Orcutt Veterinary Hospital owner Brenda Forsythe has an unorthodox and longstanding routine for her lunch break. After a long morning of treating animals at the clinic, Forsythe hops in her car and heads for the stables. Her husband meets her there. “I eat lunch on the way out there and then ride my horse during […]
PETER JOHNSON
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Corby Burress
St. Joseph High School girls’ soccer forward Corby Burress got off to just about as great a start as she could hope for to her 2017-18 season. The junior standout found the net twice in the Knights’ opening game, a 3-0 route of Cabrillo High School on Nov. 28. In addition to securing the first […]
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Proud Saints: Santa Maria football shines in historic CIF championship game, despite loss to Big Bear
No moment better captured the vibe at Santa Maria High School on Dec. 2 than the scene at Ralph Baldiviez Stadium just minutes after the final buzzer of the CIF Southern Section Division 12 Championship football game sounded. Heartbreak permeated the air as the Saints were forced to watch Big Bear High School raucously celebrate […]
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John Ramos
After the snap, Santa Maria High School wide receiver John Ramos took off downfield, and his quarterback, Blake Truhitte, threw him a bomb. Ramos had a step on the Montebello Schurr cornerback, and both players leapt for the football. It ricocheted off their hands and seemed destined to hit the ground. But Ramos stayed with […]
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Devin Diaz
Of all the sports to choose from as a kid, Nipomo High School junior Devin Diaz said he was always drawn to running. His father is a former professional baseball player for the Milwaukee Brewers and his mother is an avid runner; Diaz gravitated toward his mom’s pastime. But he inherited both his parents’ competitive […]
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Gillian Wilks
Last year, as a sophomore on the Santa Ynez High School varsity volleyball team, Gillian Wilks admits she “barely said anything” all season. At the time she was more comfortable letting the juniors and seniors on the team lead the way. “I observed how the seniors would play, and what I could do to make […]
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Local cross country standouts compete in CIF Southern Section races in Riverside
Rather than go to school with their peers on Nov. 9 and 10, top cross country runners from six Santa Maria-area high schools hopped onto team vans or buses, and headed south. Though they had slightly different starting points, the runners shared the same destination: Riverside City Cross Country Course. There, they were joined by […]
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Ryheem Skinner
Allan Hancock College’s star running back, Ryheem Skinner, hails from the tiny town of Clinton, North Carolina, a rural community of 8,000 residents. He came a long way to lead his California junior college football team to its best season in nearly 20 years. The freshman ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns in a […]
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Hooping beyond borders: Pioneer Valley’s newest coach is fresh off of two pro basketball championships in Mexico
Aspiring freshmen basketball players at Pioneer Valley High School will have a coach this season who they can literally, and figuratively, look up to. Joining the Panthers’ coaching staff this year is 26-year-old Ross Rivera, a former Division 1 college basketball player and two-time champion of professional hoops leagues in Mexico. A Visalia native with […]
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Central Coast high schools ready to launch new athletic leagues, depart Southern Section
The days of the Central Coast’s traditional prep sports leagues—the Los Padres League (LPL) and PAC-8—are numbered, as are many high schools’ long and notorious bus rides to far-flung areas of Southern California. Come next fall, 13 of the region’s 16 high schools will jump ship from the CIF Southern Section and begin competing in […]
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Vanessa Gomez
Injuries could have derailed Vanessa Gomez’s softball career several times. But she wouldn’t let them. First it was a broken ankle when she was 11. Then it was a bone spur that required surgery at 13. Last spring, it was a torn ACL and another surgery. Each time misfortune struck, Gomez stayed patient, rehabbed, and […]
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Megan Vise and Kayla Pablo
The junior and sophomore, respectively, are the Spartans’ (14-3) two top singles players, and, on Oct. 19, they helped inch the team a step closer to a Los Padres League championship, edging out second place Cabrillo High School, 71-65. While Orcutt head coach Art Lopez called Vise, “pretty much the best player in the league,” […]