Sports

Over the last nine years as the head coach of the Cabrillo College baseball team, Bob Kittle has had numerous student-athletes from all over Santa Cruz County pour into his program. Just last spring, Kittle had at least one player from all but one public school in the county on his roster. Bringing in the best of the best, and watching the talent and personalities from various backgrounds mesh into a powerhouse representation of the county has been one of his favorite aspects of the job. “Santa Cruz County is unique,” Kittle said in a recent phone interview. “There’s a sense of pride in this county… It’s connected.”

Marea Zlatunich could have had a very different high school experience. Now a league, section and state champion runner for the Aptos High Mariners, Zlatunich didn’t show up to the first day of cross country practice during her freshman year. “I honestly didn’t want to do cross country,” Zlatunich said. “I did it as an eighth grader and I wanted to quit after the first day, but my family didn’t let me.” But when her friend, Annika Niles, begged her to come out for the second day of practice because “she didn’t have any friends on the team,” Zlatunich reluctantly obliged. It turned out to be one of the best decisions of her young life.

By JON CHOWN, Special to the Pajaronian PEBBLE BEACH—Swirling winds opened the door for Phil Mickelson to come from behind and claim his sixth title at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, but leader Nick Taylor shut it with a birdie chip on the 15th...

APTOS—It almost feels like an eternity since the Cabrillo College football team last saw some action on the field.  But two years after they were placed on probation due to a violation for housing out-of-area players, the Seahawks are back and ready to take on...

The Mariners, who return nine seniors on a team of 14, still pride themselves on passing — they set a season goal of passing a 2.0 — and they’re not afraid to hit the deck for digs. Hewitt leads a scrappy group of back row players that have set the tone early in the season. Sophomore Cam Dueck and freshman Peyton Dueck have both spent time at libero and will be called upon to continuously keep the team in games while the offense comes along.

REDWOOD CITY–The Aptos High girls’ basketball team has relied on its defense throughout the season.  That approach helped the Mariners bully the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League en route to regular season and tournament titles.  It helped them get the Central Coast Section championship game for...

Grieves, a 2009 Aptos graduate, has been hired as the new girls basketball coach, he confirmed with this newspaper on Monday evening. Grieves spent the last three seasons with the school’s boys junior varsity team, and is well acquainted with the talent-rich squad he will inherit for the upcoming 2018-19 winter season. His junior varsity team often scrimmaged with the girls varsity team over the years, and his family is ingrained in the Aptos youth basketball scene.

The Seahawks began the season with a 31-7 thumping of Contra Costa College in non-conference play.

Alex Austen, a senior offensive lineman for the Aptos High football team, stands at a towering 6-foot-5-inches and 311 pounds. Standing next to his fellow lineman, the starting left tackle makes them all look like members of the freshman squad. Six-foot-2, 283-pound senior tackle Joseph Gutierrez-Lee might as well be 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds.

APTOS—The high school football season unofficially kicked off this past weekend with the Santa Cruz County Jamboree at Cabrillo College. St. Francis, Pajaro Valley and Watsonville high schools along with four other schools within the county scrimmaged for the first time this season at...