Athlete of the Week Articles

Hannah Lacaste is not afraid of a challenge. Currently in her junior volleyball season at Pioneer Valley High School, Lacaste is a four sport athlete, competing in volleyball, cross country, track, and wrestling. As a volleyball player, Lacaste is on the outside hitter position. “As an outside hitter, we depend on her all-around abilities such […]

There’s no such thing as “snowboarding season” on the Central Coast. Sandboarding at the Guadalupe Dunes is the closest thing to the sport Allan Hancock College student Troy Hernandez has found. Hernandez, 23, lives in Nipomo, but his heart and soul reside on the slopes of Mammoth Mountain, he said. This year, snowboarding season at […]

Aug. 21 was a day of celebration for Jacqueline Higa and her softball team—they won the 2017 Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department’s Summer League Championship. What made this particular softball league so much fun for Higa wasn’t the winning but rather the light-heartedness. Teams that play in the Recreation and Parks League are encouraged […]

What separates the Color Vibe run from other 5K races is the color, of course—runners are blasted with colored powder just as often as they take water breaks. Noemi Mariscal, 22, has run nearly a dozen 5Ks, but somehow managed to miss Color Vibe every year. That finally changed on Aug. 12 when she ran […]

During the 2016 to 2017 basketball season, Allan Hancock College’s Erik Kinnebrew played in all 30 of the school’s games. Kinnebrew averaged 7.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game overall. If Kinnebrew had to relive something over and over again for the rest of his life, it would be achieving a triple-double during […]

Is ballet an art or a sport? Ballerina Claire Scattini of Nipomo argues, “Why not both?” Scattini, 18, has been dancing since she was 3, when her parents enrolled her in the California Arts Academy in Fresno, where she grew up. “Ballet is very physically demanding, but it still requires a lot of emotion and […]

Although 13-year-old Maddie Smith currently resides in Oxnard, Santa Maria will always feel like home to her for many reasons. During winter and summer breaks, Maddie returns to visit friends and relatives. The city has a special place in her heart not only because she grew up here, it’s also where she discovered her favorite […]

Ernest Righetti High School graduate Adam Miranda used to be a Warrior, until he became a Spartan. Miranda competed in the 2015 and the 2016 Reebok Spartan Race—one of the most popular obstacle course tournaments in the country. Miranda will compete again at the 2017 race this August in Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium. “I […]

Female rock climbers from around the globe, including Lompoc resident Courtney Tuskan, gathered at Owen’s River Gorge in Bishop, Calif., for the 2017 Flash Foxy Women’s Climbing Festival. “During those three days, I met and camped out with some amazing women from all over the world,” Tuskan told the Sun. “The climbing community are generally […]

Every year, the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) invites the top swimmers and divers throughout the state to compete at the CCCAA Swimming and Diving Championship. Dria Kwong, who swam for Allan Hancock College, competed in the women’s 100-yard butterfly event in 2016 and 2017.  For both years now, Kwong made it to the […]

The last Major League Baseball player to pitch a perfect game was Felix Hernandez—pitcher for the Seattle Mariners—in 2012. To pitch a victory in which no opposing player reaches a single base is a rare feat for minor league games as well, like those organized by the Santa Maria Westside Little League (SMWLL). But 12-year-old […]

Preston Motta of Santa Maria is only 9 years old, but he already has three gold medals under his belt—his gray belt to be specific. Preston won first place in all three jiu-jitsu competitions he’s entered since joining Paragon Brazilian Jiu-jitsu in 2015, and he intends to remain undefeated for as long as he can […]