Athlete of the Week Articles

Santa Maria High School’s got a new head varsity football coach. Dan Ellington, who was the head coach at Pioneer Valley High School from 2010 to 2014, is taking over the program from Gabe Espinoza, who headed up Santa Maria High’s football team starting in 2011. Espinoza will remain a part of the program, just […]

It was just before the end of the second period. Luis Villa, the Santa Maria High School wrestling team’s 195-pound grappler, dragged his opponent, Rufino Martinez, by the feet toward the center of the mat to prevent the referee from stopping the match. The only sounds aside from the squeaks and scuffles coming from the […]

Winning the CIF Sourthern Section Division boys’ water polo championship on Nov. 22 was as much of a team effort for the Ernest Righetti High School team as getting there was. “It’s hard to pick out just one guy,” said co-coach Rob Knight. “They’re competitive and they push each other very hard. It came from […]

The Allan Hancock College women’s basketball team likes to have the last shot. Ali Rodriguez took the last shot before halftime on Nov. 19 and nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer. Nicole De La Guerra skipped a pass across court to Rodriguez. Rodriguez used her legs and followed through to sink the ball in the […]

The St. Joseph High School varsity football team won its first round of CIF Southern Section playoffs against Eastside High School on Nov. 14. The Knights tamed the Lions 24-9 on their home field thanks to their defensive stronghold that crippled the Lions’ running game. The Knights’ defense, known as “the Shield,” was almost impenetrable. […]

Sandee Sanger loves a challenge. That’s what drives this 44-year-old ultra marathon runner into competing in 100-mile races. Last year Sanger ran 100 miles through the Cascade Mountains in Plains, Wash. A lot of racers failed to finish the treacherous trail because there were no aid stations and no markers to help runners navigate through […]

The Ernest Righetti High School varsity boys’ water polo team won the Pacific Athletic Conference 8 championship on Nov. 7. The Warriors sunk the Arroyo Grande High School Eagles 12-7 in their home waters. Righetti held the lead the entire game. At one point, the Eagles scored three unanswered goals, which brought them within two […]

The Southern California Football Association named Willie Iribarren from Allan Hancock College the Northern League Athlete of the Week on Oct. 27, in the eighth week of this season.  Iribarren plays linebacker for the Bulldogs and leads the team’s defensive line this season with 81 tackles, averaging 11.6 tackles per game and 7.5 tackles for […]

The Ernest Righetti High School varsity girls’ golf team finished second place this season when it was outscored by San Luis Obispo High School, 456-490, on Oct. 23 at the Dairy Creek Golf Course in San Luis Obispo. Even though the Warriors couldn’t repeat claiming the league championship this season, their youngest player, Sarah Fouratt, […]

During its pre-game huddle, the Cabrillo High School varsity boys’ water polo team doesn’t shout their team name. Instead, they simply say, “work.” The team’s motto showed when the Conquistadors overtook Santa Maria High School in Saints’ waters on Oct. 8. The Conquistadors’ team captain, Ben Wulfestieg, scored four goals to help conquer the Saints, […]

When Elisa Baro first started working for the Sun, she would sometimes run home after work. She didn’t live down the street, mind you; she lived in Guadalupe. Her slight 4-foot, 11-inch frame would take to the pavement alongside Highway 166, with big rigs and farm trucks rolling by, kicking up dust and throwing dirt […]

The Allan Hancock College women’s soccer team is still finding its groove. The team’s overall record is 2-6, but both of those victories were back-to-back, just before the team entered the Western State Conference games. Both of the Bulldogs’ wins were against Cerro Coso Community College. The first one was at the College of the […]