Sports Leads

Learning to drive is a rite of passage for high school students. Driver’s education classes and age requirements are the only roadblocks standing in the way. For students on Santa Maria High School’s drag racing team, however, learning to drive is only the beginning. The team’s classroom is a big, concrete auto shop situated on […]

During a basketball game, the versatile 6-foot-7 Cameron Walker might check the clock to determine what kind of play he needs to call next. On Nov. 12, the 17-year-old Ernest Righetti High School varsity basketball player was off the court when he checked the clock for a much bigger play. He sat between his parents […]

Four legs move almost in unison. Two feet hit the dirt trail as two feet swing up and back. One pair runs just inches behind the other as Santa Ynez Valley Union High School juniors Brian Illes and Johnny Jimenez pace themselves on the backside of the Mills’ property, a few acres of open fields […]

Anthony Dakuras walked into the gym at the Minami Community Center on Oct. 30, laced up his wrestling shoes, and set his bag and bathroom scale on the bleachers. Dakuras is the head instructor and founder of Santa Maria All-American Wrestling (SMAAW), which is the first wrestling class offered through the city of Santa Maria […]

Salty ocean air mixed with the smell of gasoline at the Oceano Dunes on Oct. 18, as the ripping sound of engines overpowered the steady sound of the waves. Thousands of off-road enthusiasts converged at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA) for the annual truck-jumping competition known as Huckfest. Spectators and competitors camped […]

Plumes of feathers and colorful streaks of ribbon swirled in the hot afternoon air as the sun beat down on the dancers like the steady thump of the drum. On Oct. 4 and 5, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians played host to the 19th annual Inter-Tribal Pow-Wow at the Live Oak campground. “We’re […]

This season is full of firsts for the Orcutt Academy High School girls’ varsity tennis team. Head coach Art Lopez leads the varsity team for the first time this season with players who are new to competitive tennis, and the team is competing for the first time in the Los Padres League. For being the […]

The Ernest Righetti High School Warriors came out on top in this year’s Battle of the Shield game against the St. Joseph High School Knights with a tight defensive line and an offense that could carry. Righetti defeated St. Joe’s 37-14 on Sept. 26 at Warriors Stadium in Orcutt. It’s the Warriors fourth win in […]

Crystal-Bianca Cabanas loves to play sports.  Whether she is running track and field or in the pool swimming laps, this 15-year-old is going hard year round.  When she moved to the United States from the Philippines, her father encouraged her to be apart of many activities in the community, she said. This season, Cabanas is […]

Before every match, the Santa Maria High School varsity girls’ tennis team participates in a unique ritual: The team huddles up, and head coach Ginny Barnett reads them a quote.   After reading the quote, Barnett passes out small slips of paper with the motivational words written on them and instructs the players to tuck […]