Senior Spotlight Series: Celebrating the area's top senior student-athletes
Our 'Senior Spotlight' series is aimed at highlighting senior student-athletes who have had their final year of high school disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak. The athletes featured here were their school's nominee for Athlete of the Year or Student Athlete of the Year for the Northern Santa Barbara County Athletic Round Table's end-of-year banquet that has been canceled due to the outbreak.
(32) updates to this series since Updated
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Orcutt Academy senior Josiah DeBruno had a (very) abbreviated 2020 senior track season. He is hoping to resu…
Fresno State or Cal State Bakersfield? For Santa Ynez High School senior wrestler Richie Sandoval, when it came to where he would continue his…
Eli Pellot is moving on from a decorated, and busy, career at Cabrillo High School.
After a decorated senior season in which she was an integral part of a history-making Orcutt Academy girls basketball team, Mariah Lopez hopes…
Ever since he was a child, Eric Ahler has been gazing into space through a telescope. "I've always liked learning about stars and space, and h…
Some of Mariana Tello’s illustrious athletic career at Santa Maria High School was spent on land. Some of it was spent in the water.
It had rained before the 2019 Santa Maria Christmas Parade. With all that moisture on the ground, “We were the only high school band that show…
A future first-generation college student, Righetti High School senior Emily Lopez had zeroed in on Santa Barbara City College as her school o…
Faith and family have always been most important to Ryan Morgan, and the Lompoc High School senior said family is a big reason why he will con…
Cabrillo High School senior Morgan McIntyre carries a 4.20 GPA, and she was accepted into every college she applied to. She was all set to con…
Pioneer Valley High School senior Lauren Carandang had known for awhile that she would continue her education at either UC Berkeley or UC San …
UC Santa Barbara or UC Irvine? That was the decision Santa Maria High School senior Doris Nogales felt she had to make as far as where to cont…
The Nipomo High School Female Senior Athlete of the Year will not have to commute far for the next stop in her respective academic and athleti…
Jake Steels seemed headed for an all-everything 2020 senior sports school year at Righetti High School.
Ayziah Simmons burst on to the Lompoc High School soccer scene as a freshman and quickly became a rising star. Trouble was, she was putting so…
Swimming has been a big part of Hancock College sophomore Izzie Fraire’s life since she was a child. “I’ve been part of the Santa Maria Swim C…
St. Joseph senior Janelle Brickey was all set to major in pre-earth science at UC Santa Barbara. Then, while watching an episode of a hit TV s…
Ernesto Gomez was a four-year track runner at Pioneer Valley and a varsity runner the last two - though his senior season, as everyone else’s …
For Valley Christian Academy senior Kathryn Eiler, there is a lot to like about Patrick Henry College. As far as Eiler is concerned, there is …
Since he was a fourth grader at Fairlawn Elementary School in Santa Maria, competitive running has been a big part of Jedric Callado's life. N…
“The apple doesn’t fall from the tree,” may sound like a cliche, but Lompoc High School senior Amy Bommersbach has made her career choice beca…
After an illustrious high school aquatics career, “I will be playing (NCAA) Division I water polo,” said Santa Ynez senior Henry Allen.
Christian Morin carries at 3.96 GPA at Pioneer Valley. He played "the big three" football, basketball and baseball, during his time there.
Most successful athletes have at least one thing in common — remarkable peripheral vision. Cabrillo High School senior Antoinette Terrones has…
William Jin was a mainstay for an Orcutt Academy boys tennis team that made it to the CIF Central Section divisional semifinals last year and …
Azusa Pacific, Jeremy Hicks decided, has several things going for it. Thus, that is where the Cabrillo High School senior Male Scholar Athlete…
Before his high school career at Santa Maria High School started, current SMHS senior Gilberto Mora set three goals for himself.
Cal Poly has a sound reputation as an agricultural school. Orcutt Academy senior Karli Lundberg hopes to go into the agricultural field. She a…
When it came down to where she will continue her education and athletic career, Santa Ynez High School senior Quincy Valle was in decision-mak…
St. Joseph senior Richard Gonzalez made sure his final high school year of wrestling would be his most fruitful one. The four-year high school…
As far as where to go to continue his education, Lompoc High School senior Oscar Rojas figured Yale had an unbeatable combination. “Ever since…
After playing four years of baseball at St. Joseph High School, the last two (well, counting a truncated senior season) on the varsity, Aden A…
After 61-plus years on the planet, I am still not sure of many things. I am certain of this though: A lot of people will be paying attention to what goes on as the NASCAR re-start progresses, and racing is not the only reason why.
City employees began preparing Santa Maria Fairpark on Monday for the opening of the county's first community COVID-19 testing site, run by federal health service OptumServe.
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department confirmed 12 additional COVID-19 cases Monday for a total of 526, with 404 of these individuals now recovered.
After a mandated suspension of elective surgeries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lompoc Valley Medical Center is set to resume performing a limited number of the essential but non-emergency procedures this week.
In a continuing effort to assist residents who may be struggling financially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lompoc City Council on Tuesday directed staff to look into the feasibility of using more than $1 million in clean energy credits to provide rebates to the city’s electric customers.
As Santa Maria businesses near the end of their seventh week navigating revenue loss and restricted service under the state's stay-at-home order, many are beginning to look ahead to the "new normal" once they can reopen.
Cabrillo High School senior Antoinette Terrones has zero peripheral vision, yet she will be playing intercollegiate soccer, either for Denver-based Regis University or Hawaii-Hilo.
The Pioneer Valley senior's mother passed away when he was in the eighth grade. Growing up, Christian Morin said, he could not have asked for a better single parent.
In a lineup of the area's top football players of the past decade, Blake Truhitte will certainly stand out.
Solvang City Council members approved two food security programs Monday to address the growing need of its senior population and workers unemployed by COVID-19 closures.
With their 8-6 win over the Brahmas, the Pirates earned the first sectional girls water polo championship in school history. Santa Ynez finished 20-10.
Thanks to some of the COVID-19 business restrictions being relaxed on Friday, many Lompoc retailers have spent the past several days reopening their shops and preparing for what could be a critical return to business.
We have been able to tell Christian Morin's story through our Senior Spotlight series. Through this project we'll publish more than 40 stories on high school seniors (and Hancock College sophomores).
Not surprisingly, when it comes to the sports slated to make a return, there is already some disconnect between the suits, who will be sequestered in their offices, luxury boxes or wherever, and the ones who will actually be putting themselves out there, the players.
Nico Rocha will leave the country to continue his athletic career. Henry Allen will likely not leave the county to continue his.
Olympics hopeful Parker Reynolds, amid the COVD-19 pandemic, has finally found some water to train in.
The water is just not in a pool.
Swimming has been a big part of Hancock College sophomore Izzie Fraire’s life since she was a child. “I’ve been part of the Santa Maria Swim Club since I was nine,” she said.
When it comes to training facilities, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit swimmers particularly hard.
The Northern Santa Barbara County Athletic Round Table board has announced its 2020 scholarship awards.
"Julian texted me Wednesday and said, 'Hey, workers here did so much for me, I wanted to give something back," said Lompoc High principal Paul Bommersbach.
Face coverings will be mandated in public places throughout Santa Barbara County beginning Tuesday with exceptions for children under 13, in a…
"I definitely (want to continue playing basketball), but with everything going on, it's questionable that there will even be basketball," come the 2020-21 season, said Hancock College sophomore Milan McGary.
On a chilly November evening in 2019, the officiating crew for the Santa Maria-Pioneer Valley football game prepared to step onto the Pioneer Valley gridiron for the opening kickoff.
All of them were veterans, in terms of officiating service and service to their country.
Pioneer Valley seniors Lauren Carandang and Christian Morin are the 2020 NSBCART Female Athlete of the Year and Joni Gray Heart and Soul Award winners respectively.
Lompoc seniors Ryan Morgan and Amy Bommersbach are the Male Athlete of the Year and Female Scholar Athlete of the Year scholarship winners respectively. Righetti senior Kai Karamitsos earned the Male Scholar Athlete of the Year scholarship.
Pioneer Valley softball coach Kristina Sewell saw to it that her seven seniors got some recognition.
Wednesday night, she gave each of the seven their own drive through parade at each of their homes. The seven seniors on the Pioneer Valley softball squad are Leticia Perez, Serenity O'Nan, Monique Gomez, Lisette Guzman, Breanna Galaites, Gizelle Melero and Amanda Casares.
Nielsen signed with NCAA Division II Alderson Broaddus University, a private school in Phillipi, West Virginia, to play volleyball. Gills signed with the Sweden-based Stockholm Exiles club to play rugby.
In a CIF-SS Division 4 title game in November of 2015, the top-ranked Warriors scored 11 of the last 12 goals and eased to an 11-2 win, completing a back-to-back divisional title run under Righetti co-coaches Kyle Shaffer and Rob Knight.
“I’m hoping to get back on campus in early or mid-June. They’re hoping to start workouts in early July," Nunez said.
No other sport on the Central Coast had that kind of depth in the 2019-20 school year.
McIntyre played basketball and volleyball at Cabrillo. She was the school's nominee for the 2020 Northern Santa Barbara County Athletic Round Table Female Scholar Athlete scholarship award. The organization awards its scholarships at its annual awards dinner. The NSBCART cancelled its 2020 dinner because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Round Table then announced its scholarship winners last week, handing out the awards at a short ceremony in Santa Maria.
Santa Maria city officials are planning to keep the Paul Nelson Aquatic Center closed until April of 2021, Santa Maria Swim Club head coach and general manager Mike Ashmore said this week.
Apparently Brees is unwilling to think that any of his black teammates, or anyone else for that matter, envision something entirely different from what he sees when that anthem plays.
Delgado said he has been working out on his own, but has not been able to throw. "I am currently recovering from an elbow injury," he said.
"The thing that stands out to me the most was how smart and easy he was to coach," former Nipomo coach Russ Edwards says of Albright. "He processed information better then anybody I’ve ever coached and then executed in real time on Friday nights."
Mathis won back-to-back CIF Southern Section Division 4 championships in the 100 breaststroke when she attended Orcutt Academy. Mathis became the first sectional divisional champion at the school.
Xavier Cooper will follow in the footsteps of former fellow Hancock College basketball players Shane Carney and Matt Willkomm and play his next basketball at Arizona Christian University.
Former Hancock point guard Grant Johnson and shooting guard Mike Mensah are also continuing their playing careers at the four-year level, joining former teammates Mayowa Akinsanya, DJ Searcy and Kyle Harding who have all signed with four-year schools.
Brother and sister Ethan and Maggie Usher were among the four Cal Poly rodeo team members who had qualified for the 2020 College National Finals Rodeo, Maggie in goat tying and Ethan in steer wrestling. The Machado brothers, Righetti High School graduates Chance and Cutter, had also qualified. The Machado brothers met the standard in team roping.
The 2020 CNFR was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Hancock football squad would play its first game Sept. 26. School soccer and cross country teams would open their respective 2020 campaigns Sept. 11.
This year there was no final home game for that presentation to the seniors because in March, the rest of the Saints' 2020 season, along with everyone else's, was scrubbed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
His rapport with athletes and coaches has been sorely missed at the Round Table. You can consider this as an early plug for the NSBCART to induct Brad into its Hall of Fame.
"As our member schools begin planning for the reopening of school, the CIF, in collaboration with our 10 Sections, will be determining by July 20 if Fall sports will continue as currently scheduled," the announcement said.
Willis is a Cabrillo High School graduate, who was the head football coach at Santa Maria High and Cabrillo. He competed in the shot put and discus in high school and college. He also coached high school track and field at the high school level.
Tello was a four-year water polo player, a four-year swimmer and a two-year wrestler at Santa Maria High School.
"I didn't even know they were going to make All-American selections. It's an honor to be chosen for that," Torra said.
The plans are multi-tiered ones with similar deadlines. The CCCAA, which Hancock College belongs to, has a “Conventional plan,” calling for fall sports teams to begin workouts Aug. 31, presuming California will be in stage four of its Resilience Roadmap by July 17.
Adlesh was in the St. Joseph gym he knew all too well because he would visit it while his three older brothers Ryan, Brannon and Nolan Adlesh, played for the Knights.
The St. Joseph football team is slated to return to campus for conditioning and weight training on Monday, June 22, while the athletic directors from the two Lompoc Valley schools, Cabrillo's Gary West and Lompoc's Claudia Terrones, have also developed plans to have their student-athletes return to campus.
At Lucia Mar, the team of Edwards and Field submitted a plan to the district cabinet members last week and will finalize and submit that plan to the school board on June 23. If the school board approves the plan, it will go to the SLO County Health Department for approval. If the district receives county approval, it will spend a week getting acclimated with the aim of returning student-athletes to campus by July 6.
For that storybook career as a Warrior, Thomas is our 12th nominee for Player of the Decade.
As other area school districts developed, finalized and announced plans to have student-athletes return to campus for voluntary workouts this week, Pioneer Valley athletic director Jeff Monteiro felt his district was lagging behind.
The former Meghan Zimmer, a standout swimmer when she attended Pioneer Valley and San Diego State, is a fourth grade teacher in San Diego. She also helps her husband, Corbin, run a Santa Maria-style barbecue in San Diego, Corbin’s Q restaurant.
Barnhart is going pro. The flamethrower signed with the Rays on Friday in Tampa Bay, solidifying his baseball future.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, California governor Gavin Newsom issued a shelter-in-place directive in March. Restrictions have gradually eased, and golf courses were among the first area mass-use facilities that re-opened to the public.
Our Central Coast Classic today looks at VCA's 2014 girls basketball championship, culminating with a win over Shalhevet at Oxnard College.
After rushing for more than 4,551 yards and 50 touchdowns in just 37 high school games, Laird received zero recruiting interest, even from FCS schools. Laird rushed for 3,117 yards and 32 touchdowns as a senior in 2013. He averaged 223 yards a game and carried the ball 408 times alone that year.
“We had 68 players out,” said St. Joseph coach Pepe Villasenor. “The players in our varsity and junior varsity programs participated."
The Hancock women’s basketball team carried six players most of the season. The Bulldogs still made it to the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California women’s basketball regional.
He was having a big year when the rest of the 2020 season was called off. Garcia was 5-0 with one save and a 2.95 ERA in 42.2 innings pitched.
“I went with the Roadrunners over the Bulldogs," said Sandoval. “Cal State Bakersfield gave me a better scholarship.”
As the COVID-19 pandemic has gone along golf, an outdoor activity with easy distancing opportunity, has actually flourished.
“Golf courses all over the place are open,” said Alford.
Another 176 acres could be added to Santa Barbara County’s inventory of public recreation areas if the Board of Supervisors approves the purchase of two parcels near Orcutt.
The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District said the plan "adheres to guidance provided by the State of California, SB County, California Department of Education (CDE), National Federation of High Schools (NFHS), and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF)," and that "athletic directors will begin holding coaches meetings to review new rules with an implementation start date of July 6-17."
“If there isn’t a spot on the team my freshman year I still plan on trying to make the team my sophomore year.“ DeBruno said. “Obviously, competing at the DI level is a goal for any high school athlete so if I could have that opportunity it would be a huge dream come true.”
“Our offensive line does an awesome job every single week,” said Arroyo Grande's Jordan Harrigan, who ran for 100 yards on just six carries in the Eagles' 28-3 win. “I couldn’t gain a yard without our offensive line.”
Gaither is the 14th finalist for the Times' Player of the Decade award. He caught 167 passes for 3,277 yards in 36 varsity games with the Bearcats. He hauled in 41 touchdowns. The Bearcats won a CIF title in his senior season in 2014.
“I’m just throwing the four-seam fastball right now,” said Baez. “I’m working on the two-seamer."
Santa Ynez senior Henry Allen was the Pirate's nominee for the 2020 Northern Santa Barbara County Athletic Round Table Male Scholar Athlete of the Year award. Allen carries a 4.87 GPA at Santa Ynez.
Righetti standout Jake Steels lost the final six games of his senior football season to a broken ankle. He lost nearly his entire senior season of baseball to the coronavirus pandemic. He didn't shut it down though, instead turning it up in the classroom, finishing his high school career with back-to-back 4.0 GPA semesters.