Sports

The Aptos Mariners — battered and bruised by the end of the night — did their best Rocky Balboa impression, swinging away at the “big piece of meat” over and over again, but there was no fairy tale ending for the group of scrappy underdogs.

Top-seeded Aptos won its second Central Coast Section Division III crown in the last three years, and the Mariners made it look easy with a 58-37 redemption win over No. 2 South San Francisco on Feb. 23 at Palo Alto High.

APTOS—A late turnover for the Aptos High football team led to a heart-breaking defeat in last week’s home opener against Campolindo High. For senior running back Caden Prichard, the Mariners’ 30-22 loss left a bad taste in their mouths.  “I don’t think we played a great...

APTOS—Aptos High senior Trent Nosky spent time over the summer logging in dozens of miles in hopes to improve on his endurance.  It’s something that he's seen as a weakness in the past. “I have a lot of speed but I don't have as much strength...

The Aptos High boys’ basketball team turned on the afterburners before the start of Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League play last season and soared to a share of the league championship.  The Mariners shared the SCCAL title with Santa Cruz High by beating the Cardinals...

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.

Capitola-Soquel All-Star pitcher Dylan Hull recorded a complete game shutout on Saturday in a 7-0 win against the Aptos Little League All-Stars in the District 39 11s championship at Franich Park.

APTOS–The Aptos High girls’ basketball team was a heavy favorite going into Friday night’s Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Tournament championship against Soquel High. Guard Gabby Giuffre made that clear from the start, scoring the game’s first eight points to help the Mariners cruise past...

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.

Third-year Aptos head coach Stefan Hocom was named the SCCAL Coach of the Year. Photo by Tony Nunez