Santa Maria High School may be best known in local prep sports circles as the perennial bottom-of-the-pack finisher in the Los Padres League. Brian Wallace, the school’s second-year athletic director, is doing his damnedest to turn that lowly reputation around. “We’re trying to be competitive and provide a better experience for our kids,” Wallace told […]
PETER JOHNSON
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Mallory Townsend
Home run-hitter. Base-stealer. The team’s best fielder. Mallory Townsend, a junior at Cabrillo High School, does it all on the diamond for the three-time defending Los Padres League champion Conquistadores. Townsend hit two home runs in a single game against Santa Ynez on March 22 en route to a 12-2 victory. The following game, she […]
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Staying on top: Santa Ynez High baseball, led by ace Zach Torra, aims to continue Central Coast dominance
Santa Ynez High School senior Zachary Torra is the last man standing. Torra, a starting pitcher for the Santa Ynez baseball team, is the only Pirates player who also played on the team that won a CIF Section championship back in 2014. A sophomore at the time, Torra didn’t have the usual underclassman role of […]
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Gabriel Alcantara
Many successful athletes remember falling in love with their chosen sport at a young age—in some cases as soon as they were able to catch a football or swing a baseball bat. Sometimes, though, the story behind an athlete’s love of the game is not so romantic. Sometimes, a kid just stumbles into a sport, […]
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Final pitch: Longtime Santa Maria softball coach Matt Andree wraps up a ‘fabulous’ coaching career
Matt Andree knew, on some level, that this day was coming. The Santa Maria High School softball coach remembers one of the last conversations he had with his father before he passed away from cancer in 1996. Andree’s dad, a lifelong youth sports coach, had expressed regret over the amount of family time he had […]
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Trevor Garcia
Pitching a perfect game or no-hitter in baseball is the dream outcome for most pitchers, but the feat is so hard to pull off that very few pitchers actually get to live the result. Santa Maria High School sophomore Trevor Garcia, however, is lucky enough to have thrown a no-hitter not just once—but twice. Garcia […]
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Hancock women’s aquatic programs provide opportunity for junior college students
Mike Ashmore knows a thing or two about competitive swimming in Santa Maria. From serving as coach and general manager of the Santa Maria Swim Club since 1999, Ashmore repeatedly noticed a glaring opportunity gap for young swimmers in Santa Maria when the important transition from high school to college came around. “At the club, […]
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International Knights: St. Joseph High School boys’ basketball team travels the world and returns inseparable for 2016 season
The St. Joseph High School boys’ basketball team captured its first CIF Division 5AA championship in more than a decade on March 5, decisively beating La Canada’s Flintridge Prep 63-45 behind 15 points and six assists from junior guard JoJo Walker, and 14 points and 11 rebounds from senior Gabrys Sadaunykas. “We defended well,” Knights […]
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JoJo Walker
JoJo Walker, a junior at St. Joseph High School, didn’t know if he’d ever play basketball again after breaking his leg two years ago during his freshman season. “I thought I was done,” Walker told the Sun. “I was thinking, ‘I’m not going be the same. Everything’s going to change now.’” Walker took solace in […]
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Diego Villagran
Santa Maria High School sophomore Diego Villagran has been handed a lot of responsibility by his soccer coach, Lala Cuna, this season. Villagran is a captain on the varsity team—a rare designation for a sophomore—and serves as the defensive anchor at center fullback for the 20-4-1 Saints. In its last six games, Santa Maria has […]
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Warrior redemption: Righetti girls’ basketball reverses misfortunes of the past with ‘dream’ season
Righetti High School senior Courtney Barba sees and feels the difference. When comparing this year’s Righetti basketball team to the previous three she played on—well, there’s no comparison. Over three seasons between 2012 and 2015, the Warriors posted a 25-49 record and were led by a new coach each season. Oftentimes, controversy, in one form […]
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Michael Taylor
Lompoc High School senior basketball guard Michael Taylor is the perfect player to choose as the Sun athlete of the week following Valentine’s Day. When asked about how he came to adopt his fiery and energetic playing style, Taylor can only credit his love for basketball. “It’s just a love for the game,” Taylor said. […]
