Athlete of the Week Articles

Some athletes strive for glory. Others perform for the pride. Ginger does it all for the doggie biscuits. The 12-year-old silky terrier, also known as “Sparkie,” took home the blue ribbon in the Best Tricks event at Waller Park’s 17th annual Woofstock on June 27. Her routine included lying down, crawling, standing, and jumping into […]

After a successful stint as the starting shortstop for St. Joseph High School, Matt Hartin ended his Knights’ career as a king. On June 3, coaches named Hartin the Los Padres League’s Most Valuable Player for the Spring 2009 season after the graduating senior hit .328 with 10 RBIs and a team-leading three homeruns. For […]

As an outside midfielder for the Righetti High School soccer team, Taylor Frias’ forte was assisting on goals. Now he’s one step closer to reaching 
his own. In March, Frias signed a letter of intent to play for Division-II Colorado State-Pueblo after helping the Warriors to an unbeaten season in Pac-7 league play in 2008-09. […]

School’s out for summer, but former Allan Hancock College catcher Corey Dotzler is as busy as ever. Within two weeks of graduating from Hancock, Dotzler found out he’d been awarded a baseball scholarship to Cal Poly, SLO, and began playing for the semipro Santa Maria Packers. He was immediately a hit with his new team, […]

With statewide recognition as 12th in the state for junior college golf, Levi Garcia is making quite a name for himself. Even after a difficult start to this season at Allan Hancock College, Levi has accomplished what he set out to do in the beginning of the season: go to state, compete, and walk away […]

Don’t let 4-year-old Drea Prescott’s size fool you. The pintsize Santa Marian is one powerhouse of a swimmer, according to Santa Maria Valley YMCA’s aquatics and sports program director Angeli Guerrero. When she nominated Prescott for the Sun’s Athlete of the Week, Guerrero said Prescott is a bit of a paddling phenomenon in the Y’s […]

This senior at Pioneer Valley High School is finishing up his last track and field season and is going out in style.  Andy Pinon has been involved in sports since he was in elementary school. “A lot of my friends were involved in sports so I decided to try and in high school I began […]

Whether he’s on the baseball diamond or on the football field, one thing is for sure about Matt Miller: He likes to hit. The 5-foot-11, 184-pound Righetti High School junior is a standout as a slugging left fielder and as a starting free safety for the Warriors. While his football team ran through its first […]

When the starting gun fires and Santa Maria High School’s Josh Marzett bursts out of the blocks with his short and stocky frame, it’s something to watch. Just don’t blink. At a dual league meet against St. Joseph on April 28, Marzett set his personal best mark in the 100-meter-dash at a blazing time of […]

Speed kills. Just ask anyone who’s had to face Ehi Robinson at the track or on the football field. The Righetti High School senior is a multi-sport star, excelling at track and field, as a sweeper in soccer, and as a starting cornerback for the football team. At the Santa Barbara County track meet in […]

Selina Gonzalez was born and raised in Santa Maria and began playing sports when she was only 4 years old. Early on, she was coached by her cousin, Tony Lara, and she grew up playing ball with his daughter on the Central Coast. Shortly after playing co-ed T-ball, she moved up to recreational softball, which […]

When it comes to swimming fast, Josh Prenot is without peer in the local pool—or most anywhere else, for that matter. At the National Club Swimming Association’s Junior Nationals, held March 17 to 21 in Orlando, Prenot finished 11th in the 1,500-meter freestyle, making him one of the nation’s best swimmers in the event for […]