Perseverance. It’s a prerequisite for any great story of triumph. In order to truly achieve a grand victory, it seems almost necessary for the victor to have overcome varying degrees of obstacles and long odds alike. In the case of the 2016-2017 Lady Bulldogs, perseverance is found in abundance. The Allan Hancock College women’s basketball […]
JASON O'NEILL
Bailey Killough
There is an old saying that home is where the heart is. For Bailey Killough, there really is no place like home. The Allan Hancock College freshman threw a complete game no-hitter on Jan. 28 in the team’s second game of the season against San Diego City College. Killough, an Arroyo Grande High School graduate […]
Santa Maria valley high schools change CIF sections
Sweeping change came to the Santa Maria Valley’s athletic landscape as five out of the six area high schools were approved to leave the California Interscholastic Federation’s (CIF) Southern Section and join the CIF Central Section. Starting with the 2018-2019 athletic calendar, 13 local high schools—that’s five from Santa Maria and eight from San […]
Erik Kinnebrew
Athletic potential can be a tricky thing. On one hand, it can be an alluring temptress filled with promise and hope. On another, it can be unfulfilled aspirations that lead to regret and disappointment. We see this in every professional league in America during the annual drafts, and every year there are players picked based […]
Caught in a pickle: The Buellton Rec Center offers an adult Pickleball league through February
As the new year begins, we all look for new fun ways to stay active. One of the sports growing in popularity in the U.S. is pickleball, which combines the recreation of pingpong with the activity of tennis. Many on the Central Coast—including locals at the Buellton Recreation Center—have found the sport a fun, exciting […]
Danita Estorga
On Dec. 8, Righetti senior basketball player Danita Estorga scored her 1,000th varsity point. The accomplishment is even more impressive since Estorga achieved the goal in only the team’s second game of the season. Compound that with the fact that Estorga is the defending PAC 8 Defensive Player of the Year, and it’s plain to […]
Leandrew Knight
For Leandrew Knight and the Cabrillo High School basketball team, this season is truly a family affair. Not only did Leandrew, the star guard and team captain, start the season on fire averaging 27 points a game in the 74th annual Nordhoff Tournament, he’s also the cousin of head coach C.J. Simmons. Simmons played basketball […]
Braves in blue: Lompoc’s new head coach helps the team dominate the football season before a close Black Friday loss
Lompoc High School has a storied football history with periods of dominance spanning more than four decades. Most notably, in 1990, Napoleon Kaufman led the school to its first ever CIF championship while becoming one of the best running backs in California Prep Athletics history. He was later a top-20 pick in the 1995 NFL […]
Jojo Walker
America has long been known as the “Land of Opportunity.” Since the nation’s inception, people have journeyed from near and far in search of a better life. It’s what motivated the pilgrims, it’s what motivates so many immigrants today, and it’s what motivates St. Joseph High School basketball player JoJo Walker. Walker is from Carolina, […]
A season of tradition: St. Joseph High School’s football program continues to grow its reputation for success
Tradition. As this time of year rolls around, that word starts to mean more and more. St. Joseph High School has a rich football tradition; as the winner of eight league titles and alma mater of former NFL quarterback Mark Brunell, the school has enjoyed its share of success on the gridiron. When Brunell—who was […]
Travis Milne
Athletic success can be fleeting. Oftentimes, glory on the hardwood or the gridiron will be limited to one’s youth, and triumphs in the athletic arena become fewer and farther between as the years stretch on. Well for one Santa Maria resident, his ultimate athletic triumph occurred almost a decade after he played his final varsity […]
An aquatic dynasty: Righetti water polo reigns when it comes to consistent success
In sports, there are certain measurable items, like wins and losses. Oftentimes, we use these to measure success. Former NFL head coach Bill Parcells was famously quoted as saying, “You are what your record says you are.” The implication being that no matter how much success a team has throughout a game, without a win […]

