
Gritty defense, great goaltending and a lethal counter attack was too much for the number 12 seeded Pirates to handle. Eight different SC player recorded scores, led by a game high four goals from senior Sophie Calhoun. SC finished the regular season 20-4 overall along with earning Co-Championship honors in the SCCAL. Their next game will be against number 4 seeded Mitty.
“I’m definitely happy with the results tonight. I’ve pretty much forgotten about the Soquel game. I just wanted the girls to come out and have fun tonight,” said coach Townsend. Efficient was the word of the night for the Cards. With all phases clicking, SC quickly off a great look from senior Kristen Kelly, who finished with four assists along with two scores, dropped a perfect lead pass to Calhoun for an easy score 24 seconds into the match. Kelly fired in a deep scoring shot four minutes later, then added one more on a quick steal and score on the very next possession.
SC led 6-2 at the break, but really poured it on during the dominant third quarter. Goalie Molly Gilholm saved five shots in the second quarter. Calhoun, Nikki Dussault, Nicole Petal and Heather Mullowney all fird in goals in the first four minutes of the third quarter.
Highlights: Calhoun 4 goals, 2 assist; Kelly 2 goals and 4 assists. Dussault 2 goals and 1 assist. Rollo 1 goal and 2 assist.

Nov. 15. Mitty Knocks Out Santa Cruz Girls. Number four seed Mitty beat number five seed SC 9-3 in the CCS Division II quarterfinals. SC finished the season 21-6.

ALL SCCAL Seniors Sophie Calhoun, Kristen Kelly and Heather Mullowney first team. Second team: junior Kelsey Rollo and senior Nichol Patel. Honorable mention: Molly Gilholm and Bianca Grossi.

GIRLS JV WATER POLO
Yearbook.

BOYS AND GIRLS SWIMMING AND DIVING
GIRLS WIN THIRD STRAIGHT SCCAL TITLE

Yearbook.

The girls won their third straight league title.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Practice: Don Bosco Invitational: Woodside Priority 0-2, Oak Grove 2-1, Soquel 1-2, St. Francis, Watsonville 0-2. Live Oak 3-0, Pajaro Valley 0-3. Harbor Invitational: Carmel 2-1, Pajaro Valley 0-2. Rosemont Tournament: Wood, Vacaville 1-2, Vacaville Christian 1-2. Practice record 3-7. League: Scotts Valley 3-0, 3-0; Aptos 0-3, 0-3; Soquel 2-3, 0-3; St. Francis 3-2, 2-3; Mt. Madonna 0-3, 0-3; Harbor 3-0. 1-3; SLV 3-0, 0-3. League record 5-9 for sixth place. Overall record 8-16.
League standings: Aptos 14-0, Mt. Madonna 12-2, Soquel 9-5, SLV 7-7, St. Francis 6-8, SC 5-9, Harbor 3-11, Scott Valley 0-14.

Yearbook.

Sept. 11. Pajaro Valley defeated SC 25-22, 28-18, 26-24.

Sept. 23 Sentinel preseason write up. Coach Phoebe Miller, first year. Last years record 3-14 overall, 2-12 league. Key returners: Seniors: Makenzie Sisk, outside hitter; Kira Wong defensive specialist; Sarah Saxton, outside; Hailey Worthen defensive specialist; Rose Carman, setter. Juniors: Nicole Petersen, middle; Franny Gardner middle and Cabrille Corbett, setter.
Top newcomers: seniors: Carollo Katelin, defensive specialist; Katie Attema, middle. Juniors: Naomi Baxter, outside and Ede Sullivan, outside.
Notable: Co-Captain Rose Carmen is averaging 14 assists per game in league as the Cards have opened with a 1-2 record. Senior Co-Captain Sarah Saxton and junior Nicole Petersen lead the team in kills.
Sept. 23. Soquel came from behind to defeat SC 22-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-7. SC is now 1-2 in league.

Sept. 25 SC came from behind to beat St. Francis 26-24, 20-25, 22-25, 25-15, 18-16. Rose Carman had 34 assists and Nicole Petersen added 18 kills and nine blocks. Sarah Saxton 8 kills, 23 digs, 6 blocks; Makenzie Sisk 9 kills; Franny Gardner 6 kills and 7 blocks; Hailey Worthen 21 digs, Kira Wong 26 kills.

Oct 2. SC defeated Harbor 25-18, 25-21, 25-12. Highlights: Rose Carman 21 assists. Nicole Petersen 8 kills. Sarah Saxton 7 kills, 14 digs. Makenzie Sisk 7 kills, 10 digs. Franny Gardner 5 kills. Hailey Worthen 16 digs. Kira Wong 19 digs. Ede Sullivan 9 digs

Oct. 7. SC Shuts Down SLV. Everything Finally Clicks For Team, New Coach. SC appeared to be in for a long night early in its match with SLV. Everything changed midway through the first game. SC’s passes started to connect, their spikes started finding the floor and suddenly SC was celebrating a 25-23, 25-20, 25-20 victory. SC improved to 5-7 overall and 4-3 in league to move into a tie fro third with SLV and Soquel. Senior outside hitter Makenzie Sisk led SC with 11 kills, while senior setter Rose Carman made 27 assists. Kira Wong made 14 digs, Nicole Petersen made 11 and Sisk added eight.
“I feel like they finally found their niche. We learned what it takes to close a game,” said first year coach Phoebe Miller of her teams turnaround. With a new coach, everything started out rocky and there is a learning process for both the coach and the team. I think we finally figured it out tonight together.”
SC, which beat defending league champion Harbor, the game before, won its first back-to-back games of the year. SC started the year, but have gone 5-4 since.
SC highlights: Mackenzi Sisk 11 kills, 8 digs. Sarah Saxton 5 kills, 11 digs. Nicole Petersen 7 kills. Rose Carman 27 assists.

Oct. 9. SC beat host Scotts Valley 25-23, 25-13, 25-11. Sarah Saxton had 10 kills and 18 digs. Rose Carman had 17 assists. Nicole Petersen 7 kills. Kira Wong 14 digs.

Oct. 16. Soquel defeats SC 25-18, 25-22, 25-19. Highlights: Kira Wong 29 digs. Nicole Petersen 6 kills. Rose Carman 18 assists. Sarah Saxton 17 digs.

Oct. 21. St. Francis beat visiting SC 22-25, 25-18, 17-25, 25-13, 15-13. SC 6-10 overall and 5-6 in league was led by Rose Carman’s 41 assists and Sarah Saxton’s 15 kills and 37 digs. Nicole Peterson added 20 kills. Kira Wong 38 digs. Franny Gardner 5 blocks.

Oct. 30. SLV defeated SC 25-15, 25-21, 25-23. Sarah Saxton 19 digs. Nicole Peterson 8 kills. Rose Carman 13 assists. Makenzie Sisk 18 digs and 4 kills. SC is now 5-9 in league.

Nov. 4. Soquel defeated SC 25-12, 25-23, 25-17. SC is 5-10 overall. No highlights reported.
Top players: Peterson, 123 kills; Gardner, 35 blocks; Saxton, 22 aces; Wong, 272 digs and Carmen 345 assists.

Nov. 21. ALL SCCAL second team, Nicole Peterson, junior middle blocker. Honorable mention Rose Carman and Sarah Saxton..

JV GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Yearbook.

GIRLS GOLF LEAGUE CO-CHAMPIONS WITH HARBOR.
Yearbook.

Sept. 7. Sentinel Girls Golf Preview.
Coach: Pete Pappas second year. 2009 record: 1-9, sixth place. Key Returners: are seniors Michelle England, Gianna Tinetti and Mattie Mayall. Key newcomers were freshmen Christina Davis, Chelsea Sicklin and Erica Tinetti. Sophomores: Emma Cook, Annie Soares, Jessica Bradley and Taylor Miller. Junior Emily Cianciulli. Notable: SC has a large pool of young, developing golfers that could prove to be an asset down the line. SC’s goal for this year, beat cross-town rival Harbor.

Sept. 11. SC 150, Harbor 152. SC strokes: Chelsea Ficklin 36, Gianna Tinetti 37, Michele England 38, Kritina Davis 39. SC is now 2-0.

Sept. 23. SC improved to 6-0 in league with a 189-220 defeat of Scotts Valley.

Oct. 2. SC 151, SLV 166. Scoring: Michelle England 35,Chelsea Ficklin 38, Kristina Davis 39, Erika Tinetti 39, Gianna Tinetti 41.
Oct. 8. Chelsea Ficklin shot 32 on the first six holes at DeLaveaga Golf Course for medalist honors and SC beat Soquel 141-152. Michele England scored 36, Erika Tinetin 36 and Gianna Tinetti 37. SC is now 8-1.

Oct. 9. SC 135, Scotts Valley 144. SC and Harbor are tied for the league lead with 9-1 records. They will play nine holes at Seascape Golf Course to determine which team advances to the CCS championships at Rancho Canada Golf Club’s East Course in Carmel.
Michelle England 31, Kristina Davis 34, Chelsea Ficklin and Emma Cook 35, Gianna Tinetti 36, Erika Tinetti 39.
Harbor beat SC in a playoff match 199-206 to see who would represent the league at the CCS championship. Harbor took eleventh place at CCS.

Oct 16. Harbor Headed Back to CCS After Defeating Co-Champion SC. By the score of 199-206 to end SC’s Cinderella season. After battling it out for nine holes during the 18 hole SCCAL individual championships at DeLaveaga Golf Course.
The team playoff match marked the most lopsided match between the two league powers this season. After finishing last year with a disappointing 1-9, SC saw its fortunes turn 180 degrees this year. SC finished 9-1 in the SCCAL tying Harbor for the best record and forcing a head to head playoff for the honor of competing at the CCS meet on November 3.
In two previous meetings this year, defending champion Harbor and SC split their series. Each match was decided by two strokes or less and one even featured a sudden death playoff. Despite this seemingly fierce rivalry, the entire tenor of the tournament was of friendly competition. The two coaches, Scott Bedell and Pete Pappas have known each other for decades and the match featured several inter-team friendships.
SC dressed in matching tie-dyed polo shirts was buoyed this year by the arrival of two key freshmen, Kristina Davis, who shot a 49 and Chelsea Ficklin a 51 in the front nine par 34 layout.
Each team played six golfers, taking the net total of the best four scores on each side and Harbor came out ahead.

Nov. 21. ALL SCCAL Girls Golf. Senior of the Year, Gianna Tinetti. First team Michelle England, Kristina Davis and Chelsea Ficklin. Pete Pappas earned the Coach of the Year award after leading the Cards to a 9-1 record and a share of the league title with Harbor, a year after SC finished 1-9.

BOYS VARSITY BASKETBALL LEAGUE CO-CHAMPIONS
From Mbayprep. Practice games: Dads Club: Scotts Valley, 88-47, Harbor 55-53, Salinas 55-56, second place. Monterey 72-75, Sacred Heart Prep 60-65. Palma Tournament: El Camino 95-60, Palma 53-55, Sacred Heart Prep 51-62. St. Ignatius tournament: Kennedy, Richmond 83-69; Corona del Mar 48-50, St. Ignatius 60-65. Watsonville 85-61. Practice record 5-7. League: Soquel 55-50, 57-45; St. Francis 53-58, 44-52; SLV 75-51, 68-66; Harbor 49-48, 64-53; Aptos 53-44, 84-54; Scotts Valley 81-48, 103-37. League record 10-2 for second place. SCCAL Playoffs: Scotts Valley 94-58, Harbor 60-51, St. Francis 40-31. To be SCCAL co-champions. CCS Division IV playoff: Harker of San Jose 56-44, Sacred Heart of Atherton loss. Overall record 19-10.

League standings: St. Francis 12-0, SC 10-2, Harbor 7-5, Aptos 5-7, SLV and Soquel 4-8, Scotts Valley 0-14.

Dec. 11. In the opening round of the Dads Club Tournament, SC defeated Scotts Valley 88-47. Juniors Joe Marden and Keith Williams each scored 15 points. Senior Taylor Kientzel added 12 points in the Cards first game of the season. SC held a 48-26 lead at halftime. Other scorers: Schmidt 7, Maki 2, Conroy 2, Hanson 2, Porter 4, Saint John 7, Hopkins 4, Anthony 2, Demeo 8, Hoppis 2.

Dec. 12. Santa Cruz Holds Its Ground Against Harbor. Maki Sinks Free Throws With 3 Seconds Left To Seal Victory. SC and Harbor provided another Dads Club classic. This time the Cards last second shot counted. SC held on for a thrilling 55-53 semifinal victory over its cross town rival in front of a bi-partisan crowd.
SC kept the final from being a re-match of last years championship. Last year Harbor lost to Salinas, but this year SC will be taking on Salinas. SC held Harbors top scorer to ten points and held the lead most of the game before Harbor came storming back with a 19-9 run in the fourth quarter. Harbor finally tied the score at 53-53 with six seconds left, when Harbor hit a three pointer.
Harbor called time. Junior Zen Maki took the inbounds pass and dribbled across half court with a defender close by his side. The official thought the defender was too close and whistled Harbor for a blocking foul with three seconds left, sending Maki to the free throw line with a chance to win the game. Half the crowd cheered and the other half booed as Maki went to the line and sank the two clutch shots to send the Cards to their first Dads Club final since 2005 with the State championship team, which beat St. Francis of Mt. View for the crown. “That was my first time having a chance to make the winning shot.” Maki said. “I was imagining it just before, I’m going to drive, get fouled and make the foul shots.
Scoring: Schmidt 4, Marden 3, Williams 5, Maki 14, Conroy 4, Hanson 2, Porter 4, Kientzel 8, Saint John 7, Hoppis 2, Demeo 2.

Dec 13. In the Dads Club final Salinas squeaked by the Cardinals 56-55. SC went out to a 14-10 lead in the first quarter and was ahed 26-24 at halftime. Salinas went ahead 40-38 in the third quarter. SC outscored Salinas 17-16 in the fourth quarter, but was two points shy of winning. Scoring: Schmidt 2, Marden 4, Williams 16, Maki 13, Hanson 2, Porter 2, Kientzel 2, Saint John 8, Anthony 2, Demeo 4.

Dec. 22. CARDINAL ROUT. Santa Cruz Produces Its Highest Point Total In At Least Six Years. SC beat El Camino 95-60. SC played stifling, full court defense and shot 60 percent in the opening round of the Palma Tournament. SC forced 29 turnovers and made 39 of 64 shots from the field.
“We stayed real aggressive pressuring the ball on every possession,” said guard Zen Maki. “We had great teamwork, guys were calling out each other’s names on defense and letting everyone know where everyone was going. Our defense enabled us to get a lot of easy baskets down low.”
Maki and Taylor Kientzel led the Card attack with 18 points each. Maki added a game high six assists. SC had four players in double figures. “With our defense forcing a lot of turnovers, we were able to get a lot of easy baskets and tonight I was fortunate enough to be the right guy at the right place. Tonight was one of those games where everything was clicking for us,” Kientzel said.
SC 3-3 entering the game riding a three game losing streak. The losses were against Salinas, Monterey and Sacred Heart Prep, who have combined to lose only five games and are primed to make the CCS playoffs.
“Since the beginning of the year, we have been trying to figure out what type of team we are. To-nights second half performance kind of gave us an idea of what we are capable of. Everyone was looking for the open man and we pressured the ball really well,” said Coach Bill Domhoff. Keith Williams added 14 points and Joe Marden chipped in 10. Other scoring: Conroy 8, Hanson 8, Porter 6, Saint John 7, Demeo 6.

Dec. 23. In the second game of the Palma Tournament, SC lost a close one in the semifinals to Palma 55-53. Sophomores Jamie Saint John scored 11 points and Clayton Conroy eight to lead SC in scoring. Palma took a 18-11 lead in the first quarter, but SC came back in the second quarter to take a 34-31 lead into halftime. Palma had a 17 point third quarter to go ahead 48-42. SC rallied winning the fourth quarter 11-7, which was not quite enough to make up for the third period. Other scorers: Schmidt 0, Marden 5, Williams 7, 4 steals and 4 assists, Maki 7, Hanson 7, Porter 2 and 6 rebounds, Kientzel 2, Demeo 4 and 7 rebounds.

Dec. 24. Sacred Heart Prep came from behind in the fourth quarter to beat SC 62-51. A bad fourth quarter for the Cards, who only scored 6 points to SHP’s 19 points in the four was the difference in the Palma tournaments third place game. SC led 33-31 at half time and stayed ahead in the third period 45-43. Scoring: Marden 3, Williams 5, Maki 5, Conroy 4, Kientzel 6, Saint John 20, Anthony 2, Demeo 6.

Dec. 26. Boys Basketball Preview. Harbor, St. Francis and Santa Cruz Are Clearly The Class Of The League. SCCAL TITLE UP FOR GRABS.
Santa Cruz has the speed, depth and swarming defense. Harbor the inside-outside threat. St. Francis has depth and experience of contending last year. SC looked like a SCCAL dark horse starting the season and are off to a 3-4 start, which is deceiving. Their losses were to teams with a combined record of 22-7.
SC is full of youth and energy and first year coach Bill Domhoff has shown that he is willing to put any one of his talented players on the floor in crucial situations. Sophomores Clayton Conroy, Walker Hansen, Jamie Saint John and Ti Demeo all look comfortable on varsity and junior Zen Maki has stepped up as a leader. Senior Taylor Kientzel, who led the team in scoring last year with a 16 point average is back. SC’s strength is in their speed and depth. They have been wearing opponents out with tenacious defense that opponents say is no fun to play against. Salinas’ MVP of the Dads Club Tourney said, “They were just swarming. They’re always all up in your space and playing really hard.”

Dec. 29. In the first round of the St. Ignatius tournament in San Francisco, SC beat Kennedy of Richmond 83-69. SC scored 23 points in the first period and 20 points each of the next three quarters. Jalen Porter scored 21 points, Zen Maki added 11 and Johann Schmidt had ten. SC scored at least 20 points in each quarter. Ten different Cards scored. Other scoring: Hanson 7, Kientzel 9, Demeo 6, Conroy 6, Anthony 6, Williams 5, Saint John 2.

Dec. 30. SC lost 50-48 to Corona Del Mar in the second round of the St. Ignatius tourney. SC led until 5:55 left in the fourth quarter. They had a chance at the game winning shot with 1.6 seconds left in the game, but lost the ball out of bounds. SC led 17-7 in the first quarter, 24-21 at half time and 37-32 at the end of the third. Scoring: Schmidt 4, Williams 11, Maki 5. Hansen 2, Porter 4, Kientzel 14, Saint John 2, Demeo 4, Hoppis 2.

Dec. 31. St. Ignatius took third place in their own tournament by defeating the Cards 65-60. The first half ended 30-28 in favor of SI. SC came back in the third quarter and went ahead 44-43. Keith Williams hit four 3 pointers to lead the Cards with 14 points. SC is now 4-7. Scoring: Schmidt 2, Williams 14, Maki 7, Hanson 4, Kienzel 11, Saint John 16, Demeo 2, Hoppis 4.

Jan. 2. SC defeated Watsonville 85-61 in its last non-league game. SC led 38-29 at halftime and extended it lead the last half. Scoring: Schmidt 8, Williams 5, Maki 9, Conroy 6, Hanson 12, Keintzel 20, Saint John 3, Anthony 7, Demeo 5, Hoppis 10.

Jan. 7. SC edged visiting Soquel 55-50 in the teams SCCAL opener. SC earned the victory despite allowing Soquel to make nine 3-pointers. SC led 19-11at halftime. Clayton Conroy led SC 6-7 overall and 1-0 in league with 11 points. Keith Williams and Jalen Porter each scored nine. Williams made six assists and had five steals. Scorers: Schmidt 2, Williams 9, Maki 7, Hanson 3, Porter 9, St. John 6, Demeo 8, Conroy 11.

Jan. 9. THE PARTY CRASHERS. St. Francis Escapes With Win Over SC 58-53. SC (6-8, 1-1) held a 44-41 lead early in the fourth quarter, showing St. Francis still has a long way to go before they can start celebrating. St. Francis dominated early taking a 16-8 lead in the first quarter. That’s when SC came to life before a packed and delighted crowd. SC opened the second quarter with a 12-0 run thanks to 10 straight points by sophomore forward Clayton Conroy. Conroy led the Cards with 12 points and 10 rebounds. “Clayton was huge. I love the guy,” said Coach Domhoff. “He is the last one there after practice and its starting to pay off.” SC took a 26-25 lead into halftime.
SC is very good at creating chaos and that’s what they did. The teams traded the lead five times in the second half, before St. Francis took control for good. With just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Sharks went ahead 50-46. SC had a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left but missed.
“I think the effort was there. The kids played their hearts out. We came up a play or two short. St. Francis is a veteran team. They’re smart and well coached. We learned a lot playing against a team like that and that’s what we are trying to do,” Domhoff said.
Starting point guard Zen Maki broke his thumb in practice and will be out for at least four weeks. Scoring: Schmidt 4, Williams 5, Hodges 7, Hanson 2, Porter 6, Kientzel 5, Saint John 6, Hoppis 4, Conroy 12, Anthony 2, Demeo 0.

Jan. 13. SC 75, SLV 51. Clayton Conroy scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Cody Love in one of his first games with the Cards added 11 points, as SC outscored SLV 46-22 in the second half. SC is 7-8 and 2-1 in league. Scoring: Schmidt 2, Williams 11, Hodges 3, Conroy 12, Hanson 13, Porter 6, Kientzel 12, Saint John 2, Demeo 2, Hoppis 1, Love 11.

Jan. 15. SC CREEPS UP ON HARBOR. Another Late Rally Between Rivals Give Cards Edge In SCCAL. Santa Cruz 49, Harbor 48.
Once again, the game between SC and Harbor came down to the final shot and once again the Cards came out on top. SC came roaring back from a 12 point halftime deficit to win in an important SCCAL contest. The win give SC a 8-8 overall record and 3-1 in league. The Pirates looked in compete control in the first half going ahead 29-17 at halftime.
SC didn’t even go into their locker room during the intermission, instead electing to shoot around during the break. “There weren’t any strategy adjustments that we needed to do. It was just a matter of going out and playing smart and loose. We went to a two-thee zone on defense. We had been playing man because we thought we could keep up. We stuck with the game plan on offense and the boys started playing,” Domhoff said.
SC put together a 13-0 run in the third quarter led by two 3-pointers from Cody Love and strong play from post man Ti Demeo, who led the team with ten points. “We just decided to go out hard. We were mad. We were playing bad. …What I was thinking is, we had a lot of time left. We need to make smart passes an try to get corner 3s,” Demeo said.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Harbor had a 44-36 lead. SC came all the way back with a 8-2 run. Love sank two free throws to finish with eight points and give SC its first lead of the game 47-46 with 2:02 to play. Demeo made the difference for SC, when he made a lay in with 38 seconds left to give his team the lead for good. Scoring: Love 8, Williams 6, Porter 7, Kientzel 2, Saint John 7, Demeo 10, Conroy 4, Hoppis 2, Hodges 3. Anthony 0.

Jan. 17. Ti Demeo scored a game high 24 in a 84-54 win over visiting Aptos. SC took a 16-10 lead in the first quarter and extended it at halftime to 38-24. Jalen Porter contributed 17 points and Taylor Kientzel 14. Other scoring: Love 2, Schmidt 0, Williams 7, Conroy 10, Saint John 4, Hoppis 2, Hodges 4. SC is now 9-8 overall and 4-1 in league.

Jan. 21. SC beat Scotts Valley 81-48. SC had a 42-24 halftime lead. Scoring: Twelve players scored. Love 3, Schmidt 5, Marden 4, Williams 8, Conroy 6, Porter 9, Kientzel 10, Saint John 3, Anthony 6, Demeo 12, Hoppis 2, Hodges 12.

Jan. 27. SC Boys Feeling The Love
SC had nothing but love for Soquel, Cody Love, that is. Love scored a team high 13 points and added 5 steals, two blocks and three rebounds to help his team defeat Soquel 57-45. Ti Demeo added 11 points and seven rebounds for the 11-8, 6-1 Cards. SC led 28-15 at halftime. Other scoring: Schmidt 0, Williams 3, Porter 4, Kientzel 3, Saint John 8, Conroy 6 and five steals, Anthony 0.

Jan. 30. Sharks Record Clean. SC Can’t Deal St. Francis First Loss In Showdown. With a standing room only crowd at St. Francis chanting “UN-DE-FEAT-ED” the Sharks withstood a late surge by SC to take control of the SCCAL. With a 52-44 victory over SC, the Sharks have a two game lead over SC. St. Francis led 27-24 at halftime and took control of the game in the third quarter, when they got the ball inside to their center, who scored close in baskets.
St. Francis, the county’s best defense, shut down SC, which has the counties best offense on the other end, which put the Sharks up 38-29 at the end of the third. SC fell behind 45-31 with five minutes left in the game.
SC forced five turnovers in the fourth quarter and cut into the Sharks 14 point lead with a 9-0 run to pull within five points with 2:30 to play and the score 45-40. Senior Jalen Porter, who led SC with 18 points, said his team needed to play with more desperation sooner. “I think it’s more of us not coming out and being intense. We can’t settle when it’s close or once we’re up. We just have to keep playing our game,” said Porter.
SC cut the deficit to three, when sophomore Jamie Saint John streaked to the basket and was fouled as he sank a layup. He made the free throw to finish with eight points, but that was as close as SC could get. Scoring: Hodges 2, Maki 4, Porter 18, Kientzel 5, Saint John 8, Demeo 6, Anthony 2, Love 4, Conroy 0, Williams 0, Schmidt 0, Hoppis 0.

Feb. 2. SC led 36-30 at halftime and extended it to 55-43 in the third quarter, but SLV made a big come back out scoring SC 23-12 in the last quarter. Scoring Love 4, Schmidt 1, Williams 2, Hodges 5, Maki 12, Conroy 8, Porter 7, Kientzel 8, Saint John 15, Anthony 2, Demeo 4.

Feb. 4. SC spread out the scoring against visiting Harbor en-rout to a 64-53 win. Zen Maki and Jalen Porter scored ten points apiece and seven other Cards scored. SC is 8-2 in league and 13-9 overall. Scoring: Keith Williams 5, Zen Maki 10. Jalen Porter 10, Taylor Kientzel 9, Jamie Saint-John 5, Ti Demo 7, Clayton Conroy 9, Daoud Anthony 2 Cody Love 5.

Feb. 6. Jamie Saint John led all scorers with 19 points in the Cardinal 53-44 win over Aptos. Clayton Conroy racked up 10 rebounds to go with his ten points. SC is 9-2 in league and 16-8 overall. Aptos came out and lead 16-10 in the first quarter and 26-19 at halftime. SC out scored Aptos 17-11 in the third quarter to close the gap to 36-37, the out shot the Mariners 17-7 in the final quarter. Scoring: Johann Schmidt 2, Joseph Marden 0, Keith Williams 9, Zen Maki 5, Jalen Porter 5, Taylor Kientzel 7, Jamie Saint John 19, Ti Demo 2, Clayton Conroy 10, Daoud Anthony 2, Cody Love 2.

Feb. 11. SC Breaks 100 Point Mark In Rout. SC ended the season on a high note as 13 Cards scored in a 103-39 Romp over Scotts Valley. Taylor Kientzel had a game high 24 points. The team made eight 3-pointers and had a season high 30 steals. Jalen Porter accounted for seven of those steals and collected 15 points and five rebounds. Ian Hoppis grabbed a team high 11 rebounds to go with nine points. SC is now 10-2 in league for second place. Scoring: Schmidt 2, Marden 13, Williams 7, Maki 7, Porter 15, Kientzel 24, Saint John 5, Demeo 4, Hoppis 9, Conroy 6, Anthony 4, Love 4, Hodges 2.

Feb. 17. In the quarterfinals of the SCCAL playoffs, SC cruised to a 94-58 win over Scotts Valley. Dominic Bonnor, just up from the SCCAL championship JV basketball team, led all scorers with 21 points. Two other players, who have spent some time with the JV team, Jonah Hodges scored 15 points and Joe Marden had four rebounds, eight assists and five steals.

Feb. 19. In the semifinals of the SCCAL championship tournament SC beat Harbor 60-51. Second seeded SC gave up a 17 point halftime lead, but rallied to beat cross town rivals Harbor for the fourth time this year. All hard fought close battles. SC, (17-9) was up 32-15 at halftime, before their offense stalled against Harbor’s (18-6), zone defense in the second half. Harbor tied the score 47-47 with 3:35 left in the game. SC responded with an 8-0 run to put the game away. Keith Williams made five 3-pointers to lead all scorers with 15 points. Zen Maki scored 11 points and made three assists. Clayton Conroy scored nine points and grabbed nine rebounds. Scorers: Marden 7, Williams 15. Maki 11, Kientzel 1, Saint John 6, Demeo 4, Conroy 9, Anthony 4, Hodges 3.

Feb. 21. SCCAL Boys Basketball Tournament Final. SANTA CRUZ SURPRISE. Cardinals Knock Off Unbeaten St. Francis To Share League Title. Santa Cruz 40, St. Francis 31.
SC is back atop the SCCAL and St. Francis is back in the loss column, after going undefeated for the season. SC finally figured out the Sharks after playing them close twice this season. “That was our goal, to beat St. Francis,” said Junior Zen Maki, who led all scorers with 19 points. “We’d lost to them twice. We went over films and we weren’t ready in those other two games. Tonight we were ready.”
Maki sat out the first loss to St. Francis with a broken right thumb and he was limited in the second game. He was finally at full strength for the final and he made sure to make up for the lost time. Maki scored seven straight points in the first half to give SC its first lead going into the second quarter. The Cards led the rest of the way. Maki put the game away in the fourth quarter, when he scored SC’s last seven points. “We’ve been waiting for Zen to get back from the thumb injury and its nice to have him back at 100 percent.” Coach Bill Domhoff said. “We were looking to get him the ball in mismatches. He can do it all.”
With Maki leading the way on offense, SC was doing it all as a team on defense, as its two-three zone defense gave the Sharks fits all night. St. Francis trailed 17-11 at halftime after scoring just three points in the second quarter. Jaime St. John led the Cards with three steals and eight rebounds. Clayton Conroy grabbed seven boards and scored eight points. We put it together as a team. It was beautiful to watch. I knew we had it in us,” said Domhoff.
The typically sure handed Sharks committed 21 turnovers and went 3 for 12 from 3-point range. “Every time we went inside, they doubled and triple teamed us, forcing us back outside. We got good looks, they just didn’t go down,” said the Sharks coach. Only four St. Francis players got on the scoreboard.
SC has won at least a share of the SCCAL title in nine of the last 15 seasons, their last coming in 2006. “I think the kids believe in what we’re doing and they start to build off each other. It gets contagious. Hopefully we can build off that in CCS,” first year coach Bill Domhoff said. Scoring: Hodges 2, Williams 5, Maki 19, Hansen 2, Saint John 2, Conroy 8, Anthony 2.

Number three seeded SC in CCS division IV at 18-9 will get a bye the first round and play Saturday at Hartnell College against either sixth seeded Harker School at 20-4 or eleventh seeded Stevenson at 12-12.

Feb. 28. Cardinals Beat Harker, Advance To D-IV Semis. SC beat Harker school of San Jose 56-44. Clayton Conroy led the third seeded Cardinals, 19-9 with 12 points, followed by Ti Demeo with ten, Taylor Kientzel nine and Zen Maki 8. Jaime Saint John had seven rebounds and made five assists for SC, who won their eighth straight game. The Cards led 30-23 at halftime and expanded their lead with a 14-9 effort in the third quarter. Others scoring: Hodges 7, Williams 2, Hansen 2 Saint John 6, Schmidt 0, Anthony 0, Love 0, Hoppis 0.

March 3. SC Boys Fall In Final Seconds. Player Who Was 1 for 14 Hits Winning Shot. Sacred Heart Prep player was 1 for 14, including ten straight misses, but delivered, when he hit a 3-pointer from 22 feet away with 4 seconds left on the clock to yank away a SC CCS title hopes as the three seeded Cards 55-54 loss to second seeded Sacred Heart Prep in CCS Division IV semifinal.
“This is a tough last game to have in my high score career,” said senior Taylor Kientzel. “We felt we had control of the game. Unfortunately that three at the end really hurt us.” SC was attempting to return to the CCS finals for the first time since winning the title in 2005.
SC 19-10 was down by as much as eight in the second quarter. It battled back with full court defense and timely penetrating baskets to cut the Gator’s lead to 34-29 going into halftime. SC did not come from the locker room until the halftime horn. Those extra few second paid off for first year coach Bill Domhoff as SC began the second half with a 6-0 run. SC held the lead for most of the rest of the final two quarters, building it to as many as six points, all the way until the last three point shot.
Kientzel led the Cards with 13 points, followed by sophomores Jamie Saint John 11, Clayton Conroy eight points and seven rebounds and Ty Demeo 6 points. Junior Zen Maki add six points. Other scorers: Johan Schmidt 3, Keith Williams 3, Jonah Hodges 2,Walker Hansen 1, Daoud Anthony 1.

Sentinel articles.
March 13. PLENTY TO SMILE ABOUT.
The 2009-2010 Season Was A Historic One For County
The SC and Watsonville boys opened the season with a practice game at the Golden State Warrior’s Oracle Arena in Oakland. The Cards showed than at they could play on the big stage and proved it later with a win over SCCAL round robin winner St. Francis in the league playoffs to gain a league co-championship.
In CCS, SC was one Sacred Heart Prep buzzer beater away from a trip to the finals and qualifying for a spot in the NorCals. SC was led mostly by sophomores and juniors this year, and look to be one of the favorites next season.

San Jose Mercury on March 10 made their final rankings of the top 15 boys basketball teams, but SC was not on the list. St. Francis was rated tenth.

March 28. The Sentinel All County Basketball team did not have a Cardinal on the first team, but junior Zen Maki was named to the second team. Honorable mention were senior Taylor Kientzel and sophomores Jamie Saint John and Clayton Conroy.

Feb. 21. ALL SCCAL chosen by the coaches. Second team members are sophomores Jamie Saint John and Clayton Conroy. Honorable mention senior Taylor Kientzel.

JV BOYS BASKETBALL
Yearbook.

FROSH BASKETBALL
Yearbook.

GIRLS VARSTIY BASKETBALL SCCAL AND CCS DIVISION IV CHAMPIONS, NORTHERN CAL 0-1. In the San Jose Mercury girls basketball rankings at the end of the season on March 24, SC was ranked eleventh with a 24-6 record and was the highest ranked of any team in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz county’s.

From Mbayprep. Practice games: Mills Classic: San Leandro 71-31, El Camino, South San Francisco 58-31, Drake, San Anselmo 50-51 for second place. Salinas Classic: Notre Dame, Salinas 54-17, North Salinas 55-28, St. Francis, Watsonville 42-44 for second place. Alisal 62-47, Terra Nova, Pacifica 48-43. St. Ignatius Classic: Burlingame 41-32, St. Ignatius, San Francisco 28-47, Lowell, San Francisco 53-51 for third place. Evergreen Valley, San Jose 53-46. Practice record 9-3. League: Soquel 64-35, 47-38; St. Francis 51-43, 32-42; SLV 55-29, 54-27; Harbor 68-34, 70-34; Aptos 61-49, 49-42; Scotts Valley 43-34, 39-51. League championship tournament: Soquel 46-30, Scotts Valley 49-41 for league tournament championship to be sole SCCAL champion. League record 10-2 for title. CCS Division IV playoffs: Carmel 63-35, Sacred Heart Prep 64-28, Mercy of San Francisco 49-35 at Santa Clara University for the CCS championship. Northern California playoffs: Piedmont 22-45. Overall record 24-6.

Roster by year in school, name, position and height. Seniors: Catherine Sordo, G, 5-6; Celeste Hadley, F/C, 5-10; Gianna Tinetti, F, 5-8; Elle Sanders, F/C, 5-9; Michelle England, F, 5-4; Caylah Novack, F/C, 5-10. Juniors: Micaela Whalen, G, 5-5; Analisa Shields-Estrada, F/C, 5-11; Kali DeHart, F, 5-7; Maggie Myall, G, 5-5. Sophomores: Pauli Pappas, G, 5-5; Ashley Claussen, G, 5-4.

All Sentinel articles.
Sentinel winter sports wrap up on March 21. HOOP DREAMS REPLAY FOR CARDS. Santa Cruz Repeats As CCS Division IV Champions. Santa Cruz 24-6 overall followed up winning the SCCAL championship outright by repeating as champion of the CCS Division IV playoffs. Led by a balanced scoring attack and feisty defense headed by Ellie Sanders, the Cards posted three convincing wins in CCS play. They beat Carmel 63-35 in the quarterfinals, Atherton’s Sacred Heart Prep 64-28, in the semifinals and Mercy of San Francisco 49-35 in the title game. Guard Catherine Sordo, a two sport athlete in the winter, left the game early to join her Card soccer teammates and scored the winning goal that advanced the team to the CCS final. The Cards basketball team advanced to the Northern California playoffs, but were ousted in the first round. SCCAL MVP Gianna Tinetti led the Cards in scoring with an average of 11 points a game.

Sentinel articles.
March 13. PLENTY TO SMILE ABOUT.
The 2009-2010 Season Was A Historic One For County
By beating Mercy for the CCS Division IV crown, the Cardinals are the first county team since the MVC boys went back to back from 2001 to 2003 and the first girls team to do so since Harbor girls in 1986-87.
This year was the first time since 1986 when Aptos boys and Harbor girls both won their CCS tournaments, when the SC girls and St. Francis boys were CCS Division IV champions.
SC senior Gianna Tinetti was the SCCAL MVP after leading the Cards in points, 3-pointers and rebounds and was second in assists and steals. Tinetti was fourth in league with 332 points for an 11.44 per game average.

Dec. 3. Cardinals Roll In Mills Tourney Opener in Millbrae. Gina Tinetti got the season off on a high note, leading SC in points and rebounds as the Cards trampled San Leandro 71-37. Tinetti nearly outscored San Leandro, by herself as she scored 24 points and added 14 rebounds. Caylah Novak posted a double-double of her own with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Catherine Sordo had 11 points and Celeste Hadley grabbed seven rebounds. Other scorers: Claussen 8, DeHart 7, Whalen 3, Shields-Estrada 2, Hadley 2.

Dec. 4. Tenetti Shines With Double-Double. SC Girls Basketball Beats El Camino In Mills Tournament 58-31. Gianna Tinetti scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Cards. Ashley Claussen added 13 points and five steals. Caylah Novak had 10 and 8 rebounds. Others scoring: DeHart 7, Hadley 1, Sordo 11,

Dec. 6. Drake 51, SC 50 for second place at the Mills Tourney. Gianna Tinetti was named to the All Tournament team at the Mills tournament scored 13 points and had 10 rebounds. Catherine Sordo was also named to the all tourney team scored 10 points and made three steals. Caylah Novak led the Cards with 14 rebounds and scored 8 points. SC jumped out to a 30-19 lead at halftime, but Drake dominated the third quarter out scoring SC 16-6 after SC had a 17-8 run in the second quarter.

Dec. 11. In the first round of the Salinas tournament, SC defeated Notre Dame of Salinas 54-17. Ashley Claussen led the scoring with 12 points and added four steals. Gianna Tinetti scored 8 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Other scorers: DeHart, 0, Hadley 6, Novak 8, Pappas 4, Sanders 6, Shields-Estrada 2, Sordo 5. Whalen 3, England 0.

Dec. 12. SC, St. Francis To Meet In Final. Cardinals Sharks Make Ways to Salinas Classic Championship Game. SC handed North Salinas its first loss of the season 55-26. SC is now 4-1. Gianna Tinetti led SC with 15 points and eight rebounds. Caylah Novak added ten points and six rebounds and Ashley Claussen scored 14. North Salinas had previously won five straight games. Other scoring: Sanders 5, Shields-Estrada 2, Sordo 2, Whalen 7.

Dec. 29. At the St. Ignatius tourney in San Francisco, SC beat Burlingame 41-32. Burlingame’s swarming defense held SC standout Gianna Tinetti to five points, but Caylah Novak picked up the slack with 14 points and nine rebounds. Tinetti had eight rebounds to match Elle Sanders eight rebounds and Elle had six steals and four assists. Scoring: Claussen 8, Novak 14, Pappas 2, Sanders 6, Sordo 6, Tinetti 5.

Dec. 30. St. Ignatius outscored SC by 11 points in the fourth quarter to beat SC 47-29 in the third round of their tournament. St. Ignatius outscored SC in every quarter. Ashley Claussen led SC with 12 points. SC is now 7-3. Scoring: Myall 0, Novak 6, Sanders 6, Sordo 2, Tinetti 1, Whalen 2.

Dec. 31. SC defeated Lowell of San Francisco 53-51 to take third place in the St. Ignatius tourney. Lowell went out to a 12-6 lead in the first quarter 25-19 at halftime and then SC surged to 20 point third quarter to go ahead 39-37 and the last quarter each team scored 14 points. Scoring: Claussen, Myall 3, Novak 12, Pappas 3, Sanders 13, Sordo 4, Tinetti 16.

Jan. 2. Girls Basketball Preview. Serious Contenders. Cardinals Look To Defend League, Section Titles. Senior Gianna Tinetti has one of the most intense game faces of any girls basketball players in the SCCAL. She rarely smiled during games last season, even as the Cards were building a 26-4 overall record and SCCAL and CCS championships. However, Tinetti couldn’t help but grin as the Cards were putting the finishing touches on their victory of Mercy High in the CCS finals.
It was the Cards third straight trip to the Championship, but until that point, the team had managed only second place. Tinetti said she knew early on last year that the Cards were ready to be section champions. “It was really special. Everything came together, starting with our perfect pre-season,” said Tinetti. “We had a win over Fortuna, who was highly ranked and we shot really well in that game. That’s when we thought, “Wow, they’re a really legit team and we can beat them.’” SC is a contender again this year, even after graduating six seniors. They returned their most consistent scorer in Tinetti.
The Cards added several athletic young players, including point guard Ashley Claussen, who transferred from Scotts Valley after a stellar freshman year. Catherine Sordo, a star soccer player, with a soccer scholarship to Fresno State next year, decided to play basketball this year. Sordo said, “Gianna and I played together in the seventh and eighth grades. She can basically do everything. That makes her a great player to play with. That’s part of the reason I wanted to play basketball again. She’s so much fun to play with.”
Tinetti thinks the teams best basketball is yet to come. “I don’t think we’ve gotten to our strongest point yet. We have a lot of new girls with talent and we’re still coming together,” Six of the SCCAL’s eight teams have winning records coming into league play. Tinetti said SC’s young squad is looking to learn from its early season setbacks. “My favorite part of basketball is coming together as a team. It’s better to come together after a win, but it happens after loss too. Sometimes you need the losses.” She’ll save the smiles for the wins, though.”

Jan. 7. Cardinals Poised In Opener. SC’s Feisty Defense Leads To 24 Soquel Turnovers. Fittingly, the top two SCCAL basketball teams from the 2000s opened league play this decade against one another. Reigning SCCAL co-champions SC opened the 2010 SCCAL play with a 67-35 home win over longtime rival Soquel. The speedy Cards, 9-3 overall and 1-0 in league did a good job of controlling the pace of play against the taller Knights. The Cards swarming defense forced Soquel into 24 turnovers, several of which led to layups for SC.
“Our defense set the tone,” coach Pat Jones said. “We tried to take their bigs out of the game as best we could and I thought we were successful with that.” Soquel with a 6-3 and a 6-1 player out rebounded SC, who doesn’t have a six footer, 29-25.
SC was balanced on offense with ten different players scoring. Pauli Pappas led the team with 12 points, including three fast break baskets in the third quarter. Gianna Tinetti added ten points and Ashley Claussen and Celeste Hadley each added nine.
“There was no one individual responsible for opening it up,” Jones said. “It was the first time we’ve had all 12 players healthy and we were able to get all 12 of them in, which is always nice. Both teams are hoping the next ten years treat them as well as the last decade in which Soquel won seven SCCAL titles and SC two. The teams shared the 2006 title.
Caylah Novak said, “The Cards are eager to begin league and to defend their SCCAL title.” The team is also trying to repeat as CCS Division IV championship. “We were definitely extremely excited,” Novak said. “You could tell in the locker room everyone was extra pumped up.” The Cards next game is against St. Francis, who defeated them three times last year and has already beaten them once this year, 42-40. Other scorers: DeHart 2, Myall 2, Novak 6, Sanders 4, Sordo 4, Whalen 6.

Jan. 9. HOMECOMING QUEENS. SC Earns First Win Over St. Francis In Two Years. SC 51, St, Francis 43. Two sophomores became queens of the SC Homecoming court. Ashley Claussen made 11 of 12 free throws, including 7 of 8 in the fourth quarter and Pauli Pappas added some key plays late in the game. Behind the two, SC rallied to defeat St. Francis 51-43 in a major SCCAL matchup.
“It was a big game. We hadn’t beaten them in a while and to start off 2-0 in league puts us in line to be in control of our own destiny for the league title,” said coach Pat Jones. The last time the Cards (10-3, 2-0) beat the Sharks was during the 2006-07 season a span of two years and six games. Even with the SC gym decorated with red and white balloons and a full crowd for homecoming, which was pushed back, because of the construction of the new field forced the football team to play all their games on the road.
Midway through the second quarter, St. Francis had a comfortable eight point cushion and that’s when Claussen and company stepped it up. The guard scored four points and the defense clamped down in a 8-2 run that helped SC close to within 21-17 at halftime. By the end of the third, SC had tied it at 33-33. SC outscored St. Francis 18-10 in the fourth, it all came down to free throws. St. Francis went 4 for 10 in the frame and 10 of 25 for the game. SC went 8 for 10 in the fourth and 17 for 21 overall. “This is the best I’ve ever done. Free throws are not usually my thing,” said Claussen, who added that Coach Jones expects the team to make no less than 80 percent of their free throws. “I practiced and practice and I’m finally shooting them better.”
Claussen finished with a game high 19 points followed by Pappas with 11 and Gianna Tinetti with 10. Others scoring: Hadley 2, Novak 2, Sanders 8, Sordo 2.

Jan. 15. SC tackled Harbor 69-34 with three players in double figures. Cayla Novak led SC with 17 points and ten rebounds. Maggie Myall added ten points. Gianna Tinetti almost had another double-double with 16 points, five assists and eight rebounds. Elle Sanders had 4 points, 8 rebounds and 8 steals. Other scoring: Claussen 4, DeHart 7, English 1, Hadley 2, Sordo 4,Whalen 4.

Jan. 17. Cardinals Top Aptos In Messy Game. Santa Cruz Capitalizes On Turnovers To Win Battle Of SCCAL Unbeatens. The two teams entered the game unbeaten in SCCAL play. Only one would come out that way. It wouldn’t be the team with 30 turnovers. SC came out with a 61-49 win. “We came in with the intent of extending our press offense, play hard, eliminate turnovers and compete,” said the Aptos coach. “We did it all but cut back on the turnovers.” SC 13-3, 5-0, a master of the press, forced several early loose balls, but Aptos seemed to make nearly as many points off its press breaking, including six of its first ten points. SC ended the first quarter ahead 23-17.
Only dominate rebounding by the Cards kept Aptos from taking the lead in the second quarter. For the first five minutes of the ugly period, a jumper by Elle Sanders were the only points scored by either team. But tenacious offensive rebounding by Sanders, Caylah Novak and Gianna Tinetti, all of whom ended up with double digit rebounding tallies kept Aptos from getting many chances. SC ended up taking 21 shots to Aptos’ 6 in the second quarter, while only outscoring Aptos 10-6 to take a 33-22 lead at the half.
“We did a good job on the boards, that was a positive,” said Pat Jones. “Neither team could get it going. There was no good flow to the game.” Sanders finished with a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds, plus four steals. “I’m just trying to go for it, I guess,” said Sanders, a consistent force on the boards for SC. “I want the ball, I want to get it for my team and that’s when I shine.”
Tinetti also had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Novak added five points and ten rebounds. Ashley Claussen scored 15 points. SC had only ten turnovers for the game. Scoring: Claussen 15, Novak 5 and ten rebounds, Pappas 3, and 2 steals, Sanders 12, 13 rebounds and 4 steals. Shields-Estrada 2, Sordo 5, Tinetti 17, and 11 rebounds, DeHart 2. SC 13-3, 5-0.

Jan. 24. Pauli Pappas and Elle Sanders registered double-doubles as SC topped Evergreen Valley of San Jose 53-46. Pappas had 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while also tying for the lead in assists with four. Sanders had ten points and ten rebounds. Other scorers: Claussen 6, DeHart 2, Hadley 1, Novak 10, Sordo 5, Tinetti 8.

Jan. 27. Ashley Claussen and Gianna Tinetti each scored 12 points to lead SC past hosts Soquel 47-38. SC 16-5, 7-0 were held to three points in the third quarter, but survived the Knights second half rally by scoring 19 points in the fourth quarter. SC led 25-17 at halftime. Other scoring: DeHart 1, Myall 2, Novak 5 Pappas 6, Sanders 9.

Jan. 30. St. Francis Topples Santa Cruz. St. Francis upset SC 42-32, for SC’s first league loss. SC led 9-8 at the end of the first quarter and 14-12 at halftime. It was 21-20 at the end of the third, before St. Francis ended the game with a 21-12 run. SC is now 16-4 overall and 7-1 in league. Scoring: Claussen 5, Novak 6, Pappas 4, Sanders 8, Tinetti 8.

Feb. 2. SC 54, SLV 27. SC turned a five point game into a blowout, when its defense converted a slew of turnovers into 30 fourth quarter points to beat SLV 54-27. Ashley Claussen had a double-double with 14 points and ten steals. Elle Sanders just missed a triple-double with nine points, 13 rebounds and eight steals. Gianna Tinetti contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds. Scoring: Ashley Claussen 4, Kali DeHart 2, Celeste Hadley 3, Maggie Myall 10, Caylah Novak 6, Pauli Pappas 8, Elle Sanders 9, Analisa Shields-Estrada 2, Catherine Sordo, 3, Michaela Whalen 11, Gianna Tinett 12.

Feb. 4. SC came out swinging, dropping 28 point in the first quarter in a 70-34 win over Harbor. Gianna Tinetti logged a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Eleven different Cards scored to keep SC atop the SCCAL. A win against Aptos Friday will clinch the league title for SC.

Feb. 6. SC Earns SCCAL Title Repeat. Balanced Attack Helps Cards Beat Mariners. After holding off Aptos for a league-title clinching 49-42 victory, the SC team calmly huddled in front of if its bench, shook hands with the Mariners and walked into the locker room. No jumping and celebrating its second straight SCCAL championship. No yelling “We’re No. 1!” “They were kind of quiet,” said coach Jones. “I don’t know why. They’re really good at taking it one game at a time.” SC 18-4 overall, 9-1 SCCAL, knows its work in league isn’t over. It was in the same position last season, when it secured a share of the title by winning the regular SCCAL season, only to have to share the crown with St. Francis.
“We need to stay focused on the league tournament and our next goal,” said Gianna Tinetti, who helped lead SC to the CCS Division IV title last year. “We just want to go out and take care of one goal at a time. If we get distracted, we can go too fast and make a mistake.” SC kept the errors to a minimum against second place Aptos 7-3 in league, especially early. SC committed just two turnovers in the first quarter and built a 29-19 lead at halftime. SC was balanced on offense, with eight different scorers. Senior center Caylah Novak led the charge with nine points, followed by seniors Tinetti with eight and Sanders seven.
“It was nice to see everyone pitching in to get the win,” said Tinetti, who pointed to junior guard Michaela Whalen’s two 3-pointers as crucial points in the game. One of those three’s came at the start of the fourth quarter to give SC its biggest lead of the game at 42-26. Aptos came back with a 10-0 run to climb back into the game.
Aptos was forced to foul to stop the clock. Catherine Sordo sank two free throws and Tinetti made four straight free throws to negate the Aptos scores. “We came out and I thought we played a good first half. Aptos made a little run that kept them in it and fortunately we were able to keep them at bay,” Jones said. “They made a good adjustments going into a zone in the second half that slowed us down, but for the most part we did what we wanted to do.” “The girls did celebrate a little in the locker room,” Jones said with a grin.
Scoring: Ashley Claussen 6, Kail DeHart 6, Caylah Novak 9, Pauli Pappas 2, Ellen Sanders 7, Catherine Sordo 5, Gianna Tinetti 8, Michaela Whalen 14. Three pointers: Whalen
2, DeHart 1, Sordo 1.

Feb. 11. Scotts Valley topped SC 51-39 to finish SC’s league season at 10-2 and the league title. They will have a first round bye in the SCCAL playoffs. Scoring: Claussen 8, Novak 2, Pappas 7, Sanders 10, Tinetti 12.

Feb. 19. Rested Santa Cruz Badgers Soquel. SCCAL: Santa Cruz 46, Soquel 30. Girls Basketball League Tournament Semifinals. SC looked eager to get back on the court after a week long layoff. The top seeded Cards came out energized against number 4 Soquel and held Soquel to four points in each of the first two quarter and cruised to a 46-30 victory. Elle Sanders looked especially lively, as she finished with 11 points, 15 rebounds, six steals and four blocks for SC. “We had a good practice yesterday, the first practice in a while where everyone was healthy. I liked the hustle tonight and how we got after it. They played the way I like them to play. The defense was phenomenal. Elle was all over the place,” said coach Jones. Gianna Tinetti scored 11 points to lead the Cards and finished with 11 rebounds. Caylah Novak scored ten points. Scoring: Claussen 2, Myall 3, Novak 10, Pappas 6, Sanders 11, Shields-Estrada 2, Tinetti 11, Whalen 1.
Asked about the up coming championship game against Scotts Valley, Jones said, “It’s a dangerous game. We’ll have to defend better and rebound better. We’ll have to play tougher. I thought we played kind of soft last time.”

Feb. 20. SANTA CRUZ RULES SCCAL. SCAL Girls Basketball Tournament Championship. Cardinals Defeat Scotts Valley For Sole Possession Of League. Santa Cruz 49, Scotts Valley 41. Falcons Put Up Fight For Championship.
SC is once again the league champion and this time the Cards don’t have to share. Last year, SC had to share with St. Francis after losing in the league playoff final.
SC once again stumbled in the final, but this time recovered in time to claim sole possession of the title. Scotts Valley held a 23-19 lead at halftime and clung to a 31-29 lead going into the fourth quarter, before SC took over.
“We talked about coming out stronger after halftime, which we usually do in the third because we’re so pumped up,” said sophomore Pauli Pappas. “We thought about last year and that was a big downer for us so we wanted to make sure that didn’t happen again. This was the most fun game all year, because we came together as a team after we got down.”
Gianna Tinetti led the Cards with 16 points, with 13 of them coming off free throws. She didn’t have a field goal in the game until she drained a 3-pointer with 1:43 left to give SC a 44-33 lead and kicked off the championship celebration on the Card bench. Tinetti score 12 of SC’s points in the fourth quarter, when SC outscored Scotts Valley 20-10. “You just have to look for the whole team to step up. I thought in the fourth quarter, I needed to step it up and take it to the hoop because no one else really was,” Tinetti said.
Pappas, a sophomore guard, played like a veteran all game, as she finished with 11 points, six steals and four blocked shots. SC did what winning teams do in the second half, committing just one turnover, which came with 52 seconds left and the game well in hand. Scotts Valley gave the ball away 12 times in the second half and 22 times total.
“I think the experience helped,” said coach Jones. “We talked before the game about playing like a championship team. They never got down. They kept plugging away and pushing it.” Other scorers: Hadley 1, Novak 8, Sanders 8.

Feb. 20. Commentary. Cardinals Have Evolved Into CCS Title Contenders. After beating Scotts Valley 49-41, the SC girls now turn their attention to defending their CCS Division IV championship. SC finally captured its first section title last year in its third straight trip to the CCS championship game beating Mercy of San Francisco 42-32 at Santa Clara University. The Cards have now broken that seal, the question is whether they’ll be able to do it again. Mercy may again be one of the main teams, the Cards must beat. But SC’s biggest challenger may be the team its just beat. Scotts Valley’s 20-6 record is second best in the CCS Division IV after SC at 20-5.
Senior Gianni Tinetti said that’s why beating Scotts Valley was so important, not just because it gave the Cards sole possession of the league title. “It meant a lot because of last year,” Tinetti said. “ We wanted the top seed in CCS and a loss tonight could have jeopardized it.”
SC has most of the pieces returning from last season. Tinetti is once again the teams leading scorer and playing stronger than ever in her senior season. In addition to her 11.8 points a game average, she leads the Cards in assists at 2.4 and rebounds at a 10.4 average through 20 games this season, according to http://www.Maxpreps.com.
Also returning is Elle Sanders, who dives for loose balls like they’re made of gold. The lanky senior forward averages more then three steals and ten rebounds a game. She is a major piece of the Cards section best defense, which has held opponents to 38.2 points per game.
Senior Caylah Novak has stepped up to become SC’s go-to-post threat after Kaja Vaughan, who was instrumental in the team’s playoff success last year, graduated.
Sophomore Ashley Claussen, a transfer from Scotts Valley gives the Cards a true point guard and another defensive stopper. The other sophomore on the team, Pauli Pappas played an outstanding game against Scotts Valley and senior Celeste Hadley are dangerous from 3-point range. The SC bench is deep.
The pieces are all there for SC to make another championship run. If it succeeds, it would be the county’s first team to win back-to-back section championships since the Monte Vista Christian boys won the CCS Division V title from 2001-2003 and the first girls team since Harbor won the CCS Division II title in 1986 and 1987.
Coach Pat Jones, “We talked all year about controlling our own destiny, So far, we’ve been able to stay in control.”

Feb. 21. Number one seeded SC in CCS division IV at 21-5 will get a bye the first two rounds and play in the quarterfinals Saturday at SCHS.

Feb. 28. In a CCS Division IV quarterfinal game at SC, the Cards defeated Carmel 63-35. Caylah Novak had a double-double scoring 17 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Elle Sanders tallied nine points, 15 rebounds, six steals and three blocks. Point guard Ashley Claussen scored 12 points and collected six assists and six steals. The Cards led 29-12 at halftime. Other scorers: DeHart 7, Gianna Tenitti 2, Whalen 14, Erika Tinetti 2.

March 3. SC Girls Make Finals. Cardinals Blow Into Rematch With Mercy. SC is back to the CCS Division IV final for the fourth season in a row. This year, they made it look easy. Top seeded SC dominated visiting fifth seeded Sacred Heart Prep 64-28, to set up a rematch with number two seed Mercy of SF again in the final. SC won last years game 42-32 over Mercy for their first CCS championship. The finals are at Santa Clara University Friday. “They may be better this year,” coach Pat Jones said of Mercy. They beat Scotts Valley Wednesday. “They
are more of a pressure defense team. It should be and exciting game.”
SC 22-5 overall was much to quick for the Gators, 10-18, who were forced into making 21 turnovers and were held to nine points in the second half. “We felt like we could pressure them and we were able to do that,” Jones said. “It was just a good team effort. Everyone was focused and ready to go. Hopefully we can take that and use it as a spring board into Friday.” SCCAL MVP Gianna Tinetti led SC with 17 points, four steals, 11 rebounds and three assists. The senior captain has been on the varsity for all four years of the team’s title game runs. “it’s a lot more meaningful because it’s my last chance,” Tinetti said. “I want to defend the championship.
Sophomore Ashley Claussen and senior Caylah Novak each scored eight points. Novak had three assist. Senior Elle Sanders had seven points and led the team with 12 rebounds. “I’m stoked,” Sanders said of her teams chance to defending its title. “I think we deserve it because of all the hard work we put int.”
Other scorers: Cheyenne Oropeza 4, Michelle England 2, Pauli Pappas 7, Catherine Sordo 8, Michaela Whalen 3.

March 5. SC Girls Make Finals. Cardinals Blow Into Rematch With Mercy. SC is back into the CCS Division IV final for the fourth year in a row. This year, SC made it look easy. Top seed SC dominated fifth seeded Sacred Heart Prep from the start in the semi-finals for a 64-28 victory to set up a rematch with number two seed Mercy of San Francisco in the finals at Santa Clara University. SC beat the Skippers 42-32 in last years final for the first Cardinal CCS girls basketball championship. “They might be better this year,” said coach Pat Jones.

March 6. CCS Division IV Girls Basketball Championship. NO MERCY,
Santa Cruz Overwhelms Mercy For Second year To Win Second Straight CCS D-IV Title.
Cardinals Are First County Team Since MVC Boys To Repeat. SC 49, Mercy 35.
Same place, same teams, same results. For the second straight season, top seeded SC be second seeded Mercy for the CCS Division IV championship.
“It’s even more special, because it’s my senior year,” said Gianna Tinetti. “Last year was the first time in school history for us to win the CCS title. To repeat something like this is just amazing.” SC was playing in its fourth straight CCS title game. After losing the first two, the Cards have now become the team to beat in Division IV.
“We talked to them about paying like the No. 1 seed and the defending champs,” Santa Cruz coach Pat Jones said. “We had nothing to fear and it was up to us to set the tone mentally.”
Much like last year, the Cardinals’ stifling defense kept the Skippers off kilter from the opening tip. Mercy committed 13 turnovers in the first quarter and never settled into its offense. The skippers only created one of their first-half field goals out of their half-court offense–the rest came on fast breaks–and Santa Cruz jumped out to a 26-15 lead at halftime.
“We had opportunities and we screwed up,” Mercy coach Mike Gutierrez said. “We had 13 turnovers in the first quarter and I’d say 10 of them were because we rushed it. Obviously that’s because of their pressure and we deserve credit, but we’re better than that.”
Santa Cruz, however, had little trouble breaking the Skippers’ full-court pressure defense.
“It was really similar,” Senior Elle Sanders said of the rematch with Mercy. “You just had to handle the ball pressure and not let it get to you. They’re a quick, aggressive team. That’s what fuels their offense, so if you can handle that then you should be all right.”
The Cardinals became the first Santa Cruz County basketball team to repeat as section champs since the Monte Vista Christian boys won back-to-back D-IV titles from 2001-2003. Santa Cruz is the first girls team to repeat since Harbor won D-II championships in ‘86 and ‘87.
Santa Cruz has relied on a balanced offense during its run of section dominance and the championship game was no different. Sophomore Pauli Pappas led the Cardinals with 13 points and three-3 pointers, and seniors Sanders and Caylah Novak each scored 10.
Tinetti, who won the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League MVP award this year after leading her team to the league title, finished with a team-high 11 rebounds (six offensive) and three steals, and scored seven points with three assists. Sophomore point guard Ashley Claussen also scored seven points with three assists.
“In both games, we were able to secure the lead and keep them at arm’s length. It still never felt like we had a big lead today because they’re so good,” Jones said. “I thought we played really well on defense and never let them get into their half-court offense.

Additional March 6 write up in Sentinel.
Breaking Through Chart. SC Girls In CCS Finals.
2010: Second straight CCS Division IV title, 49-35 over Mercy of SF
2009: Won first CCS title, 42-32 over Mercy of SF in Division IV
2008; Lost to Valley Christian 53-37 in Division IV
2007: Lost to Sacred Heart Cathedral 53-44 in Division III

Title Tilts Becoming Habit For Cardinals.
The SC girls basketball team is starting to look pretty comfortable in the CCS finals. With their SC logo and red and white color scheme, the Cardinals have always looked more at home during CCS championships at Santa Clara University than other teams. This year, though, SC looked like it owned the 4,500 seat Leavey Center as it blew out Mercy 49-35 in the Division IV final.
Obviously, SC has had some runs of good SCCAL and CCS championship seasons, but the Cardinals have never looked better than they did Friday.” “Especially the semifinals and finals have been on par with as well as we’ve played all year,” said coach Pat Jones. “It’s a great time to be peaking.”
Santa Cruz showed no big-game jitters in its fourth-straight CCS finals appearance. Senior co-captain Gianna Tinetti has been there for all of the Cardinals recent championship-
game runs. She said it’s become easier to settle the butterflies.
“You’re always a nervous, but it felt a lot better this year,” Tinetti said. “The lights didn’t bug me as much. I’ve been in this gym three times before, because one year it was at San Jose State. I felt more comfortable.”
Fellow senior captain Elle Sanders said the team is used to playing through nerves.
“The team was definitely nervous, but we’re good at not letting nervousness get to us,” Sanders said. “We went out and played with confidence and meshed as a team.”
There are both mental and physical hurdles to overcome when a team makes it to the CCS finals, when games move from small high school gyms to NCAA Division I arenas. There’s a pressure that comes with playing in one of the biggest games of the year–if all goes well, the Cardinals will vie for Northern California and state titles, too–as well as the fact that the stage is, well, bigger.
“Our depth perception is off because there isn’t a wall right behind the hoop,” Tinetti said. “and the noise doesn’t carry that well when we’re trying to call out plays.”
None of that seems to bother the Cardinals anymore. Sophomore Pauli Pappas opened
the scoring for Santa Cruz with a 3-pointer, then sank two more just before halftime to stretch a five-point lead to 11.
Pappas, who led the team with 13 points, is one of several Cardinals who have stepped up to fill rolls vacated by last year’s seniors. Sophomore Ashley Claussen transferred to Santa Cruz from Scotts Valley last summer and has thrived at point guard. Caylah Novak started at center and scored 10 points in the championship.
“We kept the core group from last year. We lost some important players to graduation, but Gianna and Elle (Sanders) are back,” Jones said. “They set the tone so much for us with their energy and their attitude. Everything was set and kids were ready to take control.”
Timetti was in control Friday. She was aggressive at the right times, and cool and collected when she needed to be. The SCCAL MVP led the Cardinals with 11 rebounds and three steals, and she created several fast-break layups for her teammates on her way to three assists.
She came away with a championship medal and a big bruise on her right elbow for her efforts. She sustained the injury battling for a rebound in the fourth quarter, just before Jones took her and the rest of the Santa Cruz starters out to a standing ovation.
She said the elbow feels fine, and she’ll be ready to go when the Cardinals begin play in the NoCal playoffs this week. The Cardinals have been knocked out in the first round the last four years.
“Our goal was to win league and we did that. Then we turned our focus to winning CCS and we did that,” Tinetti said. “We want to do as best we can at NorCals. We’ve been taking one thing at a time.”
This could be the year Santa Cruz finds its comfort zone on the next stage. Scoring: Mcaela Whalen 2, Ashley Claussen 7, Pauli Pappas 13, Gianna Tinetti 7, Elle Sanders 10, Caylah Novak 10. SC 24-5, Mercy 21-8.

March 8. SC Gets Home Game to start the Nor Cal Division IV playoffs against Piedmont. It’s the four straight Nor Cal appearance for the Cards, who have made first round exit’s the previous three years.
This year, the Cardinals turn to a veteran bunch that includes four-year starter Gianna Tinetti and three-year players Elle Sanders and Caylah Novak.
“I like the quick turnaround,” said Cardinals coach Pat Jones. “We played well Saturday and to not have to wait until Thursday is nice. We want to keep it going. We haven’t looked past CCS very much,. In NorCal, every team is playing well and you kind of roll the dice. I know the girls want to win at least one game.”
Last season, the No. 3 Cardinals were upset by No. 6 Marin Catholic 57-31. In 2008, top-seeded Justin Siena beat the No. 8 Cardinals 80-55. And in 2007, No. 8 Santa Cruz ran into another No. 1 seed, falling to St. Patrick/St. Vincent 80-43.
Both local teams’ NoCal brackets feature 12 teams this season. The top four seeds in each were given first-round byes.
If Santa Cruz beats Piedmont, it faces No. 4 Argonaut (30-11) in Jackson on Thursday at 7 p.m.
“I like our draw,” Jones said. “If we get past the No. 12 seed Tuesday, we’ll be in the No. 4-5 game. It’s a good draw. They didn’t guarantee one of the top four seeds to teams just because they won their section tournament. They expanded the tournament and ranked them by who they think was best.”
St Mary’s (28-3) of Berkeley was given the top seed in Division IV, followed by No. 2 Modesto Christian (27-4) and McKinleyville (27-3).

CIF Northern California Basketball Playoff
SC NIPPED BY NORCAL CURSE
March 10. Cardinal Girls Fail To Advance To Second Round For Fourth Straight Year. Lose to number twelfth seed 23-8 Piedmont 22-45 in first round.

For the fourth straight year, the Santa Cruz High girls basketball team’s season ended in the first round of the CIF Northern California Division IV Championships.
The fifth-seeded Cardinals were upset at home by No. 12 Piedmont, 45-22, on Tuesday to put an end to their remarkable season, in which they repeated as Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League and Central Coast Section champions.
Senior Gina Tinetti, the SCCAL MVP, ended her four-year varsity career with a team-high 15 point performance and grabbed five rebounds.
“We had a great season over-all,” Santa Cruz coach Pat Jones said. “We never talked about NorCals. Our goals were to win the league and CCS. We attained every goal we set.”
Santa Cruz’s usually balanced offense stalled against the Highlanders’ two-three zone defense in the second quarter and the Cardinals never recovered. The Cardinals were down 11-10 after the first period, but were outscored 14-3 in the second.
“It was hard to get it inside against that zone,” Jones said. “We had trouble scoring, so we couldn’t get into our press. I thought the press was fine when we were able to get into it.”
Senior Elle Sanders and sophomore Ashley Claussen each scored three points to round out the scoring for the Cardinals. Sanders finished with a team-high eight rebounds and three steals.
The Cardinals’ last Nor-Cal win came in 2000, when they beat Enterprise 71-49 before losing in the second round.
Santa Cruz won the SCCAL title outright this year after sharing it with St. Francis last season, when the Cardinals posted the best regular-season league record but lost to the Sharks in the league tournament final. The Cardinals beat Mercy of San Francisco in the CCS championship for the second straight year.
Santa Cruz will try to defend those titles again next season with a much younger lineup at it graduates six seniors from its 14-player roster.
Piedmont 24-8, finished second behind Nor Cal top seeded St. Mary’s of Berkeley in the Bay Shore League and also finished runner up to St. Mary’s in the North Coast Section.

San Jose Mercury on March 10 made their final rankings of the top 15 girls basketball teams. Santa Cruz is ranked eleventh with a 24-5 record.

From Mbayprep. Scoring leaders by name, games played, points scored and average points per game.
NAME G PT AV
Tinetti 27 310 11.48
Claussen 27 237 8.78
Novak 27 231 8.56
Sanders 24 187 7.70
Pappas 22 109 4.95

March 28. The Sentinel All County basketball team included Gianna Tinetti as the Most Valuable Player. Pat and Monique Jones were Coaches of the Year. Ellie Sanders was named to the first team and Ashley Claussen a sophomore was on the second team. Sophomore Pauli Pappas was an honorable mention.

Feb. 23. ALL SCCAL. Tinetti Named Player of Year. First team, senior Elle Sanders. Third team, Sophomores Ashley Claussen and Pauli Pappas. Honorable mention, senior Caylah Novak,

GIRLS JV BASKETBALL

WRESTLING
SC placed fourth in league.

Sentinel articles
Feb. 12. SCCAL Wrestling Championships. Aptos 249.5, SLV 199.5, Harbor 151, SC 130, Scotts Valley 113.5, Soquel 104.5. Eight of the 14 weight classes were decided by pins. Andrew Schuchard at 215 won by a pin. Aaron Marquez at 135 a repeat champion won both his titles by decisions while holding his opponents scoreless.

Feb. 20. At the CCS meet Aaron Marquez is unseeded at 135 pounds, suffered a quarterfinal loss and then won a match to make it to the consolation bracket with the chance to win and to stay alive.

Feb. 21. Senior Aaron Marquez made it into the CCS consolation round and went 1-2 to finish sixth, which is good. Now he gets to “reward” himself after years of weight watching. “Now I can eat some sunk food,” Marquez said.

Dec. 6. At the Peninsula Classic at Half Moon Bay, SC took eleventh place. Placers were Phillip Ahn, fifth at 130 pounds. Aaron Marquez, second at 140. Dylan Keel, sixth at 171. Andrew Schuchard, fifth at 215.

Dec. 19. At the Coast Classic at Scotts Valley, the top teams in Northern California are involved. Granada with 218 points, Placer 155, Los Gatos 148, Kingsburg 141 were the top teams. SC was twenty-fourth with 40 points. Dylan Keel at 160 pounds reached the semifinals and pinned a Placer wrestler at the 2.01 mark for fifth place. Aaron Marquez at 135 pounds reached the consolation quarterfinals.
Keels fifth place in his weight class put him as one of the only six SCCAL wrestlers to finish at least in fifth place at the meet.

Jan. 10. At the Cider Classic, Dylan Keel lost in the finals after he had pinned his three previous opponent. Andrew Schuchard at 217 tied for third.

Jan. 14. SC won four of the seven matches contested, the rest were forfeits. SC narrowly beat Soquel 21-15 in the league opener. Andrew Schuchard won a compelling 215 pound match, which he led 2-1 going into the third period. A key reversal and some penalty points put
Schuchard over the top.

Jan. 17. At the 31 team West Valley College Classic, SC produced three finalist and two champions. Aaron Marquez at 135 pounds and Andrew Schucard at 215 won titles and Dylan Keel at 160 took second. SC finished seventh with 107 points. Hollister won with 172.

Jan. 28. SC 39, Scotts Valley 33. Calvin Ohtake earned a late escape and takedown to win the 152 pound match. Jacob Gray, 119, Cody Kiff 130, Aaron Marquez 135 and Dylan Keel 160 all pined their opponent. Trever Kimec 140, Ben Damon 189 and Kodi Bell 285 won by forfeit. Andrew Schuchard at 215 lost a 9-6 decision. Other Cards who did not win: Jacob Ruiz 103, Rory Stripple 112, Ben Albrecht 171. SC is 3-0 in league.

Feb. 4. SLV 48, SC 24. SLV and SC both have 3-1 in dual meets traded off four match winning streaks, before the Cougars pulled away. Kodi Bell took the only decision of the day, out pointing his heavyweight opponent 11-3. Both teams are tied for second place behind undefeated Aptos.
At 130 pounds Cody Kiff pined his man as did Aaron Marguez at 135and Trevor Kumec at 140. At 145 Calvin Ohtake won by forfeit. Andrew Schuchard pined his man at 215 pounds.At 285 Kodi Bell won by a major decision 11-3. Other SC wrestlers who lost were Jacob Ruiz at 107. Rory Stripple at 112. Jacob Gray at 125. Andreas Dennehy at 152. Dylen Keel at 160. Ben Albrecht at 171. Ben Damon at 189.

Feb. 9. Aptos 58, SC 18. Calvin Ohtake avenged an early season loss to his Aptos 152 pound opponent with a first period pin. Aptos 5-0 in league, wrapped up the first place dual meet standings, giving them the inside track to unseat defending SCCAL champion SC with a 3-2 league dual record at the SCCAL tournament coming up. Because Aptos finished first in the dual meet standings, it can finish first or second at the six team SCCAL tournament to claim its third SCCAL crown in school history.
Only two other wrestler won for SC. Aaron Marquez at 135 and Andrew Schuchard at 215 both pinned their opponents. Those who lost, by name and weight. Jacob Ritz 103. Rory Stripple, 119. Jacob Gray, 130. Cody Kiff, 135. Trevor Kumec, 140. Dylan Keel, 160. Ben Albrecht, 171. Ben Damon, 189. Kodi Bell, 285. SC’s record is 3-2.

Cardinal winners at the SCCAL meet. Aaron Marquez at 135 and Andrew Schuchard at 218, qualify for ALL SCCAL

BOYS VARSITY SOCCER CCS DIVISION III CHAMPIONS
Practice: Mitty 0-1, Bellarmine 0-1. Homestead tournament: Homestead 1-4, Leland 0-1, Los Gatos 2-1. Oak Grove 1-0, Pajaro Valley 0-0, Watsonville 0-4. Practice record: 2-5-1. League: Harbor 6-0, 3-1; St. Francis 3-0, 9-0; SLV 7-0, 2-1; Scotts Valley 2-2, 2-0; Soquel 0-2, 0-1; Aptos 3-1, 3-1; League record 9-2-1. League standings: Soquel 10-0-2, SC 9-2-1, Harbor 6-4-2. Aptos 4-6-2, Scotts Valley 3-7-2, SLV 2-7-3, St. Francis 1-9-2. In the CCS Division III playoffs SC beat both Live Oak in the quarterfinals and Carmel in the semifinals in shootouts by a 4-3 margins after finishing regulation and two overtimes tied 1-1. In the final, the Cards beat Sacred Heart Cathedral 1-0 or the CCS Division III title. Season record 14-7-2.

Sentinel articles from here down.
Dec.31. Boys Soccer Preview. Coach Semih Sabankaya, ninth year. 2008-2009. An undefeated run in league, 16 wins and a trip to the playoffs made the season a fun ride for coach Sabankaya and his talented bunch of Cardinals. Santa Cruz finished the year 16-3 overall. Senior captain Trevor Ross was named SCCAL defender of the year and senior captain Kevin Halasz was named goalie of the year. The Cardinals fell in the first round of the playoffs to eventual CCS champion Prospect on penalty kicks.
Key Returners: John Chronopoulos, So.; F; Slater Meehan, So., D; Giovanni Giattino, So., M; Filimon Richardson, Sr., M; Diego Pio, Sr. Key Newcomers: Jon Ryan, Sr., D; Jack Ryan, Jr., M’ Yoseph Richardson, Fr.
Notable: With seven sophomores and two freshmen playing at the varsity level, this team will be a young one. Several gained big-time experience during last season’s title run, though, including John Chronopoulos. “John is going to be a marked man for us this year,” Sabankaya said. “But I still expect him to produce even more than he did for us last year. He’s a special player.” Diego Pio and Fillimon Richardson will be asked to lead and produce as the Cardinals seek their second straight league crown. Sayankaya said he expects the usual suspects–Soquel and Harbor–to be their main competition for the championship.

Dec. 31. SANTA CRUZ’S WHIZ KID. A Year After His Freshman Debut, John Chronopoulos And the Cardinals Are Aiming For League, CCS Titles.
When SC freshman John Chronopoulos got the rare nod to join the varsity boys soccer team last year, his goal was just to hang with the older players. Fast forward a year , and it’s the rest of the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League that’s trying to keep up with him.
Chronopoulos, now a sophomore, made his varsity debut for the Cardinals in a Homestead Christmas Cup game in early December 2008. One of four freshmen called up to play in the game, the tremendous and rare opportunity wasn’t wasted by the gifted player. “I’m one of those coaches that never lets freshmen play varsity,” Santa Cruz head coach Semih Sbaankaya said. “I always worry about the size. I want to make sure the player can hold up against an 18-year old.
Chronopoulos held up just fine. He started off in the midfield, but quickly found himself up on the front line playing his natural position. At forward, Chronopoulos quickly showed he wasn’t going to be playing at the junior varsity level anymore.
By the time his season was complete, the scintillating freshman had scored 17 goals and handed out 17 assists, helping the Cardinals win the SCCAL title and march on to the Central Coast Section playoffs.
“At first I didn’t realize how big of a deal it was for me to be playing varsity,” Chronopoulos said. “When I got called up, I just dug in and just wanted to hang with the older players.”
Every attribute a coach could want in a soccer player, the Cardinals’ sophomore possesses. Not only the fastest player on the field, Chronopoulos can also hold his own inside and play the physical game. His balanced score sheet, with an equal number of goals and assists, also speaks to his talents and unselfish play.
“No one wants to see a guy with his head down just kicking the ball around out there,” Chronopoulous said. “I try to be as fast as I can be out there, but a team player first. I like passing the ball off and getting my teammates involved.”
Santa Cruz ripped off a spotless 12-0 run through the SCCAL to win the league crown, but the Cardinals season ended in heartbreak at the hands of the eventual CCS champs Prospect High.
The Cardinals gave up a late goal in the final minute, then eventually fell in penalty kicks after two overtimes periods.
“The way last year ended was so disappointing,” Chronopoyulos said. “That was the worst feeling ever. I expect this team to get back to the playoffs again this year. We want that CCS ring.”
Also a member of the Santa Cruz County Breakers club soccer team, Chronpoulos may soon tack a couple new honors onto his growing resume. According to coach Sabankaya, the 16-and-under United States soccer national team is looking at Chronopoulos.
“He’s got a very bright future,” Sabankaya said. “He’ll definitely play at the Division I level in college.”
Santa Cruz opens league play on January 8th at home against Harbor.

Sentinel winter sports rap up on March 21. FIVE OF A KIND. Youth-Driven Cardinals Produce Fifth Section Title. SC 14-7-2 overall, finished runner up to Soquel in SCCAL play, advanced to the CCS playoffs for the tenth straight season under coach Semith Sabankaya’s fourth CCS title. The youthful Cards, who will lose three seniors to graduation, John Ryan, Diego Pio and Filimon Richardson, scraped past their first two postseason opponents. They beat both Live Oak in the quarterfinals and Carmel in the semifinals in a shootout by a 4-3 margin after finishing regulation tied 1-1. In the final, the Cards beat Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco 1-0 on John Chronopoulos’ rebound goal in the sixth minute. It was the seventeenth goal of the season for Chronopoulos. He also had nine assists on the season. Yosef Richardson was the teams second leading scorer with 10 goals.

Dec. 19 SC Secures Season’s First Win. At the Homestead Cup XVI, SC 2, Los Gatos 1. Los Gatos scored first. John Chronopoulos tied the score on a penalty kick in the fifth minute. Sophomore Slater Meehan headed in a free kick from 30 yards out by Filimon Richardson in the 50th minute. “I knew where Filmon was going to place it, because of our familiarity in practice. He kicked it and I was able to get in between two defenders and head it to the right spot,” Meehan said.
Coach Sabankaya said, “we are at full strength for the first time this season. Besides having multiply players out with illnesses in the first four games, the Cards were playing a challenging schedule. Four of their first five opponents advanced in the CCS playoffs last year.
In their first two games they lost 1-0 to two West Catholic league schools, Mitty and Bellarmine, which was co-champion of CCS Division I.
Sabankaya, “We wanted to play with the best of the best and I feel we did a good job. We wanted to keep playing well in the Homestead Cup and when league comes around, we’ll be ready and show that we are also one of the best of the best.
Goalie Tanner Akol had one save. SC is now 1-4.

As of Dec. 26 SC has a record of 2-4-1.

Jan. 9. Freshman Yosef Richardson ruled the second half against Harbor, scoring all of the Cards three goals in a 3-1 win in the league opener. Richardson scored in the fifty-third minute on an assistant from Giovanni Giattino, in the seventy-third minute from John Chronopoulos and in the seventy-eighth minute from Diego Pio. “He is going to be someone to reckon with,” said coach Semith Sabankaya of Richardson. SC is now 3-4-1 overall.

Jan. 14. In a 3-0 win over St. Francis, Juanito Aguilar, Giovanni Giattino and Jose Calvillo scored goals on assists from John Chronopouolos, Filimon Richardson and Diego Pio. SC is 5-4-1 and 2-0-0.

Sentinel Jan. 23. Late Score Lifts Knights Over SC. Undefeated Soquel Snaps Injury-Hampered Cardinals 20 game SCCAL Win Streak. Soquel took control of a tipped pass in the 78TH minute to notch a 1-0 upset victory. SC the reigning three time SCCAL champion, suffered its first defeat in 20 games, which dates back to 2008 in a loss to Scotts Valley. SC 5-5-1 overall and 3-1 in SCCAL came into the contest down five starters.
Coach Semih Sabankaya, “I’m really proud of my guys for playing so hard, especially when we played with only 12 healthy bodies. It will help our youngsters, who got some extra playing time today, down the road. Keeper Dylan Manning made three saves.
The match was a real slugfest with seven cards handed out with six going to Soquel. The SC defense played well, but the offense was a bit out of sync as players had to play unfamiliar positions and situations.

Jan. 27. Watsonville shut out SC 4-0. The Cards goalkeeper had 9 saves and Watsonville’s keeper saved seven goals.

Jan. 28. SC scored two late goals to top host Aptos 3-1 in an SCCAL game. Juanito Aguilar scored for SC in the first half, but Aptos tied the score in the 62nd minute. Goals by Jake Ryan and Diego Pio broke it open for the Cards 6-6-1 overall and 4-1 in league. Dylan Manning had two saves. Assists for the Cards were Diego Pio, Slater Meehan and John Chronopoulos.

Cardinal Boys Soccer Dominates. SC overtook Soquel for first place in the SCCAL with a 9-0 victory of St. Francis. John Chronopoulos and Yosef Richardson each scored two goals. Others scoring were Juanito Aguilar, Slater Meehan, Diego Pio, Jake Ryan and Amondo Merlin. Goalie Dylan Manning had one save. SC is now 8-6-1 overall and 6-1 in league

Feb. 4. SC OPENS FLOODGATES. SCCAL Rivals Battle For 15 Minutes, Then Cardinals Begin Rout. Harbor did not let the Cards across midfield in the first 15 minutes, but once SC did, they showed their knack for finishing, posting a 6-0 rout to claim sole possession of second place in league. Slater Meehan had two goals and two assists and John Chronopoulos had two goals and an assist as the Cards are now 5-1 in league and 7-6-1 overall.
Chronopoulos said, “We didn’t come out ready. We started the second half slow, too. We knew it was a big game. We were up for it…. It turned out to be our best game of the year. We finally kept the ball and played smart.”
Meehan scored on a high bending shot from 30 yards out in the 27TH minute on an assist from Chronopoulos. Giovanni Giattino had an open shot just outside the right corner of the box, but unselfishly dumped the ball to Meehan down low. Meehan crossed the ball to his right to the smallest player on the field, Juanito Aguilar, a 5-2, 105 pound sophomore, who had just substituted into the game. Aguilar stuck out his leg to one time the ball into the net.
SC added four more goals in a 17 minute span in the second half. Josef Richardson scored on an assist from his brother Filimon; Chronopoulos scored twice of assists from Meehan and Giattino; Meehan scored with a second assist by Giattino. Dylan Manning had six saves.
Chronopoulos said, The Cardinals are hoping to make their eleventh straight CCS playoff appearance under coach Sabankaya, are peaking at the right time. The coach agrees. He starts just three seniors, one junior, five sophomores and two freshmen. “We are a good team and we’re getting healthier, said Sabankaya, who has led SC to three CCS titles. “We can play anyone.” He said four of his teams goals came off set plays. We practice those things. I told the kids they don’t usually work in practice, because the defense knows what is happening and it will maybe only work 20 percent of the time, but the plays will in games. We have several options, so we can switch things up.” Keeper Dylan Manning finished with six saves, including one of the diving variety and a punch save on a quality Harbor shot.

Feb. 11. John Chronopoulos converted a penalty kick in the sixty-seventy minute to lift SC to a 2-1 win over SLV. Diego Pio scored unassisted in the fortieth minute, a minute after SLV took the lead 1-0. SC is now 9-6-1 overall and 7-1-0 SCCAL.

Feb. 13. John Chronopoulos scored in the final minute for SC to tie Scott Valley 2-2. Yosef Richardson scored the other goal for SC, which is now 7-1-1 in league and 9-6-2 overall.

Jan. 16. Boys Soccer: Soquel 2, SC 0. Historic Knights. Team Ends 47 Year Drought With First Soccer Title In School History. This is the second time Soquel has beaten SC this year, when they won 1-0. Soquel is 9-0-2 in league and SC is 7-2-1. SC has been the team to beat in the SCCAL for much of the past decade, piling up four league titles and three straight CCS Division II titles, 2002-2004.
Soquel took an early 1-0 lead and seemed to shift into another gear. They controlled the ball and forced SC to play a style it was not accustomed to playing. SC liked to play a short, controlled passing game, but was baited into playing long ball style.
SC locked up an automatic playoff spot by clinching second place in league.

Feb. 18. SC defeated Aptos 3-1. Aptos struck first, but three unanswered SC goals, including two by John Chronopoulos, who scored in the thirty-first minute and assisted on a goal by Christian Gomez in the fifty-first minute. Chronopoulos’ last goal was at the seventy-seventh minute off a Yosef Richardson pass. Goalie Dylan Manning had 4 saves. SC is 8-2-1 in league

Feb. 20. SC routed SLV 7-0, led by John Chronopoulos’ four goals. Yosef Richardson scored two goals in the second half and Juanito Aguilar added one. Tanner Akol assisted on two goals. Goalkeeper Dylan Manning earned a shutout. SC is 11-7-2 overall and 9-2-1 in SCCAL
Scoring is listed by the scorer, the assist player, and the time in the game when the goal was scored.
John Chronopoulos, Diego Pio, 16.
Yosef Richardson, Chronopoulos, 55
Chronopoulos, Amando Mellin, 63
Chronopoulos, unassisted, 68
JuanitoAguilar, Tanner Akol, 70
Chronopoulos, Akol, 77
Richardson, Lief Christiansen 81

Feb. 21. SC the runner up in the SCCAL is 11-7-2 overall and 9-2-1 in SCCAL is seeded third in the CCS small-schools division III and receives a bye in the first round. In the second round, SC will play either six seeded Sacred Heart Prep at 16-3 or eleventh seeded Live Oak 8-2-10 on Saturday. Soquel won the SCCAL with a 12-0 record is seeded number one.

Feb. 28. Pio’s Penalty Shot Puts Santa Cruz Into Semis. Senior Diego Pio found the back of the net on the Cards fifth and final try of the shootout and SC earned a post season 4-3 victory over Live Oak in the quarterfinal round of the CCS Division III playoffs at Aptos. The shootout came after the teams tied 1-1 in regulation and two scoreless overtime periods. Pio said, “The goal felt good, especially with this being my senior year. We came out a little too confident and It hurt us early. Number 11 seeded Live Oak, 9-3-10 won 1-0 in an upset win in their first game of the playoffs.
Live Oak scored first in the fifth minute. Number three seed SC, 12-7-2 tied it at 1-1, when senior Filimon Richardson assisted freshman Yosef Richardson in the thirty-ninth minute, just before the halftime whistle. Neither team found the net again until the game came down to penalty kicks. “We have been practicing penalty kicks all week during practice,” Yosef Richarson said. “So when it came time for the shootout, we were confident we were going to win it.” Filimon Richardson, John Chronopoulos and Slater Meehan joined Pio in converting their penalty kicks. SC did miss its first try.
Goalie Dylan Manning had five saves. SC is now 12-7-2 on the season and Live Oak 9-3-10.
SC will face number 7 seed Carmel, which upset number two Terra Nova 2-1. Coach Semih Sabankaya said the win was big for the young Cards, which feature three freshman and a sophomore in the starting lineup. “It was a good showing by the youngsters and they will continue to get better. The farther we go, they will show that we are not afraid of anybody.”

March 5. SC WINS IN SHOOTOUT. Cardinals Beat Carmel, Advance To Final. SC appeared to be the best team on the field during the CCS Division III semifinal match with Carmel, but needed penalty kicks to prove it. Tanner Akol, who sat the entire match to care for a leg he broke three months ago, came in as Santa Cruz’s penalty-kick keeper and stopped a Padres shot. Then senior Diego Pio converted the winning kick as No. 3 Santa Cruz defeated No. 7 Carmel, 4-3, on penalty kicks after the teams were tied 1-1 after regulation and two overtime periods at Gilroy High.
“I’m happy, and ready for the final,” said Pio, who tore off his jersey and raced around the field after scoring the winning PK with a straight shot down the middle.
Santa Cruz had exited in the second round the past three years and won its only CCS title, in Division II, in 2003
The Cardinals barely made it into this years final, also winning its quarter final match over Live Oak on penalty kicks. And on Thursday, despite dominating in shots (30 to the Padres 5) and time of possession, they could not find the goal.
“They were not making the finishing plays, but hopefully they will in the final,” said Santa Cruz coach Semih Sabankaya. “They are trying. They are trying too hard.”
In spite of their efforts, Carmel (16-5-1) got on the board first. Ruben Gamez took advantage of a small lapse in intensity by the Cardinals (13-7-2) to make a break and lightly tap a shot into the right corner 20 minutes into the game.
The Padres took the lead into the break, but Santa Cruz came out firing in the second. They hit their mark 10 minutes into the period when freshman Jose Calvillo collected the rebound from a shot off a throw in and headed it into the goal.
Fillimon Richardson, John Chronopoulos, Slater Mehan and Pio scored for Santa Cruz. Akol blocked Carmel’s fourth kick to give Santa Cruz an advantage after both a Santa Cruz and Carmel kicker went wide. SC is 13-7-2 and Carmel 16-5-1.
SC players who took penalty kicks and made them: Filimon Richardson, John Chronopoulos, Slater Meehan, Diego Pio. John Evans took the first kick and failed. But the Cards won the kicks 4-3.

March 7. SC 1, Sacred Heart Cathedral 0. After Taste Of First Title, Young Cards Plan Return.
This is just the beginning. John Chronopoulos scored on a rebound in the sixth minute, giving SC all the offense it needed to win the fifth CCS championship. Yosef Richardson earned an assist. The third seeded Cards toppled fifth seeded Sacred Heart Cathedral 1-0 in the Division III title game.
Coach Semih Sabankaya, who has now led Santa Cruz to four titles, including three in a row from 2001-03, said this win felt a lot like his first one.
“Each championship is different,” Sabankaya said. “But this reminds me of the first one in 2001. They were a bunch of nobodies. Then they became somebody.”
Make no mistake. Like that team, these Cardinals plan to be around for a long time.
“This is just the icing on the cake. The next couple of years is our time,” said Chronopoulos, a sophomore forward. “We have so many freshmen and sophomores. Now that we know what it feels like, we’re going to be back.”
Santa Cruz (14-7-2) will lose just three seniors–John Ryan, Diego Pio and Filimon Richardson–from a team that looked seasoned against a solid Sacred Heart Cathedral squad (14-8-4). And, despite their youth, the Cardinals may have actually brought more cumulative play-off experience to the match.
Six minutes into the game, junior Tanner Akol made a throw-in on the left side from about the 15 yard line to Chronopoulos, who headed the ball back to Akol for a shot. Akol didn’t get the touch he wanted and Irish keeper Marc Cirilo was able to deflect it out. Freshman Yosef Filimon picked up the rebound and took a shot that again was deflected, this time back to Chronopoulos, who found himself wide open for the easy put back.
“I was just there for the trash, I was the trash man,” Chronopoulos said. “It just came off the goalie and I tapped it in.”
Chronopoulos almost scored again two minutes into the second half from the far left of the cage, but his shot bumped the far post and rolled out.
After the goal, Santa Cruz kept the pressure on Sacred Heart Cathedral. The Cardinals challenged every pass and went up for every header.
Still, the Irish came within a shoestring of tying the game in the 17 minute. A Sacred Heart player took a shot from the far left, which took an unlucky bounce over the head of charging Santa Cruz keeper Dylan Manning. With the Irish’s Ryan Sweeney closing in on the ball, all that stood between him and a tie game was defender Slater Meehan. Meehan slid in front of the goal to stop the ball on the line.
In making the save, Meehan kept Santa Cruz from possible having to win its third straight CCS game via penalty kicks. The Cardinals, who took second in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League behind Soquel, beat both Live Oak and Carmel 4-3 on PKs to reach the final.
“They were pretty good,” said Filimon Richardson. “Like coach said, whoever makes the mistake, the other one’s going to win. We played hard.”
In addition to CCS experience, the Cardinals can hang their success on team chemistry. The team has bonded over the adversity the players have overcome on the field and in life. Two of the players, Filimon and Yoseph Richardson, are Ethiopian refugees. Two other brothers, Jake and John Ryan, have played through the death of the father last month to stomach cancer.
“The whole team has backed me and my brother up. That has meant the world to me,” John Ryan said. “They’re my brothers, especially us three seniors on the team. We’re in charge of leading, I guess we did that.
“It’s a great feeling, awesome feeling. It’s the best feeling I’ve had in my life.”

Mbayprep: listing the end of the season top goal scorers, shows the top player with 24 goals. John Chronopoulos was in fifth place with 17 goals. He was fifth in assists with 9. Giovanni Giattino was sixth in goals with 8.

On March 10 the San Jose Mercury made their final rankings of the top 15 boys soccer teams. SC went from not being ranked to ninth with a 14-7-2 record in the finals list. (they had been held back, because of the losses in preseason from playing good teams and illnesses of players)

March 1. ALL SCCAL selected by the coaches. Midfielder of the Year: Senior Filimon Richardson. Sophomore John Chronopoulos was one of the two Co-Forwards of the Year. Chronopoulos has 15 goals and nine assists. Richardson had five assists.
Four other SC players were named to the first team: Slater Meehan, Diego Pio, Giovanni Giattino and Yosef Richardson.
Second team included John and Jake Ryan, Joe Calvelo and Aksel Dregelid.

JV BOYS SOCCER
Yearbook.

GIRLS VARSITY SOCCER SCCAL AND CCS DIVISION III CHAMPIONS. IN CCS FINALS SEVEN OUT OF LAST TEN YEARS. CHAMPIONS FIVE TIMES 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2010.
2008 Tri-Valley Classic Gold Division Champions.
2009 St. Margaret Invitational Champions in Southern California.

SCCAL standings: Scotts Valley 10-0-2; SC 9-1-2; Aptos 5-3-3; Harbor 3-4–3; SLV 3-7-1; Soquel 3-6-1; St. Francis 0-12.

Practice: Watsonville 1-0, Valley Christian 0-1, Hollister 5-1, Live Oak 1-1. Burlingame Tournament: Burlingame 1-1, Sacred Heart Prep 2-0, Los Gatos 1-4. Practice record: 3-2-2. League: Harbor 2-2, 3-0; SLV 3-0, 3-0; Scotts Valley 0-1, 0-0; Soquel 3-1, 3-2; St. Francis 10-0, 7-0; Aptos 2-0, 3-1. League record 9-1-2 for second in league. CCS playoffs: Menlo 2-0, Live Oak won, Scotts Valley 1-0 for the CCS championship. Regular season record 15-3-4.

Sentinel 2009-10 Girls Soccer Capsules.
Co-Coaches Jay Gomez and Mark Hogenhaut, both in their seventh season. Last year 15-4-5 overall and 11-0-1 league for first place. Key returners: Seniors: Ashlee Wilhelmsen, forward; Jordan Jenkins, forward; Catherine Sordo, middle; Luci Shook, middle. Junior Elena Venable, defense. Sophomore goal keeper Stephanie Busch. Key newcomers: junior Natasha Roberts, defense and sophomore Carmela Roberts, forward.
Notes: Three players have secured college scholarships. Wilhelmsen to UNC Greensboro, Jenkins to UC Davis and Sordo to Fresno State. Sordo is also doubling up this year playing two sports at one time, as she is also playing for the basketball team. Natasha Roberts went to alternative school last year, but is back in full swing this year.
SC has seven starters returning and 20 club team players on its 24 player roster. Wilhelmsen and Jenkins played on the De Anza Force 92s Y16 D national championship team over the summer. SC has won three straight league titles and has a 36 game unbeaten streak in league.

March 21
Sentinel winter sports rap up on March 21. SWEET REVENGE. Cardinals Top Rival Scotts Valley For Fifth CCS Crown. SC 15-3-4 overall, which finished runner up to Scotts Valley in SCCAL play progressed as the season went along. Paced by three NCAA Division 1 players, Ashlee Wilhelmsen, Catherine Sordo and Jordan Jenkins, the Cards earned their fifth CCS title of the decade and second under co-coaches Jay Gomez and Mark Hogenhout. Number three seeded SC won 2-0 in double overtime against Menlo School in the quarterfinals, beat Live Oak 1-0 in the semifinals and topped Scotts Valley 1-0 in the championship match on a goal from Carmela Roberts. Wilhelmsen finished the season with 27 goals and eight assists.

Dec. 2. Ashlee Wilhelmsen scored on a pass from Jordan Jenkins in fifth-fifth minute to led SC to a 1-0 win over Watsonville in the season opener. Goalie Stephanie Busch had two saves.

Dec. 10. Ashlee Wilhelmsen scored two early goals as SC cruised to a 5-1 over San Benito (Hollister) Carmela Roberts, Hailey Worthen and Emily Hightower scored for SC. Elena Venable had two assists and Jordan Jenkins had one.

At the Burlingame Winter Showcase, SC went up against two time defending CCS champion Burlingame and managed a 1-1 draw. Ashlee Wilhelmsen scored SC’s lone goal unassisted at the 20 minute mark. SC’s lead held up until the hosts evened the match in the sixty-fifth minute. SC is 2-1-2 and remains in the tournaments top bracket.

Dec. 23. In the second game of the Burlingame Winter Showcase, SC beat Sacred Heart Prep 2-0. Ashlee Wilhelmsen scored on an assist from Emily Hightower in the eleventh minute. Wilhelmsen scored again on and assist from Cassidy Burr at 56 minutes. Goalkeeper Stephanie Bush had six saves. SC is now 3-1-2.

In the third game of the tournament, Los Gatos defeated SC 4-1. Wilhelmsen scored on and assists from Catherine Sordo at 8 minutes. SC 3-2-2.

Jan. 10. SC tied Scotts Valley 0-0. Goalkeeper Stephanie Busch had six saves for the 6-1-2 league Cards. Scotts Valley is 9-0-2.

Jan. 15.Ashlee Wilhemsen scored all three goals in a 3-0 win against SLV. Catherine Sordo provided two assists and Carmela Roberts assisted on the other one. Keeper Stephanie Busch recorded two saves in the shutout. SC is 4-2-3 overall and 1-0-1 in league.

Jan. 27. Emily Hightower and Ashlee Wilhelmsen each scored in a 2-0 win against Aptos. Hightower scored unassisted at the 20 minute mark and Wilhelmsen received an assist from Catherine Sordo in the fifty-fifth minute. Stephanie Busch made four saves for the 5-2-3, 3-2-0 Cards.

Feb. 7. Ashlee Wilhelmson stayed hot with her second consecutive three goal game to lead SC over visiting Soquel 3-2. Catherine Sordo assisted on all three goals, the later two, which completed a comeback from an early second half deficit. Goalie Stephanie Busch had five saves.

Feb. 10. Jordan Jenkins scored twice and Catherine Sordo once to give SC a 3-0 win over SLV. SC has a 9-3-3 overall record and is 6-1-1 in league.

Feb. 11. SC took St. Francis 10-0 with a number of players involved in the scoring. Scoring is listed by the scorer, the assist player.
Wilhelmsen on penalty kick
Emily Hightower, Wilhelmsen,
Wilhelmsen, Hightower
Hightower, Cassidy Burr
Sordo, Wilhelmsen
Wilhelmsen, Sordo
Hailey Worthen, Taylor Bagnall
Carmela Roberts, Kiara Burkett
Juli Young, unassisted
Jordan Jenkins, Lindsey Wall
Goalkeeper Stephanie Busch had two saves

Feb. 18. SC 7, St. Francis 0. Ashlee Wilhelmsen had a natural hat trick in the second half in a make up game. SC led by only 1-0, when Wilhelmsen scored all three of her goals in ten minutes. Jordan Jenkins had a goal and two assists. Carmela Roberts had two goals and an assist. Busch was in goal for 50 minutes with no save opportunities. Hailey Worden finished up the last 30 minutes with one save. Arlana Pacheco scored a goal. SC is now 12-3-4 overall ad 8-1-2 in league.

Feb. 19. SC beat Aptos 3-1.
Scoring is listed by the scorer, the assist player and the time of the goal.
Ashley Wilhelmsen, Ariana Pachecho, 28
Ashley Wilhelmsen, Taylor Wilhelmsen, 55
Ashley Wilhelmsen, on penalty kick, 65
Goal keepter Stephanie Busch had six saves

Feb. 21. COUNTY SENDS 11 TEAMS TO CCS.
SC is seeded third in Division III for small schools and will have a bye until Saturdays quarterfinals. SC will face the winner of sixth seeded Menlo School at 13-2-4 and eleventh seeded Seaside 11-4-3. SC has a 12-3-4 overall record. Scotts Valley won SCCAL and was seeded number one for CCS.

Feb. 28. SC Needs 2 OT’s To Put Away Menlo. Wilhelmsen, Jenkins Score for No. 3 Cardinals. “We Were Biting Our Nails At The End,” Jordon Jenkins.
Forward Jordan Jenkins ended 96 minutes of scoreless play by heading in a cross from Ashlee Wilhelmsen in the second overtime of the CCS Division III quarterfinals against number 6 Menlo. Wilhelmsen added another goal, unassisted, a minute later to help the third seeded Cards to the semifinals with a 2-0 win. It was Jenkins sixth goal of the season and Wilhelmsens twenty-eighth.
SC, 13-3-4, runner up in the SCCAL will face number 2 Live Oak in the semifinals. “Ashlee’s service was amazing,” said Jenkins. “It was the second half of overtime. There was a lot of pressure. So for all the seniors and the whole team to move on, we’re excited.
Junior goalie Stephanie Busch got stellar play in front to her from defenders Kate Mosenthine and Elena Venable as SC records its tenth shutout of the season. Busch made a game saving punch save on a shot in the ninety minute and had one other save.

March 6. CCS Division III Girls Soccer semifinals. Santa Cruz Returns To Final After 3-Year Hiatus. Sordo races From Hoops Final To Game, Scores Winner.
Midfielder Catherine Sordo started her high school career with a CCS girls soccer championship. Now, she and a dozen of her senior teammates have the opportunity to end their prep careers with one as well. Sordo, who raced to the soccer pitch after playing in the first half of the CCS girls basketball title game for the victorious Cards, scored in the twenty-sixth minute. The score held up as SC beat Live Oak 1-0 in a chippy and physical CCS semifinal at Valley Christian.
“We’re excited,” said Sordo, noting more progress has to be made over the next 24 hours. “We weren’t playing our game. We like to keep it on the ground. We need to work on possession. We just want to finish it.” On December 15 the two teams tied 1-1 in a practice game.
SC is seeking its fifth section crown and first since 2007, when Sordo and fellow four year starters Sara Lezin and Ashlee Wilhelmsen were freshmen. “These girls have been with us for a long time,” said coach Jay Gomez. “The environment we try to create is to really see 24 leaders and for them to focus on the small details. It’s really about the players. They’ve just brought it. I believe our best game is ahead of us, I really do. We did enough to get a decision today.”
Sordo’s goal was assisted by Wilhelmsen, who redirected a ball to Sordo after taking a throw in from Cassidy Burr. Sordo sent the ball past the charging goalie. Sordo sat the final 10 minutes of the game after she was tripped from behind and tweaked a nagging ankle injury.
Goalie Stephanie Busch had one save in the contest. (means the Card defense was on top of their game)
A basketball team member delivered a championship medal that Sordo wore around her neck after the soccer game.

March 7. CCS Division III Soccer Finals. THE CARDINALS RULE.
Santa Cruz 1, Scotts Valley 0. Roberts’s Big Breaths, Goal Boost SC Past League Rival.
Santa Cruz High forward Carmela Roberts reminded herself to not be nervous prior to the Central Coast Section Division III girls soccer championship Saturday. Her team was prepared and ready to compete with league-rival Scotts Valley, the No. 1 seed, in the biggest game of the season, she thought.
Roberts said she focused on breathing. Good thing, too, because she was buried under a dog-pile after she scored in the 54th minute.
Roberts’ chip-in goal in heavy traffic held up as the game-winner as the No. 3 Cardinals beat the Falcons 1-0 at Valley Christian High.
“I didn’t want to be lazy. I wanted to be a relaxed confident, Roberts said. “I just needed to breathe. We all just needed to breathe, and we all did that.”
Santa Cruz (15-3-4 overall) endured a multitude of shots following Roberts’ tally, but held on to win its fifth section crown since 2000. It was Roberts’ fifth goal of the season. Teammate Ashlee Wilhelmsen was credited with her seventh assist on the season.
“She was due,” said Cardinals coach Jay Gomez of the speedy Roberts. “She was open, got a foot on it. She did a great job. It was a tough ball for the keeper to save. It was in the right place at the right time and a good finish.”
Roberts emerged from a cluster of players in front of net and one-timed the ball that was sent in from the left side and redirected to the near post, in front of Falcons goalie Emily Johnson.
“I was so tired and so happy,” said Roberts of the dog pile. “But I was like, ‘OK, I feel like we should get back in transition.’”
Scotts Valley (16-3-3) the 2008 D-III champion, was seeking its second crown while making its fifth title-game appearance in the past six years. And it did everything possible in the final minutes to knot the game, as bodies went airborne all over the field.
It was the teams’ third meeting this season. The Falcons won the first meeting 1-0 on Jan. 30, when the Cardinals saw their 39-game unbeaten streak in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League play come to an end. On Feb. 11, the reams settled for a scoreless tie.
Several hundred spectators traveled 30 miles to witness the backyard brawl in San Jose.
There was some rough play–nothing new for these rivals–and several players left with bloodied knees. Scotts Valley’s Jordin Carlson and Santa Cruz’s Wilhelsem were sent to the sideline with yellow cards given for separate rough-play infractions.
Cardinal goalie Stephanie Busch, who shared SCCAL Goalkeeper of the Year honors with Johnson, made several key stops, none bigger than her punch save minutes after her team took the lead.
“The Scotts Valley games always give the best adrenaline rush you can ever have,” Busch said 15 minutes after the game. “It’s definitely crazy. I’m just now winding down. I’m just happy for our seniors, (They) won CCS as freshmen, too. It’s nice to send them off like this.”
Wilhelmsen, a forward with 28 goals this season, midfielder Catherine Sordo and defender Sara Lezin were four-year starters for the Cardinals, who have most of their team returning next season.
“The program’s in a place, where (the players) believe they can do well,” coach Gomez said. “By mid-season they started to believe they were capable of playing some good soccer. Today wasn’t about that win. It was about them coming together. The result was a bonus. And Scotts Valley played a great game, too. Either team could’ve won.” Wilhelmsen was credited with an assist and Busch had three saves.

Feb. 4. Three players have secured college scholarships. Wilhelmsen to UNC Greensboro, Jenkins to UC Davis and Sordo to Fresno State. Sordo is also doubling up this year playing two sports at one time, as she is also playing for the basketball team.

From Mbay.Prep: leaders in the Monterey Bay Area from SC with place in standings, name and number of times done.
Goals scored: Third, Wilhelmsen 28
Assists: Ninth, Sordo 11
Goals saved: Seventh, Bush 92

San Jose Mercury on March 10 made their final rankings of the top 15 girls soccer teams. SC is ranked tenth with a 15-3-4 record, followed by Scotts Valley eleventh with an identical record..

Feb. 24. ALL SCCAL Forward of The Year, Ashlee Wilhelmsen. Co-Goalkeeper of The Year, Stephanie Busch. ALL SCCAL Catherine Sordo, Elena Veneble, Cassidy Burr, Kate Mosentine, Second team: Sara Lezin, Jordin Jenkins and Kiara Burkett.

GIRLS JV SOCCER
Yearbook.

BASEBALL
Practice games: Monte Vista Christian 10-4, Wilcox tournament: Wilcox 8-5, Valley Christian 0-2, Hollister 4-10; Knights of Columbus-Serra tourney: St. Francis of Mt. View 1-8, Bellarmine 1-2, Serra 2-3, El Camino 9-10; Valley Christian tourney: St. Francis MV 2-10, Wilcox 4-3, Logan 0-18; Monterey 4-14, Carlmont 9-3, Lincoln San Jose 28-2. Practice record 5-9
League: St. Francis 6-4, 8-2; SLV 2-5, 2-3; Scotts Valley 9-12, 0-1; Soquel 7-4, 3-6; Harbor 9-5, 16-4; Aptos 5-2, 5-4. League record 7-5 for third place.
CCS playoffs: King City 9-8, semi-finals Hillsdale 5-11. Season record 13-15.

Sentinel 2010 Baseball Capsules March 16
Coach: Matt Elliott first season. 2009 record: 15-16, 9-3 in league for second place. Lost to Half Moon Bay in the first round of CCS Division III playoffs. Top returners: Peter Miller, SR. RHP/SS. Collin Ferguson JR, LHP/1B, Paul Webster Sr. C/OF. Erik Columbini JR, RHP/RF. Tristen Gavin SR, RHP. Ben Damon SR. RHP.
Top newcomers: Ti Demeo, soph, RHP/OF. Ryan Roubal Jr. SS/3B. Derick Delucchi Jr. OF. Ryan Bettar C.
Other team members: juniors: Brian Adams, Dominic Elkin, Zach Seftel, Sam Zahler, Terry Wood and Ricky Wood.

Note: Elliott previously worked in the Aptos program, replaces Bob Kittle as coach. In 13 seasons at SC, Kittle’s teams won seven SCCAL titles and made the CCS playoffs ten times, including the last nine seasons. His team won the Division III title in 2003 and reached the Division II final in 2004 and Division III final in 2008.

March 10. Monterey Mows Down Cardinals. Despite Loss To Non-League Rival, Santa Cruz Stays Optimistic About Chances In SCCAL.
SC didn’t beat Monterey, but one thing was apparent: The team possesses a fighter’s mentality.

Stats. SC had 4 runs, 5 hits and 6 errors to Monterey’s 14 runs, 11 hits and 1 error. Peter Miller went 4.1 innings and as a 0-2 record so far this season. Derek Delucchi went 1 for 4 and a stolen base. Peter Miller 1 for 2, solo home run, doubled and scored twice. Collin Ferguson 0 for 1, two walks, stolen base. Robbie Pappas 1 for 2, two fun home run, walk and two runs scored. Llam Healey 1 for 3, run. SC record 2-3.

March 17. SC 6, St. Francis 4. Paul Webster, Collin Ferguson and Peter Miller, SC’s first three batters, all got on base and scored in a four run first inning. Ferguson 1-1, threw 5.1 innings for the win in the league opener, while striking out 5 and walking 5. Webster finished 2 for 3 with three stolen bases and two runs scored for SC 3-3 overall and 1-0 in league. Miller was 2 for 2, both hits doubles, two RBI’s and a stolen base. Ferguson 1 for3, RBI and run. Derek Delucchi 1 for 3, a triple and an RBI. SC had nine hits and four errors.

March 20. SLV beat SC 5-2 for its first win over SC in nine years of SCCAL play. SC had four hits and four errors. Losing pitcher Tristan Gavin. Peter Miller was 2 for 2 with a triple and two RBI’s. SC 1-1 in league and 3-4 overall.

March 24. Scotts Valley Baseball Rallies Past SC. SC with a 9-6 lead going into the seventh inning gave up six runs on a multitude of walks and a two run single in a second league loss to last years champion Scotts Valley. SC is now 1-2 in league and 3-5 overall. SC had 12 hits and 2 errors. Scotts Valley had 11 hits and 5 errors. Losing pitcher for the Cards was Ttistan Gavin. Ti Demeo 3 for 4, triple, run, two stolen bases and 3 RBI. Collin Ferguson 2-5, 2 doubles, 2 runs, 2 RBI. Paul Webster 2-4, two runs. Derek Delucchi 1-3, run, two stolen bases. Peter Miller 2-3, two runs and two RBI.

March 27. SC 7, Soquel 4. Peter Miller struck out eight and smacked a home run. Miller 1-1 pitched a couple game, walked none and allowed three earned runs. Collin Ferguson went 2 for 3, scored twice and doubled. Miller 1 for 3, two runs, homered and RBI.
SC is 4-5 overall and 2-2 in league.

March 28. Ti Demeo allowed three runs over five innings as SC defeated Carlmont 9-3 in a non-league game. Derek Delucchi has two hits and two runs scored. Demeo added and RBI, went 1 for two; Peter Miller went 1 for 2, scored a run, drove in a run and was hit by a pitch twice. Carlmont record 9-2. SC 5-5 and 2-2 in league.

April 3. Serra Knights of Columbus Touranment. Serra 3, SC 2. SC had seven hits and three errors and gave up nine hits. Highlights: Paul Webster 3 for 4, SB, 2 runs; Robbie Pappas 2 for 4, RBI. SC is now 5-8, Serra 14-0.

April 7. Valley Christian Crown Classic: St. Francis of Mt. View 10, SC 2. SC had three hits and four errors and gave up 11 hits. Peter Miller was the losing pitcher. Derek Delucchi had a hit and two RBI.

April 9. Valley Christian Crown Classic: SC 4, Wilcox 3 in 8 innings. SC had 11 hits and no errors and gave up only 5 hits. Highlights: Winning pitcher Cody Bell, record 1-0, in one inning and no ER. Starter Collin Ferguson 5 innings pitched, 3 earned runs, six strike outs. Paul Webster 3 for 5, 2 RBI. Llam Healey 2 for 3, run scored, double. Peter Miller 1 for 3, triple. Ryan Bettar 1 for 3, RBI. SC is 6-9. Webster singled down the line to score Llam Healey with the winning run.

April 29. SLV 3, SC 2, 11 innings. SC had ten hits, one error and gave up only four hits. Collin Ferguson went seven innings giving up four hits, two earned runs, struck out six. At the plate he went 2 for 5and scored two runs. Paul Webster went 3 for 4 and stole a base. Peter Miller 2 for 5. SC is 10-11 overall and 5-3 in league.

April 22. Bats Carry Cardinals Past Pirates
Ryan Bettar collected three his to pace SC in a 9-5 win over Harbor. Bettar finished at 3 for 4 with and RBI. Ti Demeo went 1 for 2with two walks, a stolen base and a run. SC had two big innings scoring four runs in the fourth inning and three in the fifth. SC is 4-2 in league and 9-10 overall. SC has 9 hits and 3 errors. Colin Ferguson started and went 4.2 innings, gave up 6 hits, 4 walks and struck out 3. Robbie Pappas 2-4 and a run.

April 22. SC scored eight times on eight hits and beat host St. Francis 8-2. Ryan Bettar went 2 for 4 with two singles, a walk and four RBI. Erik Colombini went 2 for 4 with an RBI. Peter Miller earned the win pitching a complete game seven innings to better his pitching record to 3-3. He gave up two earned runs, five hits, no walks and struck out seven. SC is 5-2 in league and 10-10 overall. SC had eight hits and one error.

April 30. Scotts Valley 1, SC 0. SC had two hits and one error. Peter Miller pitched a complete game, allowed six hits, had 6 strike outs and walked none in a fine performance. He is now 3-4 on the season. He went 1 for 3 with a double. Llam Healey double and went 1 for 3. SC is 5-4 in league and 10-12 overall. Scotts Valley is 7-1 in league and 15-7 overall.

May 6. Soquel Upends Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz has two games left in SCCAL Play. Soquel won a pivotal league game over rival SC 6-3. With the win Soquel is 5-4 in league for third place and SC is 5-5. The top three teams in the league earn automatic berths in the CCS playoffs. Scotts Valley is 8-1 and Aptos 8-2.
The match-up pitted two of the county’s most successful baseball programs over the past two decades, both under new leadership this season. Mitch Meyers of Soquel and Bob Kittle of SC combined for 16 SCCAL crowns and two CCS titles during their high school coaching tenures.
Playing before a standing room only audience, with many of the fans soaking up the sun atop the roofs of trucks backed up to the field, Soquel jumped ahead in the first inning and never looked back. Soquel led 2-1 going into the top of the fifth inning when they scored four runs. SC finished with six hits, including four that went for extra bases. Peter Miller doubled and Erik Colombini doubled and had a RBI triple.
Soquel had nine hits and seven walks, including three intentional. SC intentionally walked the Soquel clean up hitter to load the bases with no outs in the fifth and it was followed by a two run double. “You put yourself in enough of those situations and you’re going to get beat some time,” SC Coach Matt Elliott said of the intentional walks. He said the Card defense, his team made three errors and sub-par starting pitching proved costly in the loss. “This is a game we’ve got to win if we expect to go on and play in the playoffs.”
Starting pitcher Collin Ferguson went five innings, struck out 6 and walked five. Ryan Bettar, 2 for 3, double, RBI and run. Colombini 2 for 3, double triple and RBI. Llam Healey 0 for 2, BB, run. Ferguson 0 for 1, two BB and run. Paul Webster 1 for4. Miller 1 for3, double walk.

May 9. SC 5, Aptos 4 in an upset. SC had 8 hits, four errors and allowed 4 hits. Complete game winning pitcher Peter Miller allowed two earned runs struck out three and walk three in a fin performance. Paul Webster was 2 for 4, scored two runs and had two doubles. Miller was 2 for 2 and two RBI. Ryan Bettar 1 for 4, and two runs. SC is 11-11 overall. and 6-5 in league. Aptos is 8-3 in league.

May 15. SC Baseball Sews Up Third, CCS Berth. SC racked up 20 hits as it beat Harbor 16-4 in the final SCCAL game of the season. Peter Miller picked up the win giving up no runs, one walk and struck out four in his four innings of work. His league record is 5-1. SC had a huge offensive day, with Ti DeMeo going 4 for 4 with three runs, two RBI and two stolen bases. Robby Papas, 3 for 5, two runs and a RBI. Llam Healey, 2 for 4, three runs, RBI. Erik Colombini 2 for 4, two RBI and two runs. Derek Delucchi 2 for 3, two runs, RBI’s and stolen bases. SC secured third place in league with a 7-5 record and 12-14 overall.

May 20. Number eight seeded SC defeated ninth seeded King City 8-7. SC spent most of the afternoon trading offensive blows with King City. But a combination of miscues and small ball led to the game winning run as the Cards beat King City in the ninth inning. Locked in an 8-8 tie, SC used a hit batsman, a sacrifice bunt, and an error to score pinch runner Sam Zahler for the walk off victory. Peter Miller go the win in relief, going five innings and allowing four runs, none of which wer earned. Miller also hit a solo home rund and finished 3 for5. Collin Ferguson went 2 for3 with a double, two runs an RBI, a walk and stolen base. SC is now 13-14.

May 23. Cardinals Upset By No. 16 Seed, on the new artificial turf at Hartnell College. Number 16 seed Hillsdale throttled number eight seed SC 11-5 in a playoff game putting two underdogs in the CCS Division II quarterfinals. Hillsdale had beaten SCCAL champion Scotts Valley 8-7 in the first round. Hillsdale led 7-2 after two innings, chasing hard luck SC starter Ben Damon from the contest. Two Card errors in the first inning led to a four run first inning. Hillsdale had tied for third in their PAL division. Their intent was to show they were better than their seed, the worst of the 48 teams in three playoff divisions and probably would have been bumped if Soquel had filed postseason paper work.
Last year was the first year the Division III field increased to 16 teams. SC the lonely team in Division III with a losing record, used its two best pitchers, Peter Miller and Collin Ferguson in a 9-8, nine inning game on Tuesday. (The two normal starters Miller and Ferguson went five and four innings respectively and had limited number of innings left to pitch according to CIF rules.)
The Cardinals thought Damon was being squeezed by the umpire early. When Damon got behind on the count, he was forced to throw over the heart of the plate. Hillsdale took advantage with some hard hit balls, first year Card coach Matt Elliott said. “I though Ben pitched well. He was hitting his spots.” Tristan Gavin and Miller threw in relief.
Elliott and the Cards, the third place finisher in the SCCAL, were upbeat after their season ending loss. “We did what we wanted to this season,” said Elliott. “We came out and got better and grew as a team. In fact, that’s what got us through our first game against King City.” SC trailed 8-3 against King City and rallied in extra innings for the win. Elliot felt like his team could’ve and should’ve beat Hillsdale. Saturday just wasn’t his team’s day.
SC ended their season with a 13-15 record and number 16 and last seeded Hillsdale is 18-11. Hitting: Webster 1 for 3, hit by pitch, run. (Healey missing in the box score) Bettar 0-3, hit by pitch, run. Miller 2 for 3, walk. Ferguson 2 for 3, double, run, walk. Pappas 1 for 3. Ti Demeo 1 for 3. RBI, walk, run. Colombini 1 for 4, double, RBI. Delucchi 1 for3, hit by pitch, run. Damon went 1 1/3 innings giving up 3 earned runs out of the seven runs scored.

ALL SCCAL First team: Senior pitcher Peter Miller the only Cardinal. Second team: Junior catcher Ryan Bettar, Colin Ferguson junior pitcher. Llam Healey senior infielder. Paul Webster, senior outfielder.

JV BASEBALL
Yearbook.

FRESHMAN BASEBALL
Yearbook.

GIRLS SOFTBALL
SC last won league in 1988
Practice games: Carmel 7-8, Charlie Miguel tournament: Soquel 2-3, Santa Catalina 2-4, Santa Clara 0-13. Watsonville tournament: Mitty 0-9, St. Francis of Watsonville 5-3. Practice record 1-5. League: SLV 0-10, 1-4, ; St. Francis 14-0, 1-2; Harbor 1-13, 2-4; Scotts Valley 1-16, 0-10; Soquel 1-10, 0-6; Aptos 0-17, 0-7. League record 1-11. Overall record 2-16.

March 26. SLV 10, SC 0 in five innings, because of the ten run rule. SC had 4 hits and 4 errors. Losing pitcher Alex Scott, who went 1 for 1 and stole a base.

March 31. St. Francis rallied for a 2-1 victory over SC for their first win of the season. Pitcher Alex Scott led off with a long home run for the Cards, who are 0-6 overall and 1-2 in league. SC had 3 hits and no errors. St. Francis had 8 hits and no errors. For SC: Linkletter 1-3 and J. Sennisey 1-3.
May 1. SC 14, St. Francis 0. Samantha Rogers picked up the win, giving up one hit without walking a batter in five innings. Kelley Linkletter went 3 for 4 with three RBI, two doubles and a run scored. Alyssa Rodriguez went 3 for 4, an RBI and scored three runs. Audrey Smith went 2 for 3 with a double and RBI and a run. Jaime Fenisey 3 for 4, two runs. Jade Lowery 1 for 4, 2 RBI. SC had 16 hits and 2 errors in a shortened five inning game. SC is 1-4 in league.

Roster: Alex Scott, Jaime Fenisey, Jade Lowery, Kelly Linkletter, Sennisey, Sam Rogers, Alyssa Rodriguez, Emily Nicholas, Michele McCrary, Miri Becker, Taylor Clark, Esra Kaptan, Audrey Smith, Ede Sullivan, Malia Yamashota.

May 5. Harbor 13, SC 1 in five innings with the ten run rule went in affect. SC had four hits and four errors and gave up 9 hits. Sam Rogers was the losing pitcher. Alyssa Rodriguez went 2 for 3. SC is 1-5 in league and 2-10 overall. Harbor is 2-7 in league and 8-8 overall.

May 9. Harbor 4, SC 2. SC had four hits and two errors and gave up six hits. Alex Scott started on the mound and went five innings striking out 5, walking three and allowing only two earned runs. Kelly Linkletter had a double and an RBI.

Scotts Valley 16, SC 1. SC had three hits and six errors. Alex Scott went five innings, struck out five and walked four. Emily Nicholas was 1 for 3 a double. SC has no record available.

Soquel 10, SC 1. Alex Scott pitched a complete game, logging three strike outs. She scored SC’s only score with a home run in the second inning.

May 12. Aptos took down SC 17-0 in five innings. Aptos is 10-1 in the league and with a win against SLV will be outright league champions. A loss will leave a tri-championship for Aptos, SLV and Soquel.

ALL SCCAL first team Alex Scott sophomore pitcher. Second team: Sophomores Jamie Fenisey and Alyssa Rodriques. Honorable mention: Malia Yamashota and Kelly Linkletter.

JV GIRLS SOFTBALL
Yearbook.

TRACK BOYS BOTH BOYS AND GIRLS TEAMS WERE SCCAL CHAMPIONS
League: Aptos 74-62, SLV 79-56, St. Francis 110-18
Taylor Kientzel placed at the CCS and State meets.

Sentinel Boys Track and Field Team By Team Preview April 13.
Coach: Anthony Brown. 2009 finish: second place
Key returnees: Daoud Anthony, senior, 100, 200, 4×100 relay; Taylor Kientzel, senior, triple jump, long jump and high jump; Dillon Kukai, senior, 100, 200, 400, 4×100 relay; Caleb Rabadan, senior, hurdles; Jonah Hodges, sophomore, 4×100 relay, 100, 200 and long jump. Key newcomers: Ben Albrecht, senior, 4×100, 100, 200, 4×400 relay.
Notable: SC certainly made an impression at the Stanford Invitational. The mid-March weekend gathering brought some of the finest track and field talent to the Cardinal campus. Several SC boys won their events and placed high, serving notice the Cards will be a force to reckoned with this spring. Senior speedster Daoud Anthony won the 100 and 200 meter events and anchored the 4×100 relay team during his busy weekend at the track. Senior Taylor Kientzel’s early season success isn’t going unnoticed. The talented senior is currently ranked number one in the state.

March 26. At a SCCAL tri-meet at Soquel, SC beat Harbor 86-43 and SC beat Scotts Valley 74-62. Daoud Anthony won two running the 100 in 11:46 and jumped 20-3.25 in the long jump.

SC Qualifiers are listed by event, name of individual, and time or distance.
EVENT NAME TIME OR DISTANCE
400 relay SC 44.88
110 hurdles Caleb Rabadan 15.99
100 Daoud Anthony 11.46
200 Dylan Fukai 23.14
Long jump Daoud Anthony 20:03.25
Triple jump Taylor Kientzel 44-09
Shot put John Warren 42-09.5

March 28. At the Stanford Invitational, Taylor Kientzel placed first and set a school record in the triple jump with a 46 foot, 10 ½ inch jump.

April 2. SC 74, Aptos 62. Dylan Fukal, Sean Goetzl and Taylor Kientzel each won multiple events. Fukai ran a 51.8 in the 400 and a 22.8 in the 200. Goetzl logged a 41.6 in the 300 hurdles and a 15.5 in the 110 hurdles. Kientzel won the high jump at 5-10, triple jump at 44-9 and the long jump at 21-6. Other winners were Daoud Anthony who ran the 100 yard dash in 11.2. SC won the 1,600 relay in 3:36.7. Ian Hoppis won the won the shot put at 40-04. Both teams have 3-1 records.

April 15. Taylor Kientzel broke his won county record in the triple jump at the Avis Kelly Invitational track and field event at Gilroy high. Kientzel set the record last week at the Stanford Invitational at 46-10. He shattered that record with a jump of 48-0. He also set a personal record for the long jump at 22-9.

May 1. Santa Cruz dominated a quad-meet with St. Francis, SLV, Soquel and Harbor. SC beat SLV 79-56 and St. Francis 110-18, while Soquel tied Harbor 61-61. Senior Taylor Kientzel won the long jump 22-3 and the triple jump 42-3. Daoud Anthony won the 100 in 11.31 and the 200 in 22.85. Caleb Rabadan won the 110 hurdles in 16.03 and the 300 hurdles in 41.40
SC won the 400 relay in 45.14. Ian Hoppis won the discus at 121-1. Michael Schuh won the shot put at 42-8.

SCCAL Championship Trials at SLV. The varsity portion of the trials included five track events for each boys and girls, with the top eight finishers in each event qualifying for the Championship meet. There will be no trials for field events as all competitors will compete at the finals.

SC Qualifiers are listed by event, name of individual, and time or distance.
EVENT NAME TIME OR DISTANCE
110 hurdles Caleb Rabadan 15.71
400 Dylan Fukai 52.66
Parker Allwardt 55.33
100 Daoud Anthony 11.26
Jonah Hodges 11.46
Derek Delucchi 11.68
300 hurdles Caleb Rabadan 41.56
200 Daoud Anthony 22.87
Dylan Fukai 23.58
Derek Delucchi 23.73
Nick Locatelli 23.97
Parker Allwardt 24.03

The top three marks as of May 4 other than the events above
PL EVENT NAME TIME OR DISTANCE
1 800 relay SC 44.42
3 1,600 relay SC 3:45.57
2 shot put Ian Hoppis 43-10.25
3 shot put John Warren 42-6
2 Discus Michael Schuhe 127-0
3 Discus Ian Hoppis 122-4
1 high jump Taylor Kientzel 6-3
1 Long jump Taylor Kientzel 22-10.5
2 long jump Jonah Hodges 21-2
3 Long jump Daoud Anthony 21-8.5
1 triple jump Taylor Kientzel 48.2

May 8. Team Without A Track
Santa Cruz Athletes Excel Despite No Facility.
Taylor Kientzel has high hopes for a state meet appearance in the triple jump despite not having a home track to run or practice on this season at Santa Cruz. Standout varsity hurdler Emily Hightower has been masquerading as a middle school track star. State ranked triple jumper Taylor Kientzel has spent more time in the weight room than on the runway.
As for the rest of the SC track and field athletes, they have scattered across the county, practicing their block starts in the streets and their relay handoffs on the beach on a regular basis.
Today the Cardinals have more incentive to do well at the SCCAL championship meet at SLV than to earn a league title or bragging rights. They’re competing for a chance to finally practice on their school’s brand new all weather track.
Erik Redding, the athletic director for boys sports at the school, expects the track to open next week, about five months later than expected. That’s too late for the regular season, but just in time to accommodate the runners, jumpers and throwers, who qualify today for the CCS meets slated for May 22 and 28.
Construction of the $1.7 million Memorial Track and Field began last July and was scheduled to be completed by December. Weather and construction delays pushed the opening date back, and back and back. For liability reasons, the school district won’t take possession of the facility until the final touches are taken care of.
In the mean time, athletes practice at other places like Soquel, Mission Hill Middle School, the street next to the field or even the beach. It has been a frustrating season for all concerned and there have been sacrifices and some kids, who just gave up and quit the team.
Football, soccer and lacrosse teams have not been able to practice at the facility either.
At the SCCAL trials, which only included running events, SC qualified the most girls 22 and the boys were second with 16 to SLV’s 25.
SC has a reputation of being strong in jumping events and this group has not been able to get in the practice they need, but have done well on the bases of their athletic ability. Kientzel practices his jumping at Soquel one day a week and the rest of the week lifting weights and working on form with his jumps coach Marcus Bryant. Question, has not having the track to practice on been a benefit? Kientzel said, ”maybe it caused us to work more on form and helped us, or than again, maybe we would be jumping further. Obviously, it would be more convenient if we had a better facility or even one at all.”
Hightower agrees. The junior qualified for the finals with the fastest time in both the 110 meter and 300 meter hurdles, despite having to sneak onto the Mission Hill track, while that team is practicing. Still, she says she is concerned she hasn’t met all her goals with CCS looming. It’s been frustrating.

May 9
SCCAL TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS. CARDINALS IN CHARGE
Santa Cruz Girls and Boys Team Both Run Away With League Titles. Boys win with 188 points and Girls with 137 points.

ANTHONY RUNS SC TO TITLE
Dauod Anthony didn’t take it well when he placed third in the boys long jump early Saturday afternoon at the SCCAL championships at SLV. Just 3 ½ inches separated the senior from the top two and an automatic berth in the CCS trials. I was disappointed I didn’t make the cut and it fueled me in my other events,” Anthony said. “I took it out on my legs and the track.” And his competition. Anthony flew to victory in the ensuing 100 and 200 meter meters, adding those titles to the one he helped earn in the 4×100 relay in the first event of the day. By the end of his spree, he’d scored 28.5 points for his team, claiming the Bob Enzweiler award for the most outstanding male athlete of the league finals.
If that wasn’t enough to satiate him, Anthony also helped boost SC to its first SCCAL boys team championship in almost 20 years. Not bad for a team that has spent the season practicing on the streets, beaches and other school’s tracks while it waits for construction of its new all weather track to be completed.
“The people who stayed worked really hard and that’s the reason we were able to go 1-2-3 in a lot of events,” Anthony said. SC finished with 188 points, a whopping 78 more than last years champion SLV with 78.
Anthony guessed the last year the Cards won a league title was in 1982. Dylan Fukai suggested it might have been 1907 and been the cause of the earthquake of that year. Actually, SC won back-to-back titles in 1993-94. This is the first year in program history that both the boys and girls won league titles in the same year.
“We scored points in the places we score points,” said twelfth year coach Anthony Brown. “Were traditionally a hurdle/’jumps/sprints school and we scored points in the hurdles, jumps and sprints.”
SC swept the top three spots in three events, the 100, 200 and long jump, and came close in several others. Anthony won the 100 in 11.19 over Derek Delucchi at 11.57 and the 200 in 22.19 also over Delucchi at 22.91. Taylor Kientzel claimed the long jump at 22.05.5, ahead of sophomore Jonah Hodges at 21.05.5. The pair also went 1-2 in the triple jump.
Those athletes all qualified for the CCS trials scheduled for May 22 at Gilroy High. Other Cards to make the trip are hurdler Caleb Rabadan in the 100 and 300 hurdles; Fukai in the 400, Ian Hoppis in high jump and John Warren in discus and shot put.

BOYS winners at the SCCAL finals, by event, name and time or distance.
EVENT NAME TIME OR DISTANCE
4×100 relay 44.61
100 meters Daoud Anthony 11.10
300 I hurdles Caleb Rabadan 40.31
200 meters Daoud Anthony 22.19
Long jump Taylor Kientzel 22-05.50
Triple jump Taylor Kientzel 45-04.25
Discus John Warren 143-0

GIRLS WINNERS at the SCCAL finals, by event, name and time or distance.
EVENT NAME TIME OR DISTANCE
4×100 relay 50.95
100 high hurdles Emily Hightower 16.27
400 Elena Venable 59.18
300 I hurdles Emily Hightower 47.61
4×400 relay 4:11.88
Triple jump Gianna Tinetti 37-06.50

May 9. BOYS CCS Trial Qualifiers from the SCCAL meet by place, event, name and time or distance:
PL EVENT NAME TIME OR DISTANCE
1 4×100 relay SC 44.31
2 110 meter hurdles Caleb Rabadan 15.52
2 400 meter Dylan Fukai 51.15
1 100 meter Daoud Anthony 11.19
2 100 meter Derek Delucchi 11.57
1 300 meter hurdles Caleb Rabadan 40.31
1 200 meter Daoud Anthony 22.19
2 200 meter Derek Delucchi 22.91
2 High jump Ian Hoppis 5-10.5
1 Long jump Taylor Kientzel 22-00.5
2 Long jump Jonah Hodges 21-05.25
1 Triple jump Taylor Kientzel 46-04.25
2 Triple jump Jonah Hodges 42-10
1 Discus John Warren 143-0
2 Shot put John Warren 43-07

May 22. More than 50 Santa Cruz County athletes will be facing the same do or die situation having a chance to move up to the CCS semifinal competition. Generally the top two in any event, plus up to eight top marks reach the finals, though qualifying varies among events.
Taylor Kientzel has the best chance of making the finals and perhaps bounding into the state meet on June 5-6 in Clovis, neighbor to Fresno. Kientzel, who helped SC win the boys SCCAL team title and will leap for Cal next year, is seeded first in the triple jump and second in the long jump.

May 23. BOYS CCS Semifinal Qualifiers from the SCCAL meet by place, event, name and time or distance:
PL EVENT NAME TIME OR DISTANCE
14 100 meter Daoud Anthony 11.36
8 200 meter Daoud Anthony 22.64
21 200 meter Derek Delucchi 23.69
9 110 hurdles Caleb Rabadan 15.44
11 300 hurdles Caleb Rabadan 40.91
7 4X100 relay SC 43.45
7 High jump Taylor Kientzel 6-00
3 Long jump Taylor Kientzel 22-02
9 Long jump Jonah Hodges 24.01.5
1 Triple jump Taylor Kientzel 45-08.5
7 Discus John Warren 141-11

May 23. County Athletes Leap To Section Finals
Jumper Taylor Kientzel has the best chance of making the state meet after qualifying for the CCS finals taking a first in the triple jump, third in the long jump and seventh in the high jump. Kientzel will be accompanied to the finals by John Warren, who qualified for the shot put. Daoud Anthony took eighth in the 200 meters. Anthony plus Dylan Fukai, Jonah Hodges and Ben Albreit, qualified in the 4×100 relay.

May 29. CCS Track and Field Championships
FIVE LOCALS ADVANCE TO STATE
The only Cardinal is Taylor Kientzel winner in the triple jump and long jump and fifth in the high jump for most of SC‘s 21.5 points.

Taylor Kientzel didn’t expect to have any breakout performances Friday night in the Central Coast Section Track and Field Championships at Gilroy High. The Santa Cruz High senior was spread thin after qualifying in three events and his lower right calf still hurt every time he flexed it from an injury that settled in more than a month ago.
No matter. Even when Kientzel wasn’t at his best, he was still the best in the CCS.
Kientzel won section titles in both the triple jump and the long jump. He also tied for fifth place in the long jump, earning most of Santa Cruz’s 23.5 points, which was good for ninth place our of 39 teams.
“It’s the last CCS meet,” Kientzel said. “I just wanted to do everything I could.”
With the wins in the triple and long jumps, Kientzel earned his first trip to the California Interscholastic Federation state championships, scheduled for June 4-5 in Clovis. He will be the county’s lone male representative after none of the rest of the dozen finals qualifiers managed to break into the top three in their events, or qualify for at large berths.
Kientzel’s path to state was a study in efficiency. He recorded his winning triple jump distance 47 feet, 8 inches on his second jump of the day and, at his coach’s suggestion, he didn’t make any other attempts in that event.
Later Kientzel attempted to compete in both the long jump and the high jump simultaneously. After making a leap in one, he jogged across the field and jumped in the other.
Again, Kientzel, who will compete for Cal next season, made it easy on himself. He cleared all of his high jumps on the first attempts until he maxed out at 6-2. In the long jump, he again recorded his winning distance–a personal record-tying 22-10 ½–on his second go.
“You’ve got to save the legs, especially with an injury,” Keintzel said. “I was worried about it being my last CCS and with all these PRs. Because I am injured, I might not be able to accomplish my goal. But I did, and I’m really happy about that.”
His jumping coach, Marcus Bryant, wasn’t worried.
“Not at all,” Bryant said. “He’s an incredible kid and an incredible athlete.”
Also on the track, the Cardinals’ 4×100 relay team took seventh (44.68), the same place Santa Cruz’s Daoud Anthony finished in the 200 (22.50).
John Warren helped contribute to Santa Cruz’s point total by moving up from eighth to fifth in the discus with a throw of 146-0.

June 4. State Track and Field Championships. “I was just jumping against myself to get higher for basketball. Now I’m into the competition of track and field.” Taylor Kientzel, state bound long jumper and triple jumper.
Santa Cruz Triple and Long Jump Champion Taylor Kientzel Set To Soar At First State Meet.

SO FRESH
Taylor Kientzel qualified for the state meet in the triple jump and the long jump.
An athlete can reach the CIF State Track and Field Championships on talent alone. To win, it takes desire. This meet is probably the top high school track meet in the country. It tests an athletes ability to stay focused on the proverbial finish line. “The most important thing now is to stay focused,” said SC’s jump coach Marcus Bryant. “When you get to state, it’s entirely different. You’d be surprised at how many people can’t even get on the board. You’ve got injured athletes, the walking dead and everything’s on the line. Focus has never been a problem for Bryant’s star jumper, Taylor Kientzel. “I’m still kind of excited about the sport.” said Kientzel, who committed to jump for Cal next season. “I’m not tired of it.”
Kientzel will join four more county athletes, all girls to the state meet. Kientzel has dug motivation out of his goal of topping Bryant’s personal best of 49-11.5 triple jump. Kientzels best jump this year is for 48-2 for the twelve farthest in the state this year.
Until his sophomore year he was fixated on playing basketball. But that spring, Gianna Tinetti another basketball player and track athlete cajoled him to try track. I thought it would help me vertical jump wise and with my speed for basketball and I wanted to jump higher so I could dunk. As a pre-teen, he even played on five teams at one time. His mother would have to stop him shoot in the drive way, for the neighbors sake.
Bryant nabbed the young talent and began teaching him the inner workings of the triple jump, which he calls, “the hardest event in track and field.” “At first I was kind of like, Why am I doing this? Why can’t I just do long jump? It’s a lot simpler and this hurts,” Kientzel said. “It’s just an awkward movement, jumping off one foot and landing on the same foot again.. It’s an awkward thing to do, but if you can do it the right way, you can make it look graceful. I guess.”
His sophomore season he improved by leaps and bounds, thanks to his raw talent. That year he finished fourth in the CCS finals, just one place from the state meet. He suffered the same fate his junior year. Between that year and this one, something changed inside Kientzel. He said it began when he first triple jumped 48 feet at an early season meet at Gilroy.
Afterward, some track web sites deemed the leap the farthest in the state and at least one proclaimed it the fourteenth longest in the nation. A competitive guy, he couldn’t help but enjoy being on top. Plus after researching the sport a little more, he began to realize he might have a longer career hopping down the runway than pounding the hardwood. “It made me feel like this is what I want to do in college. As I started getting into track and field, I started getting more competitive, like I want to beat this guy. Before I was just jumping against myself to get higher for basketball. Now I’m into the competition of track and field, I’ve gotten into the culture of the sport.”
Kientzel spends much of his free time online, watching YouTube videos of triple jumpers, studying their techniques. While looking for tips on triple jumping, Kientzel stumbled across a basketball player trying track his senior year and ended up winning the Florida state track triple jump and eventually becoming one of the worlds top triple jumpers with a professional career and a bevy of sponsors.
“At first, if Marcus said you could make the Olympics, I’d laugh at him. But this kind of stuff shows me it’s possible, as long as I keep working hard, maybe I’ll have a story like that too,” Kientzel said. Kientzel could make that leap today and he couldn’t be more ready.

June 5. CIF State Track and Field Championship Trials.
Taylor Kientzel, Santa Cruz’s two event state qualifier on the heat in Clovis

EXHAUSTION AND JOY: LOCAL PAIR LEAPS INTO FINALS
Santa Cruz Senior Kientzel Advances In Triple Jump.
Taylor Kientzel’s face reflected his exhaustion. His eyes had a slightly vacant look and dark circles started to form under them. His mouth slumped, just like his shoulders.
The Santa Cruz High senior spent nearly seven straight hours Friday in the heat at Buchanan High trying to eke the most spring he could out of his already aching legs. They held up for his first event, the triple jump, boosting him 47 feet, 8-¼ inches to secure the eighth of nine qualifying sports.
They didn’t have quite enough oomph to get him through in the long jump, however. He sprang 22-1-¾ to finish 19th, less than five inches away from a qualifying mark.
“I’m pretty tired,” Kientzel said as the sun began to set over the Olympic-size stadium. “It’s only three jumps for each event, but the heat takes a lot out of you.”
That’s why Cardinals jumps coach Marcus Bryant took the elimination of one of Kientzel’s events as a blessing. Jumpers can make as many as six attempts in each event in the finals, and he wasn’t sure how Kientzel could survive the strain.
“It’s too much,” he said. “It’s too hot to be going back and forth.”
Temperatures reached into the high 90s Friday and are expected to edge toward 100 today. Kientzel hid under an umbrella most of the day and stayed covered in light sweat pants while sipping on water. Still, the sun took its toll.
In the long jump, Kientzel topped out at 22-1, which is more than nine inches shorter than his best this season.
After learning he likely didn’t advance in the long jump, Kientzel seemed torn between disappointment and relief.
“I had a lesser chance to place high in that one than in the triple jump,” Kientzel said. “This will let me focus on the triple jump. I’d rather do really well in one than OK in both.”
Kientzel, who will jump for Cal next season won the Central Coast Section title in both events last Saturday. His marks there 22-10 ½ in the long jump and 47-8 in the triple jump gained him entrance to the third and final flight, which meant he knew what distance he would have to go to move on when he began his jumps. It also meant he was competing head to head with most of the best jumpers in the state.
Kientzel fouled his first triple jump. With just two more chances to qualify, he said he was feeling the heat and he didn’t mean the rays from the sun.
“If you get a good jump on your first, you’re OK,” Kientzel said. “But a lot of guys were scratching, and that puts a lot of pressure on the next two.”
Still, Kientzel qualified on his second jump, which he said he never would have guessed would have measured more than 47 feet.
“I was off-balance. I think it was just the speed that carried me through,” he said.
He finished out the flight with a leap of 46-1 ½.
In the long jump, Kientzel began with a 22-11, which might have been longer if he hadn’t put his hand back to catch him on the landing. He scratched on the second jump, then landed the 22-1 ¾. Even then, he seemed to know it wasn’t far enough to send him to the finals. He walked away from the jump with his head down and barely looked back when the mark came up on the scoreboard.
He may be disappointed he came up short in the long jump, but that doesn’t mean Kientzel plans to shorten his goals for state. In the triple jump, he said he still plans to finish in the top three.
“No one surprised me,” he said. “Even the guys who jumped far weren’t that impressive. I can be up there.”

June 6. CIF STATE TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
SENIORS MAKE FINAL MARKS. Kientzel seventh and girls: Rivers of Harbor eighth and Ferrante of Aptos seventeenth at Last Meet.
After one jump, Taylor Kientzel landed right where he wanted to be.
The Santa Cruz High triple jumper was holding down third place just where he aimed to be after the first flight at the California Interscholastic Federations State Track and Field Championships at Buchanan High on Saturday. Just five more flights to go.
Kientzel held on for four of them, but a torrent of last-ditch efforts left him in seventh place, one spot from a medal.
“I thought I just got lucky and caught these guys on a bad day,” Kientzel said. “They ended up stretching out a 48-1 or better, all on the last round.”
Kientzel soared 47 feet, 11 ½ inches on his first attempt in front of the announced crowd of 9.572–just three inches from his personal best. He got bumped down to fourth in the third flight by 2008 state champion Johnny Carter of Ridgeview High in Bakersfield, who entered the meet with the best mark in the state.
Kientzel said he also tried to make his last jumps his best.
“On my last two I tried to push it. I tried to go all out even if I hurt myself,” said Kientzel, who already was competing with a sore right calf. “I wanted to set a PR, go 49-0. After that, it wouldn’t be up to me where I would place.”
When Kientzel’s coach at Santa Cruz, Marcus Bryant, told him he did a good job after the event, the senior just shook his head. Still, he said he took some comfort in knowing he can still improve his marks when he competes for Cal next season.
“I placed seventh, but I don’t think I was the seventh best,” he said. “I think I was one of the better jumpers. Hopefully it’s something small. Hopefully this won’t be the biggest event I ever go to.”

TRACK GIRLS BOTH BOYS AND GIRLS TEAMS WERE SCCAL CHAMPIONS

Sentinel Girls Track and Field Team By Team Preview.
Coach: Anthony Brown Twelfth year. 2009 record second. Key Returnees: Elle Sanders, senior, 4×400, 1,600; Gianna Tinetti. Senior, long jump, triple jump, 4×400; Elena Venable, junior, 200, 400, 4×100, 4×400; Carmela Roberts, sophomore, 4×100, 4×400. Key newcomers: Kiara Burkett, sophomore, 200, 4×100, 4×400.
Notable: Senior Elle Sanders broke the school record in the 1,600 at the Stanford Invitational. Pacific Collegiate transfer Kiara Burkett didn’t waste any time finding a spot in the SC relays lineup. The talented sophomore will run in the 4×100 and as a part of the 4×400 squad that is ranked fourth in the CCS and also includes Carmela Roberts, Elena Venable and Gianna Tinetti. “That group is only going to get faster,” coach Anthony Brown said. “I expect them to be a major contender.”

THE NEED FOR SPEED. Sprinters Venable, Roberts Are Leading Santa Cruz’s Pursuit of a League Title. ‘Elena and I push each other. We all want to win and to be the best’ Carmela Roberts, SC sophomore sprinter. Junior Elaena Venable and sophomore Carmela Roberts already won the CCS title in girls soccer in March.
Next up for the girls. Run down a CCS banner on the track. With its two standout sprinters, the SC girls track team has a one-two punch that could propel it to the SCCAL title and its relay teams to CCS or even state berths. Last year, the girls finished third in league. “We use our friendship to get better,“ Roberts said. “Elena and I push each other. We all want to win and to be the best.”
Venable is the veteran. She has anchored the two relay teams the past two seasons. Last year, she helped SC win both girls and boys SCCAL championships. She also reached CCS in the individual 200 and 400, but didn’t make it out of the trials in any of her events.

March 26. SC 91, Harbor 32 and SC 91.5, Scotts Valley 40.5 in a SCCAL tri-meet at Soquel. Gianna Tinetti earned two wins with a 17-3.5 in the long jump and 35-9 in the triple jump.
SC Qualifiers are listed by event, name of individual, and time or distance.
EVENT NAME TIME OR DISTANCE
100 hurdles Emily Hightower 16.24
400 Elena Venable 1:01.5
100 Carmela Roberts 13.25
800 Elle Sanders 2:26.46
300 hurdles Emily Hightower 52.59
1,500 relay SC 4:15.47
High jump Marie Powell 4-08

March 28. At the Stanford Invitational, Elle Sanders finished seventeenth in the mile and set a school record with a 5:12.57.

April 2. Aptos 72, SC 63. Carmela Roberts, Emily Hightower and Gianna Tinetti won multiple events for SC. Roberts ran a 12.9 100 yard dash and a 26.7 200. Hightower logged a 16.8 in the 100 hurdles and 49.7 in the 300 hurdles. Tnetti went 17-2 in the long jump and 35.02 in the triple jump. Other winners are Kiara Burkett 62.4 in the 400. Mandy Cole did a 2:23.0 in the 800. SC won the 1,600 relay in 4:12.6. SC is 3-1 in dual meets and Aptos is 4-0.

In a quad-meet, SC beat SLV 88-39 and St. Francis 112-2. Elle Sanders won the 1,600 in 5:23 and the 800 in 2:24.67. Emily Hightower won the 100 hurdles in 17.32 and the 300 hurdles 49.85. Other SC winners were Carmela Roberts 400 in 1:00.6. SC won the 1,600 relays in 4;17.84. Marie Powell won the high jump at 4.08. Gianna Tinetti won the triple jump at 36.05.

April 15. At the Avis Kelly Invitational track and field event at Gilroy high the girls 4×100 relay team set a county best mark for the season at 51.58.

SC Qualifiers for the SCCAL championship meet are listed by event, name of individual, and time or distance.
EVENT NAME TIME OR DISTANCE
100 hurdles Emily Hightower 16.55
Jenny Delucchi 18.13
Lindsey Wall 18.41
Sara Wegmuller 18.51

Hailey Sims 18.54
400 Elena Venable 1:01.20
Carmela Roberts 1:01.39
Kiara Burkett 1:03.72
100 Chloe Bomdarieri 13.38

300 hurdles Emily Hightower 49.95
Jenny Delucchi 52.19
Kelsea Moriarty 56.51
Sara Wegmuller 56.84
200 Carmela Roberts 26.92

Elena Venable 27.26

The top three marks as of May 4 other than the events above
PL EVENT NAME TIME OR DISTANCE
3 1,600 meters Elle Sanders 5:10.76
1 400 meter relay SC 51.59
1 1,600 relay SC 4:07.59
2 Long jump Gianna Tinetti 17-3.5
1 Triple jump Gianna Tinetti 35-9

SCCAL TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS. CARDINALS IN CHARGE
Santa Cruz Girls and Boys Team Both Run Away With League Titles.
SANTA CRUZ EDGES APTOS
For his birthday Saturday, coach Anthony Brown didn’t get what he asked for, namely for his team to finally be able to practice on the school’s new track and field, which has been under construction for 10 months. He got something better. SC won their first girls team title at the SCCAL championships since 1989, according to Sentinel records and joined the boys in achieving the first dual team titles in school history. “I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday,” Brown said after his championship teams gathered around him to sing the birthday song.
SC racked up 137 points to edge 2009 champions Aptos with 123.5 points, SLV 69.5, Scotts Valley 69, Soquel 57 and Harbor 36. This might be just the start of a few good years for Brown and the Cardinals. In all SC had 11 girls finish in the top two in their events and qualify for the CCS trials.
Those qualifying are Gianna Tinetti in the triple jump and long jump; Carmela Roberts in 200 and 400 meters; Emily Hightower in 110 and 300 hurdles each qualified for two events. Elena Veanable in 400 and Elle Sanders in 800 both qualified individually and as part of the relay team. Of these athletes, Tinetti and Sanders are the only seniors.
“It’s amazing to go out winning a league title,” said Tinetti, who repeated as the SCCAL girls triple jump champion. “We felt like this group of girls was a really strong contender, but we didn’t know how we would do.”

May 9. GIRLS CCS Trial Qualifiers by place, event, name and time or distance:
PL EVENT NAME TIME OR DISTANCE
2 4X100 relay SC 51.11
1 100 meter hurdles Emily Hightower 16.27
1 400 meter Elena Venable 59.18
2 400 meter Carmela Roberts 1:00.00
2 800 meter Elle Sanders 2:17.34
1 300 meter hurdles Emily Hightower 47.61
2 200 meter Carmela Roberts 26.38
1 4×400 meter relay SC 4:11.88
2 Long jump Gianna Tinetti 17.8
1 Triple jump Gianna Tinetti 37-6.5
2 Triple jump Marie Powell 33-7.5

May 23. GIRLS CCS Semifinal Qualifiers from the SCCAL meet by place, event, name and time or distance:
PL EVENT NAME TIME OR DISTANCE
26 200 metes Carmela Roberts 27.27
21 400 meters Elena Venable 1:01.28
6 800 meters Elle Sanders 2:17.41
17 100 hurdles Emily Hightower 16.32
17 300 hurdles Emily Hightower 48.46
14 4×100 meter relay SC 4:08.44
6 Long Jump Gianna Tinetti 16-11
3 Triple Jump Gianna Tinetti 37-07
20 Triple Jump Marie Powell 33-04.25

May 23. County Athletes Leap To Section Finals. Fifteen girls from the county qualify for the finals. The 1,600 race has become a SCCAL centric race. Five girls from the county were in the top group. From a Aptos runner, “All the people here from league are really supportive of other league members. Elle Sanders, who had just finished second to qualify for the finals, was track side cheer for the Aptos runner in the 800 meters, who won her heat. Last year Sanders just missed out on qualifying for state in the event when she took fifth in the CCS finals.
Gianna Tinnetti is teetering on the brink of qualifying third in the triple jump.
The 4×100 relay team took seventh after running in the fastest heat of the event.

ALL SCCAL BOYS. First team: Taylor Kientzel, Daoud Anthony, Celab Rabodan, John Warren. Second team: Dylan Fukai, Derek Delucci, Jonah Hodges, Ian Hoppis.

ALL SCCAL GIRLS. First team; Emily Hightower, Elena Venable, Ginna Tinetti, Elle Sanders. Second team: Carmela Roberts, Marie Powell

BOYS AND GIRLS SWIMMING AND DIVING GIRLS WIN SCCAL MEET
GIRLS Swimming SCCAL championships. SC 301, Harbor 214, Soquel 203, Aptos 171, SLV 158, Scotts Valley 144, St. Francis 20.
BOYS Swimming SCCAL championships. Aptos 404, Harbor 239, SLV 157, Soquel 153, SC 149, Scotts Valley 54, St. Francis 32. Aptos won every event. Boys placed fifth at SCCAL meet.
Both boys and girls participated in the CCS meet.

League BOYS: St. Francis 119-20; Soquel 95-76; Scotts Valley 106-10; Harbor 102-65; SLV 104-77; Aptos 43-124. League record 5-1.
GIRLS: St. Francis 139-11; Soquel 82-82; Scotts Valley 114-47; Harbor 92-76; SLV 97-79; Aptos 102-52. Undefeated 6-0 in league.

March 6. Girls: SC 139, St. Francis 11.
Winners are listed by event, name and time or distance:
EVENT NAME TIME OR DISTANCE
200 medley relay SC 2:07.93
200 free Chloe Grizalba-Bynes 2:08.7
200 Individual medley Sophie Calhoun 2:31.24
50 free Adrian Baade 28.07
100 fly Heather Mullowney 1:10.13
100 free Kyla Pearson 1:01.51
500 free Grizalba-Bynes 5:57.71
200 free relay SC 1:51.88
100 back Mullowney 1:08.22
100 breast Deede Eckhardt 1:21.1
400 free relay SC 4:12.52

March 6. Boys: SC 119, St. Francis 20.
Winners are listed by event, name and time or distance:
EVENT NAME TIME OR DISTANCE
200 medley relay SC 2:01.05
200 free Turner Bell 2:09.65
200 individual medley Albert McPherson 2:15.96
50 free William McAneny 24.09
100 fly William McAneny 1:08.85
100 free Phoenix Pelstring 59.32
500 free McPherson 5:21.42
200 free relay SC 1:47.18
100 back Pelstring 1:18.53
400 free relay SC 3:5716

March 20. POOL SWEEPERS. Santa Cruz Girls go unbeaten at the Cardinals’ New Facility.
SC girls breezed through Aptos 102-52, while Aptos boys cruised through SC 124-43. Both winning teams swept first places in their events. SC freshman Chloe Grisalva-Bynes won the girls 200 yard freestyle in 2:.09.11 and the 500 free in 5:50.65 and was part of the 200 medley and free relay teams. “ I feel I did okay. I came into today a little bit tired and feeling sick,“ Grisalva-Bynes said. “I’m happy I won both of my individual events to help our overall team score.” Senior Sophie Calhoun also won two events, the 200 individual medley in 2:31.96 and the 100 free in 1:00.86, while fellow seniors Adriane Baade won the 50 free in 28.19.
Heather Mullowney contributed individual victories in the 100 butterfly in 1:10.00 and the 100 backstroke in 1:10.44. With the win the Cards are 3-0.
Today was a really good met for us,” said coach Kimberly Gomez.

March 27. Sentinel 2010 Boys and Girls Swimming Capsules.
SC coach Kimberly Gomez eighth year. Last year: Girls were first and boys fourth. Top girls: Sophie Calhoun, senior in 100, 200, 500 free and fly and the 200 individual medley; Adriana Baade, senior 50, 100, 200 free; Dede Eckhardt, sophomore 100 breast stroke; Heather Mullowney, senior 100 back; Chloe Grisalva-Bynes, freshman 200, 500 free, 200 individual medley; Kaila Pearson, junior breast.
Top Boys: William McAneny, senior 50, 100 free and fly; George McAneny, sophomore fly and back; Albert McPherson, freshman utility. Notable: This years boys squad looks to increase it depth and provide serious competition against league teams. William McEneny is the top boys contender for a league title.
The girls have not lost a duel meet since 2007 loss against SLV. The girls are strong again this season and are looking to take a league title for the second consecutive year.

May 2. Boys Swimming SCCAL championships. Aptos 404, Harbor 239, SLV 157, Soquel 153, SC 149, Scotts Valley 54, St. Francis 32. Aptos won every event.

May 2. SCCAL Swimming Championships. MAKING A SPLASH. SC Girls, Aptos Boys Race To Team Titles. Cardinals’ Mullowney Dedicates Wins To Recently Slain Boyfriend.
Sports transcended life and death Saturday afternoon when Heather Mulowney dipped her toes into the SLV pool. Mullowney, a senior hadn’t been to school all week, much less than to swim practice. Her boyfriend had been shot three times by suspected gang members and she dedicated her swimming at the championships to him. She ended up winning three races. She claimed the 100 yard backstroke in 1:17.06, 100 butterfly in 1:07.87and as a member of the 200 medley relay team in a time of 2:07.19 and helping SC win its third straight SCCAL title. She showed how strong a person she is just by showing up.
SC tallied 301 points, Harbor 214, Soquel 203, Aptos 171, SLV 158, Scotts Valley 144, St. Francis 20. Mullowney and Sophie Calhoun won individual event titles and two relay teams, the 200 free in 1:46.66and the 400 free in 3:59.72, which consisted of Chloe Grijalva-Bynes, Kaila Pearson, Calhoun and Adrian Baade, qualified for the CCS Championships.
Sophie Calhoun won the 200 individual medley in 3:26.04. As Mullowney said of the swimming at the meet, “It makes me feel like a strong person for being here.”

May 22. Boys CCS Swimming championship trials at the Santa Clara swim center. The lone Cardinal to place is Albert McPherson in the 500 freestyle in 38th place in time of 5:01.82

May 22. Girls CCS Swimming and Diving championship trials at the Santa Clara swim center. The lone Cardinal to place ? is SC in the 400 freestyle in fortieth place in time of 3:56.74. In the 200 freestyle, SC did not qualify.

March 14. Boys: SC 95, Soquel 76. Winners only listed, by event, name, time.
EVENT NAME TIME
200 free William McAneny 2:03.86
500 free Albert McPherson 5:19.31
100 back George McAneny 1:07.33
100 breast Cole Garner 1:16.31
400 free relay SC 3:48.64
(SC won second and third places, which were not recorded)

March 14: Girls: SC 82, Soquel 80.
EVENT NAME TIME
200 free Sophie Calhon 2:15.78
50 free Adrian Baade 26.27
100 free Sophie Calhoun 59.70
500 free Chloe Grisalva-Bynes 6:02.83
200 free relay SC 1:52.40
100 back Heather Mulloqney 1:10.98
400 free relay SC 4:10.93

April 1. Cardinal Swim Team Still Coasting.
GIRLS: took first in nine of the ten events against Scotts Valley in a 114-47 win. Heather Mullowney won the 100 butterfly in 1:01.96 and the 100 backstroke in 1:10.51. Dede Eckhardt was another double winner in the 200 individual medley in 2:28.38 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:18.70. Other winners:
EVENT NAME TIME
200 free Sophie Calhon 2:15.78
50 free Chloe Crisalva-Bynes 26.87
100 free Sophie Calhoun 1:01.96
500 free Chloe Grisalva-Bynes 5:50.76
200 free relay SC 1:57.73
100 back Heather Mullowney 1:10.98
400 free relay SC 4:14.44

Boys won every event and routed Scotts Valley 106-10. William McAneny won the 50 free in 24.67 and 200 free in 2:03.93. Brother George McAnneny won both the 100 freestyle in 56.37 and the 100 backstroke in 1:10.58. SC improves to 3-1 in league.
EVENT NAME TIME
200 medley relay SC 1;59.17
200 individual medley Phoenix Pelstring 2:34.42
100 fly Albert McPherson 1:03.05
500 free Albert McPherson 5:25.27
200 free relay SC 1:42.58
100 breast Cole Garner 1:16.07
400 free relay SC 3:48.64

April 22. GIRLS: SC 92, Harbor 76. Grijalva-Bynes won the 200 freestyle in 2:11.63 and the 500 free in 6:05.97.
EVENT NAME TIME
200 medley relay SC 2:07.59
100 free Kaila Pearson 59.42
100 breast Bianca Grossi 1:18.69
50 free Sophie Calhoun 28.18
200 free relay SC 1:54.55
100 back Heather Mullowney 1:10.06
200 individual medley Dede Eckhardt 2:29.83

BOYS: SC 102, Harbor 102-65. Three Cards were double winners: William McEneny son the 200 individual medley in 2:21.53 and the 100 free in 53.45. George McEneny took the 50 free in 25.03 and 100 backstroke in 1:05.27. Albert McPherson won 500 free in 5:14.98 and the 100 fly in 1:01.36. SC is 4-1.
EVENT NAME TIME
200 medley relay SC 2:02.17
200 free relay SC 1:41.05
100 breast Mathew Cox 1:13.50
400 free relay SC 3:13.50

April 24. BOYS: SC topped SLV 104-77. Two Cards won two events. Albert McPherson logged a 2:15.75 in the 200 individual medley and a 5:15.92 in the 500 free. William McEneny won the 100 butterfly in 1:02.10 and the 100 free in 54.00. SC is 5-1.
EVENT NAME TIME
200 medley relay SC 1:55.48
200 free relay SC 1:40.50
100 breast Mathew Cox 1:11.98
400 free relay SC 3:51.62
200 free Turner Roll 2:05.51
50 free Llam Cliff 25.34

GIRLS: SC defeated SLV 97-79. Two Cards won two events. They were Chloe Grijalba-Bynes, in 50 free in 26.74 and 100 free in 58.30. Dede Eckhardt won the 200 individual medley in 2:28.36 and 100 breast in 1:16.70. SC is 6-0.
EVENT NAME TIME
200 medley relay SC 2:06.97
200 free Adriana Baade 2:28.36
200 free relay SC 1:50.82
100 back Heather Mullodney 1:10.48
400 free relay SC 4:16.73

BOYS TENNIS CO-CHAMPIONS WITH APTOS, CCS 1-1
League: Soquel 6-0, 7-0; SLV 7-0, 7-0; Harbor 7-0, 7-0; Scotts Valley 5-2, 5-2; Aptos 2-5, 4-3. League record 9-1 tie with Aptos for title. To see who would represent the league at CCS, SC defeated Aptos 5-2. CCS playoffs: Willow Glen 7-0, Saratoga 0-7. CCS 1-1.

Sentinel 2010 Boys Tennis Capsules
Coach: Julian Sunn, second year. 2009: SC went 8-2 and finished in second place. Both loses came from undefeated Aptos. “It was a really good year overall for us. A lot of our newcomers got a lot of experience and improved their game,“ coach Sunn. Key retunees: Walker Hansen soph; Sam Imsland junior and Jacob Imsland junior. Key newcomers: Noah Stricker soph and Walker Nodine freshman. Notable: Sophomore Walker Hansen tops the singles order. Junior twins Sam and Jacob Imsland will both play singles with Jacob as number two and Sam at three. Newcomers Stricker and Nodine will pair up to play number two doubles. “Our expectations are to win every match and to challenge Aptos. Everyone on our team is up and ready to the challenge,” said Sunn.

March 10. SC 6, Soquel 0. In their first league game of the season. Singles winner by the ladder: Walker Hansen, 6-4, 6-3; Jacob Imsland 6-3, 4-6, 10-8; Sam Imsland 6-0, 6-0; Jesse Honig 6-0, 6-0. Doubles winners were Dylan Manning and Marcus Alfred 6-2, 6-0; Miguel Poblete and Noah Stricker 6-1, 6-1.

March 12. Aptos 5, SC 2. Aptos singles swept the Cards. SC’s number on doubles team of Dylan Manning and Miguel Poblet won 6-4, 1-6, 7-6. SC singles players in order of the ladder 1, 2, etc. Jacob Imsland, Sam Island, Jesse Honig, Marcus Alfred. Doubles team for SC Aalker Mogine and Noah Strickler, Ted and Chris Kouats-Wylteratt won 6-0, 6-1

March 18. SC 7, SLV 0. Sam and Jacob Imsland at the number one and two singles won their matches by identical 6-1, 6-0 scores.

March 19. SC 5, Scotts Valley 2. Scotts Valley won the top two singles matches. Walker Hansen forced a third set while losing 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4. Jacob Imsland lost the number two match 2-6, 3-6. Sam Imsland won 6-2, 7-5. Jessie Honig won 6-0, 7-6 (2). In doubles: Dylan Manning and Miguel Poblete won 5-7, 6-0, 6-4. Ted Kovats-Wildenradt and Marcus Alfred won 6-2, 6-2. Walker Nodine and Connor Meara won 6-0, 6-3. SC is 3-1.

March 24. SC 7, Harbor 0. Singles winners listed by the ladder: Sam Imsland 6-3, 6-3; Walker Hansen 6-1, 6-1; Jesse Honig 6-0, 6-0; Jacob Imsland 6-2, 6-1. Doubles winners: Dylan Manning and Miguel Poblete 5-7, 6-3, 10-7; Ted Kovats-Wildenradt and Walker Nodine 6-0, 6-0. Marcus Alfred and Noah Stricker 6-1, 6-0.

March 26. SC 7, Soquel 0. Singles winners: Sam Imsland 6-3, 6-4; Jesse Honig 6-7, 6-4, 10-7; The last two spots were forfeited. Doubles winners: Dylan Manning and Miguel Poblete 6-0, 6-1. Ted Kovats-Wildenradt and Walker Nodine 6-0, 6-0; The third match was forfeited. SC is now 5-1.

March 31. SC Tennis Grinds Out Upset of Aptos. SC 4, Aptos 3. In a wild match Dylan Manning and Miguel Poblete won their number one doubles 6-4, 6-7, (7-5), 7-6, (7-5). SC is 6-1 in SCCAL play by sweeping the doubles play. SC singles winner was Jacob Imsland 6-1, 6-0. Those who lost by the ladder in two sets: Sam Imsland, Walker Hansen, Jesse Honig. Other doubles winners: Ted Kovats-Wildenradt and Walker Nodine 4-6, 6-2, 7-6, 7-2. Aptos defaulted the number three doubles.

SC 5, Scotts Valley 2. Sam Imsland won the number three singles match 6-1, 6-4. Dylan Manning and Miguel Poblete won their doubles match 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Scotts Valley won the top two singles matches. Jesse Honig won the fourth singles match 6-2, 6-0. Walker Hansen lost the number one singles and Jacob Imsland lost the number two match. Other doubles winners were Ted Kovats-Wildenradt and Walker Nodine 6-2, 6-2.Marcus Alfred and Justus Kovats-Wildenradt won 6-2. 6-0. SC is now 7-1.

April 10. SC 7, Harbor 0. All winners, Walker Hansen 6-1, 6-4. Sam Imsland 6-0, 6-3. Jessie Honig 6-1, 6-1. Jacob Imsland 6-0, 6-0. Doubles: Dylan Manning and Miguel Poblete 6-0, 6-0. Ted Kovats-Wildenradt and Walker Nodine 6-0, 6-0. Marcus Alfred and Chris Kovats-Wildenradt 6-0, 6-0. SC is now 9-1.

April 23. SC Tennis Tops Aptos, Wins CCS Berth
SC beat co-champion Aptos 5-2 in a tie breaking game at Harbor. The victory granted SC a CCS berth as the top team in the SCCAL. Both teams ended with a 9-1 record for the regular season. Walker Hansen sealed the win for SC when he came back from a 5-2 deficit in his first set to score eight of the next 11 points in the set en route to his 7-5, 6-3 win at number two singles. Jacob Imsland won at four singles, 6-1, 6-0. At the three spot Jesse Honig won 6-3, 7-5. At number two doubles, Ted Kovats-Wildenradt and Walker Nodine won 6-1, 6-4. At number one singles, Sam Imsland lost 0-6, 0-6. At number one doubles, Dylan Manning and Miguel Poblete lost 6-1, 6-2.

April 26. Aptos and Santa Cruz Dominate SCCAL Tournament
Aptos and SC tied for the SCCAL tile will again face off in the individual singles and doubles finals. SC beat Aptos in a tie breaker to win the league’s CCS team tournament berth. Jesse Honig won his first round singles match against an SLV opponent 6-0, 6-0 and beat an Aptos opponent in the second round 6-3, 6-2. Honig will meet an Aptos opponent in the league finals. The Imsland twins are making their third straight finals appearance in the doubles competition. They won the first match by default and beat teammates Walker Hansen and Ted Kovats-Wildenradt 6-2, 6-3 in the second round.

Aptos take the SCCAL singles and doubles championships by beating SC opponents in both. Jesse Honig lost the championship singles match 1-6. 0-6. Twin brothers Sam and Jacob Imsland lost 4-6, 1-6.

May 6. First round of CCS: SC 7, Willow Glen 0. Number one singles Sam Imsland won 6-3, 6-2. Number one doubles; Manning and Poblete won 4-6, 6-2, 10-8. Team records SC 11-1, Willow Glen 14-6.

May 8. The second round at the Decathlon Club: Number two seed Saratoga 7, SC 0.

GOLF
League: Aptos 254-214, 222-210, two loses, SLV 214-234 for win, Scotts Valley 206-278, Soquel 239-228, 224-227 for 1-1 record; Harbor 237-218, 217-209, two loses. St. Francis 220-246. League record 7-5.

2010 Santa Cruz county Golf Capsule. Coach Pete Pappas, twenty-third season. Last season 5-7 for fourth place. Top returnees: seniors, Sean Linkletter, Anthony Martin and Colin Boyle. Junior Mathew Dietz. Sophomore Neal Pope. Devots: team looks to a bounce back season and being able to return more players than last year.

March 10. In SC’s league opener Aptos 214, SC 254. SC scoring: Joe Phaves 45, Sean Linkletter 48, Anthony Martin 53, Neal Pope 53, Matthew Bietz 55.

March 11. SC 214, SLV 234. Co-medalist: Joe Phares and Anthony Martin with 39 strokes five over par. SC scorers: Sean Linkletter 42, Neil Pope 47, Chris Esposito 47. SC is 1-1.

March 12. SC 206, Scotts Valley 278. Co-Medalist: Matthew Dietz and Joe Pheras 36. Rest of lineup: Anthony Martin 42, Sean Linkletter and Chris Esposito 43. SC record 2-1.

March 17. Soquel 228, SC 239. Sean Linkletter was the Cards top scorer at 44 strokes.

March 24. Harbor 218. SC 237. Joe Phares 42, Anthony Martin 43, Sean Linkletter 46, Neal Pope 51, Colin Boyle 55.

March 31. Aptos stayed undefeated in SCCAL play with a 210-222 win over SC at Seascape Golf Club. SC top scorer Sean Linkletter shot a 41. Joe Phares 43, Anthony Martin 43, Neal Pope 47, Matthew Dietz 48.

April 11. SC 224, Soquel 227. Medalist Joe Phares carded a 41. The rest of the lineup: Anthony Martin 43, Mathew Dietz 44, Colin Boyle 47, Chris Esposito 49. SC is 6-4.

April 21. SC 220, St. Francis 246. Medalist Joe Phares carded a 38. Rest of lineup: Sean Linkletter 43, Anthony Martin 45, Mathew Dietz 46, Colin Boyle 48. SC is 7-4.

April 22. At the Thirty-seventh Annual Aptos Invitational at the Seascape Golf Club par 70. SC came in thirteenth with the combined score of 467 behind Linkletters 88 card.

April 23. Harbor 209, SC 217 at DeLaveaga Golf course to end the regular season. Joe Phares led SC with a 42. Anthony Martin 43, Mathew Dietz 43, Collin Boyle 43, Sean Linkletter 46. SC is 7-5 in league and Harbor is 10-2.

SCCAL championships at Pasatiempo with a par 70. Joe Phares shot a 89 for eighth place and Sean Linkletter shot a 97 for thirteenth place.

LACROSSE
Harbor 13, SC 0. Both teams will be competing in the SCCAL tournament next week.

March 13. PCS handed SC a 17-1 loss. Scott Schiebel scored the Cards only goal. SC is now 0-4.

March 17. Unbeaten Aptos beat SC 15-1.

March 20. Harbor 12, SC 0. SC is 0-4 in league and 0-6 overall.

March 26. PCS 14, SC 1. Fernandez scored for SC.

March 31. Soquel 12-2.

May 11. LACROSSE STICKING AROUND. Sport Celebrates Fifth High School Season In County With First SCCAL Tournament This Week.
Fifth seeded SC plays third seeded Harbor in the first round of the playoffs. The next round will have top seeded Aptos against fourth seeded SLV and second seeded Scotts Valley against the winner of the first game. Soquel the sixth team in the league lost players at the end of the season and will not participate.
Watsonville and Pacific Collegiate play in the Mission Trail Athletic League. There are 16 CCS schools playing the sport, half of them in the county.
For the past five years Santa Cruz county has been doing its part in making lacrosse the fastest growing team sport in the nation. Participating in high school lacrosse has doubled around the country during the last decade according to the National Federation of State High School Associations, which tracks participation by sport. The game is growing even faster locally. Wes Koenig started the Santa Cruz County Sport Lacrosse program six years ago with just six kids, then began the eight local high school programs in 2006.
There are over 160 high school players and 140 in youth programs.
Lacrosse players wear helmets, gloves and chest, shoulder and elbow pads for protection. The league is trying to look at more skills training and more safety training so players understand the difference between what’s aggressive and what’s dangerous. When kids can’t catch and throw, that’s when we have kids getting hit. People get hit when the ball is on the ground, that’s within the rules. Obviously, when players are more skilled and can catch and throw, the ball’s not on the ground as much. You watch the college game and the ball is almost never on the ground.
The talent pool is getting deeper. The sport is quickly becoming one of the most popular in the spring.
Over the hill some schools are starting girls teams. The rules are slightly different from the boys. There is no contact, a longer field and slightly different webbing on the sticks that makes the ball more difficult to control.

ALL SCCAL Mac Bass, junior defender

SURFING
Sept. 28. SC surfers swept the top three spots in the boys short board final at the Core Scholastic Surf league meet at Steamer Lane. Shaun Burns was first, followed by Tyler Morrish second and Pete Mueller third. Their efforts helped lead SC over Soquel 64-43. Aptos beat Scotts Valley 74-44. Half Moon Bay beat Harbor 59-55. Asia Carpenter took third in the girls short board. Mueller won the coed body boarding final.

Core Scholastic League At Manresa State Beach. Harbor beat SC 50-48. Aptos beat Scotts Valley 62-47 and Soquel beat Half Moon Bay 67-54.

Individual results for SC
Boys Shortboard Final
Shaun Burns, first

Boys Longboard Final
Tyler Gotsegen, fifth
Riley O’Neill, sixth

Co-Ed Bodyboard Final
Tyler Gotsegen, fifth

Dec. 11. Scholastic Surf League
SC 61, Aptos 49. Scotts Valley 59, Half Moon Bay 57. Soquel 62, Harbor 47.
Individual results for SC
Co-Ed Bodyboard final
Walker Nodine, second
Emmett Balasone, third

Men’s Shortboard final
Pete Mueller, second
Tyler Morrish, fifth
Logan Banks, sixth

Women’s Longboard final
Asia Carpenter, sixth

Women’s Shortboard Final
Asia Carpenter, fifth

Former Players
Doing The Little Things. Diminutive Quist Throwing Strong.
Dayne Quist was small when he shined on the mound for SC three years ago. The UC Davis red shirt sophomore appears even smaller these days, when sized up with his latest teammates and opponents. The left-handed pitcher stands 5-foot-9, as he was his senior year in 2007, but he’s crafty as ever.
“I see guys eyes light up a little when I run out to the mound,” Quist said. “I can hear them rag me from the dugout. I know I’m not seen as an intimidating figure. But in my mind, I am. I try to be a bulldog on the mound and go after guys.”
And his bulldog’s bite is bigger than his bark.
Quist, is the Aggies’ No. 1 pitcher, is 4-0 in four starts with a 1.83 ERA in 34 1/3 innings pitched. He has already thrown three complete games, one shy of the record set by Dave McKae in 2005.
Entering this weekend, Quist’s win total was tied for second in the nation.
The Aggies (9-7 overall) took finals this week and return to action next weekend with a three-game home series against Fresno State beginning Friday. The following weekend, they open Big West Conference play against national power Cal State-Fullerton.
He’s hoping it will be his coming-out party, as both series should be well attended by pro scouts.
“The way he’s throwing right now, he can pitch for anybody in the country,” Aggies coach Tex Peters said of Quist being overlooked during the recruiting process. A lot of the bigger programs tend to go for guys with size and velocity. We’re a mid-major, so to speak, and these are the guys we go after.”
In the world of NCAA division I baseball, Quist is short. In fact, he’s the shortest pitcher in the Big West Conference, which has 133 rostered pitchers this season. All but 14 of them are 6-foot or taller.
“That’s the prototypical pro prospect,” Peters said of the taller pitcher. “It has trickled down to the college ranks. What we look for here is a kid who can throw strikes and go after hitters. And he does that.”
Quist, who checks in a 160 pounds, isn’t overpowering. His fastball tops out at 88 mph. He specializes in painting the corners of the strike zone with four pitches–fastball, curve, split and changeup–regardless of the pitch count.
“If I do my job and throw what I want, where I want, I’m going to get outs,” Quist said.
Being the Friday starter, Quist said he also wants to take charge and get his teammates to feed off him for the other two games in the weekend series.
Quist has a good sense of humor and laughs off jokes about his size. But deep down, it’s clear he uses it to fire him up. He’s an aspiring pro and after this season, he’s draft eligible.

“It’s my dream,” Quist said of being a pro. “It’s why I’m playing the game. But I’m not tall like all these other guys. So, for me, it’s gotta be more on performance.”
Peters said Quist has generated some pro interest from scouts with his solid start.
“What he’s done is pretty remarkable. He makes you uncomfortable to hit against because you never know what he’s going to throw,” Peters said. “He challenges the hitter. And he’s not afraid to throw inside. A lot of college guys are.”
After four straight heasons of success in high school, Quist took some lumps last year, finishing 2-6 with an 5.48 ERA for the Aggies (13-42).
He didn’t cringe when he looked at the statistics after the season.
“I think stats get inflated when you’re on a good team, and on a bad team, there’s a negative effect.” Quist said. “I had a lot of innings and appearances, I led the team in both, and here I am a freshman. I didn’t put emphasis on last year’s stats, aside from the experience I got.”
Moreover, he faced five teams in the top 25 last season, including UC Irvine, when it was ranked No. 1 in the nation, and No. 3 Fullerton. Those were two of his losses.
“I got thrown into the fire,” he said, “and I was grateful to have the opportunity.”
Quist continued to work hard hitting locations with all four pitches in the off season. But his numbers didn’t improve much while he played for the Redding Colt 45s over the summer along with Aggies catcher Scott Kalush.
“He grew a lot in maturity on the mound Kalush said. “He pitched in some tight situations. He really worked hard on location and hitting his spots. Later in the summer, I knew he was going to have a good season. There was one game where he carried a no-hitter 8 2/3 innings. Now I don’t need to frame (pitches). He puts it right where it needs to be.”
Now the only thing that remains the same: Each week, a smaller lefty takes the mound with the intention of making opponents and scouts’ jaws drop.