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PLAYERS OF THE 2000’s
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2005

March 27. SC graduate Austin Swift leads Cal Poly-Pomona to its first NCAA Division II men’s basketball national title in a 65-53 win over Indiana Pennsylvania in Springfield, Mass. Swift added 12 points and six rebounds and was named the Elite Eight Tournaments Most Outstanding Player.

Jan. 13, 2006. Neil Walton was rated the “best defensive infielder and best infield arm” in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization in Baseball America’s latest review of the teams top ten prospects. Walton a 6-5, 180 pound shortstop left CSU Fullerton after his junior season, when the Devil Rays selected him in the sixteenth round of the 2005 MBL Draft in June. He played Class A short season for the Hudson Valley Renegades of the New York-Penn league. Walton finished with a .200 average going 40 for 200 batting with a home run and 16 RBI’s.

March 19, 2006. Santa Cruz Wins D-III State Title. 365 Days Later: Four Stars Have Been Getting A HIGHER EDUCATION. After One Year, Appreciation For Cardinal Run Has Grown As Sammet, Swift, Van Vliet and Russell Learn College Game. A year ago today, the SC basketball team rolled into Arco Arena, stormed back from a third quarter deficit and won the state championship, completing a 36-1 season as the best high school basketball team in the county. From that team, five players went on to play collegiate basketball this season. They all plan to return to SC for a little spring break time. They’ve gone to different levels of the game, had wildly different experiences, with the one thing common that their appreciation for Santa Cruz’s season, their senior year has grown.

Austin Swift and Eric Van Vliet both went to the University of Montana, which won the Big Sky tournament and made its second consecutive NCAA tournament. Swift played in nine games for a total of 72 minutes. He went 9 for 18 from the field and had a 2.9 points per game average. Van Vliet played in five games for 23 minutes before suffering a knee injury. He went 5 for 6 from the field and has a 1.6 rebounds per game average.

Cliff Sammet went to Santa Clara a division I school, played in 17 games, shot 10 for 20 from the field and 7 for 12 from the line for a 1.6 points per game average.

Travis Haussler was a role player for SC, who went on to be a key starter at Cal Tech a top academic school, in Division III, who went 0-25 last year. Haussler is enjoying his role on the team and soaking up the academic experience.

Junior Russell the MVP for SC went to West Valley Community College with a 33-4 record, where he made an impact and took his team to another state championship game. West Valley played an up temp game and substituted frequently as Russell would be in and out of the games, even though he was the number one point guard. But at the state championship at Fresno, Russell played 29 minutes in the quarterfinals in a 84-79 win over Long Beach City. In the semifinals against San Francisco City he played 32 minutes in a 78-68 win. In the SF game he took over in the second half finishing with 19 points in the team’s biggest win of the season. In the final, West Valley lost to a Fullerton team considered to be one of the best California junior college teams in history. Russell made the All Tournament team.

As of 2007 former Cardinal girls soccer players playing in college:

Laura Schwartz, Boston University. Chelsea Muir, Pomona-Pitzer. Jane Shook, USF. Christian Ruiz, Cabrillo. Hanna Martin, Notre Dame de Namur. Lyndsie Slakey, University of Washington, Club team.

September 2010. Out Of The Rough. After Suffering Two Injuries Over The Past Three Years, Santa Cruz’s Weintraub Qualifies For His First PGA Tour Event. SCHS golfer Isaac Weintraub stole the show in the Fry’s.com Open Shootout to qualify for his first PGA Tour event. Weintraub outlasted 17 other pros in a qualifying round, in a four stroke victory, carding a 5-under par 66 to earn a spot in the Fry’s Open. All four rounds will be televised by the Golf Channel.

“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. This will be my first PGA event, so needless to say, I’m pretty excited,” said Weintraub, 27, a SCHS and San Jose State alum.

Weintraub, who has competed at PGA Q-School three times, has been a pro for five years. He gained Canadian Tour status after graduating from SJS in 2004. He also played in the European Challenge Tour in 2007 and 08, but did so with a groin injury. This is the first time in five years, he doesn’t have tour status.

Weintraub has been on a hot streak. Last week he took second at the Vancouver Open in Canada with a 7-under 207 total, including a second round 63.

Weintraub was chosen by the Sentinel in 2010 as one of the Top Ten Local College Golfer In The Past Decade

2007 Sept. 9. Garner Movin’ On Up At Utah State. Aggies Putting Speed of Former Cardinal To Use At Defensive End. Spotlight on Quinn Garner.

Quinn Garner wasn’t surprised that Utah State almost pulled off the biggest upset in the first week of the college football season. The Aggies held number seven ranked Oklahoma to a 31-24 score.

“We have the potential to do some great things, said Garner, who made two tackles from his defensive end spot. I think we had a fantastic off season. There’s a lot of improvement, now that we’re in our second year in this system with these coaches. “So far, it’s going exactly the way it was supposed to go.” Garner was the SCCAL Defensive Player of the Year in his senior season.

Garner was moved from his linebacker position in his freshman season to a defensive end when new coach Gary Anderson wanted the defense to become leaner and quicker to keep pace with the spread offenses in the WAC. “They wanted to get some speed in spots where we weren’t as fast. They notice I could run pretty good and I was taller than most linebackers. They figured I had the frame to put on some weight and be a solid defensive end. They told me they were moving me for my benefit,” Garner said. “I haven’t changed me style of play too much despite the position change. I wasn’t upset with the change, as defensive end is still a fun spot. There are times we get to drop back and do some athletic type stuff. It requires quite a bit of athleticism to play defensive end in our defense. It’s almost like playing linebacker.”

Garners’ move meant he needed to bulk up without losing any speed or quickness. Garner started at USU at 220 pounds, he is now 250 pounds on a 6-3 frame. “We do a lot of lifting and I also do some on my own. I ate everything I saw, pretty much.”

After see action mostly on special teams as a true freshman in 2008, as a bulked-up sophomore Garner started ten games as a defensive end and made 28 tackles. “Playing special teams benefited me. Last year, as a sophomore, I think the speed of the game wasn’t as much to handle. Now that I’m used to the speed of the game, it’s going to be real comfortable year for me.”

“Our coaches wanted us to make some goals at the beginning of spring and fall camp. My biggest goal is to become more of a leader, So far, I think I’ve done that. Another one is to have opposing offenses come into each week having to think about me being a threat and affecting the game before we even play the game.”

Sept. 15. Utah State junior defensive end Quinn Garner recorded three tackles, including one for a loss and one quarterback hurry in a 38-17 win over Idaho State.

Sept. 22. Utah State junior defensive end Quinn Garner was in on seven tackles, had one interception for five yards and recorded a quarterback sack in a 41-24 loss to Fresno State. USU was down only 24-21 going into the fourth quarter.

2009 Zeke Sanders, Football and Track and Field. Sanders was a standout running back and receiver on the football team and state qualifier in two events in track. On the football field, he finished the season with 17 touchdowns and was named the SCCAL C0-MVP. Sanders, also is a standout safety, signed a letter of intent to play for Oregon State of the PAC 10.

He averaged 7.1 yards per carry, more than any other rusher in the county with at least 500 yards. He finished with 680 yards and nine touchdowns on 96 carries. He averaged 16.3 yards per receptions, hauled in 19 passes for 310 yards and six touchdowns. He scored a total of 186 points in his final two seasons.

As a junior, he returned from injury to score the game winning touchdown in the CCS Small School championship, bringing the Cards their first title in the sport. Sanders had made the state track championships twice in the 100 meters and once in the 200. He also won three straight SCCAL 100 meter titles and two 200 titles.

A finalist in the 100 at state, Sanders ran a 10.86 race for ninth place. He qualified for the finals with a personal best 10.68 race.

SC’s Sanders Finishes Ninth. Zeke Sanders felt the eyes of 9,517 anxious spectators peer down on him as he settled into the starting blocks for the 100 meter dash, the premier event at the California Track and Field championships at Buchanan high in Fresno. To the right of the SC sprinter were eight of the fleetest boys in the state. On of them held the fastest time in the nation.

Behind Sanders was history. It has been 80 years since a SC athlete had placed at the California meet and an estimated 40 years since one had made the State finals. And ahead of Sanders was the finish line and the rest of his life.

Sanders reached it in 10.86 seconds to take ninth in the final event of his prolific high school career behind the nations top 100 runner, who did 10.38. Sanders didn’t make any more history than he had Friday night, when he ran a personal best 10.68 to qualify for the last spot in the 100 final, but he was content all the same. “I’m one of the nine fastest guys in the state, that’s a pretty good goal,” Sanders said, “It feels good to be done, but all the fun meets come at the end. I’ve been so blessed by God with my high school athletic career. There’s a lot of stuff I could do that people would die for.”

CIF STATE TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Friday June 6 preliminaries to qualify for the finals on Saturday. ‘I’m Ninth In The State of California, That’s Not Too Shabby, Especially In The 100.’ Zeke Sanders, SC Sprinter

FAST START FOR SANDERS

Senior Sprinter Becomes First SC High Runner To Reach Finals In More Than Four Decades.

The starting gun fired twice, signifying a false start in Heat 2 of the boys 200 meter dash trial at the California State Track and Field championships at Buchanan High in Fresno. The judge pointed to Lane 2, where SC senior Zeke Sanders was seeded. Sanders hit his head in frustration, but quickly shrugged off the disqualification. He’s already done enough for one day. Earlier, Sanders turned in the ninth fastest time in the 100 trials, becoming the first SC track athlete to reach the state finals in at least four decades, according to longtime coach and unofficial team historian Don Roberts.

Though six Santa Cruz County athletes qualified for state, Sanders has only one of the left and the other runner is in a race that has no qualifying trials. Everyone runs in the finals in the 3,200 distance race.

Sanders has gotten good at dealing with false starts. In the CCS 100 trials, he won his heat after the runner next to him left too early. In the state trials, his heat also got called back on a false start call. But Judges determined more than half the heat, including Sanders had left early and let the entire field restart. On the second try, Sanders finished fourth in 10.68. That smothered his previous personal best of 10.90, set while taking second at the CCS finals and even beat his goal time of 10.75.

In addition, it earned him the final qualifying spot into the finals, making him the first Cardinal runner to get that far since at least 1968, according to Roberts, who has been coaching at SC since 1979. “A top six finish is a realistic goal,” said father and coach Bob Sanders. “Its gong to be hard, “ Sanders agreed, “I’m going to have to push it to the max.”

SATURDAY FINALS

SC’s Sanders Finishes Ninth. Zeke Sanders felt the eyes of 9,517 anxious spectators peer down on him as he settled into the starting blocks for the 100 meter dash, the premier event at the California Track and Field championships at Buchanan high in Fresno. To the right of the SC sprinter were eight of the fleetest boys in the state. On of them held the fastest time in the nation.

Behind Sanders was history. It has been 80 years since a SC athlete had placed at the California meet and an estimated 40 years since one had made the State finals. And ahead of Sanders was the finish line and the rest of his life.

Sanders reached it in 10.86 seconds to take ninth in the final event of his prolific high school career behind the nations top 100 runner, who did 10.38. Sanders didn’t make any more history than he had Friday night, when he ran a personal best 10.68 to qualify for the last spot in the 100 final, but he was content all the same. “I’m one of the nine fastest guys in the state, that’s a pretty good goal,” Sanders said, “It feels good to be done, but all the fun meets come at the end. I’ve been so blessed by God with my high school athletic career. There’s a lot of stuff I could do that people would die for.”

Sanders has made two state championships in the 100, finding eighth in his heat last year in 11.05. He also won three straight SCCAL league titles and two 200 titles. That’s just in track. He shined in football and is headed to Oregon State on scholarship.

Sanders said he was going after the SC record of 10.64 in the 100, just .04 second faster than his preliminary time. It would have been sweet to nab it since his father and coach, Bob Sanders, still holds the school record in the 110 high hurdles.

The elder Sanders said he didn’t care if his son set the record. He didn’t even mention to Zeke that he could have become the first Cardinal to place at state since Larry McLean placed fifth in both the 120 and 220 yard hurdle in 1938. He just wanted to see him run. “I’m really happy to be able to watch his last event in high school,” Bob Sanders said. “I’m happy for him to do so well at the state meet. He brought his ‘A’ game to an ‘A’ meet.

Notes: SC sprints and hurdles coach Don Roberts called the state meet, “one of the top junior track meets in the world.” Several athletes proved him right Saturday.