In its first season in the Ocean League, after two years in the Sunset, the Santa Ynez High girls soccer team seems to really be hitting its stride.

The Pirates are in the midst of a five-game winning streak, and seven-game unbeaten streak, and stands at 6-0-1 in the league, 8-1-1 overall

“It’s finally starting to come together,” said SYHS head coach Rob Cantrell. “We work really hard with some of the things we’re doing, and the girls are just playing for each other.”

That was in evidence on Jan. 23, when the Pirates beat Nipomo 8-0 in a game that saw five different players score for SYHS.

“I think we have a better chemistry this year,” Cantrell continued after the Nipomo game. “These kids have played with each other a long time.”

Assistant coach Julia Pritchard, a former player for the Pirates, said she senses a better attitude with the team.

“We’re connecting this year, and we found a calm,” Pritchard said. “I feel like past seasons were so hectic and out-of-place, and this year we found our groove.”

Some of that can be attributed to a bolstered coaching staff, as Cantrell recruited SYHS employee Polo Amador to join him and Pritchard on the sidelines.

“I finally got him to coach for us this year, and it allows us to see the game through three eyes,” he said. “We can see things differently, but with the respect we have for each other, the girls see that the and are buying into that. It’s just a real good synergy right now.”

In that win over Nipomo, Hannah Ricci scored four goals and assisted on three others, while Kailani Ladera had a goal and 3 assists of her own. Meanwhile, Campbell McClurg and Coral Murray scored their first goals of the season.

Ricci and Ladera currently have 7 goals apiece on the season to tie for the team lead.

The Pirates followed up the win over Nipomo with victories over Morro Bay (2-1) on Jan. 27 and Templeton (2-1) on Jan. 30. Ladera and Isabella Rubio had a goal apiece in each of those wins.

SYHS closes out the regular season schedule with three road games, starting with the one against Mission Prep that was played on Tuesday, Feb. 3. After that, the Pirates go to Morro Bay on Friday, Feb. 6, and Cabrillo on Tuesday, Feb. 10.

Boys soccer all even in league after loss to Nipomo

The Pirates boys soccer program lost to Nipomo 4-0 on Jan. 23, and stood at 2-2-2 in the Sunset League and 6-4-3 overall. The team took a week’s hiatus on the schedule and returned to action on Tuesday, Feb. 3, against Morro Bay, and will play its regular-season finale Friday, Feb. 6, at home against Templeton. Game time is 6 p.m.

Vince Guerrero leads the team in scoring, with 6 goals and and an assist for 13 points on the year, with Cristian Sandoval tallying 4 goals of his own. Mario Villegas has a team-high 5 assists.

Boys basketball continues to shine in league play

The SYHS boys basketball team traveled to Righetti on Jan. 30 and defeated the host Warriors 66-46 to raise its record to 4-1 in the Sunset League and 14-10 overall.

Mason Skidmore led the Pirates with 22 points in that game, with Jude Pritchard adding 14 points and 7 rebounds, and Lucas Ollenburger (12) and Gael Villalobos (11) also scoring in double figures.

SYHS played at Templeton on Tuesday, Feb. 3, and will close out the regular season with home games against Paso Robles on Friday, Feb. 6, and Tuesday, Feb. 10. Game time for both is 6:30.

Pirates girls basketball suffers third straight loss

The SYHS girls basketball team fell to Righetti 53-45 at home Jan. 30. It was their third straight loss and dropped them to 2-5 in the Sunset League and 10-9 overall.

The Pirates suffered an even bigger loss during its 41-29 defeat to Lompoc on Jan. 23 as one of their top players, Helina Pecile, went down with an injury. It was unclear at press time how long she would be out.

SYHS played a home game against Cabrillo on Tuesday, Feb. 3, and will end its regular season with road contests against Atascadero (Feb. 6) and Lompoc (Feb. 10).

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It’s not often you see the high-school wrestling coach handing out cookies to his wrestlers after a hard-fought couple of duals, but last week there was Sean Yamasaki, in his first season heading the Pirates program, distributing the baked goodies Jan. 28 after his boys and girls teams defeated Nipomo on their respective Senior Nights.

“My mom used to do that with me,” he said. “Back when I was in high school and wrestled, and even in college, she would come to the dual matches and always have a big batch of cookies for everyone. So, I’m continuing that.”

The days of Yamasaki wrestling competitively are actually not that long ago. He was hired by SYHS last summer shortly after graduating from San Francisco State with a degree in kinesiology with Cum Laude honors. He is also a 2020 graduate of Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta.

At SFSU, an NCAA Division II school, Yamasaki was named team captain and finished in sixth place at NCAA Super Region 6 tournament as well as third in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference tournament. At DPHS, he finished his high school career as one of only three wrestlers in Channel League history to be a four-time league champion.  He was also a three-time CIF Southern Section top 10 competitor.

And now, he is quickly transitioning from a student/athlete to a teacher on the wrestling match.

“It’s been a learning experience for me, I actually look like one of the students here, so it’s not always easy to tell my wrestlers ‘hey, you have to listen to me,” he said with a laugh.

Also, Yamasaki is learning how to take his knowledge and convey it to his athletes.

“When things come natural for me, it’s hard to think about and break it down to get them to understand the generic movements and how I can get them to understand what they’re supposed to be doing,” he said. “One thing I’m trying to do is think of key words to make them understand and finding terminology that clicks with them.”

If the boys and girls dual meets against Nipomo are any indication he seems to be making progress. The Pirate girls defeated the Titans 18-12 in a result that came down to the last match, and the boys dominated Nipomo to the tune of a 58-12 final score.

In the girls match, the Pirates had built a slim 15-12 lead thanks to pins from Willa Hansen at 120 lbs. and Patricia Silva at 155, as well as a decision by Dallana Margarito at 145.

The final girls match, at 170, pitted SYHS’s Andrea Garcia against Nipomo’s Anna Benitez. Garcia built up an 11-4 lead with less than two minutes left in the final period when Benitez was able to get the upper hand and tried to get Garcia’s shoulders to the mat for a pin that would have given the Titans the dual-match win. However, Garcia was able to hold off the pin attempt until time ran out and gain the decision and clinch it for the Pirates.

The boys match had no such suspense. The Pirates got pins from Cole Arrellano (113), Jake Montejano (120), Luke Elliott (132), Carter Franson (150), and Anthony Herrera (215), as well as major decisions from Curren Lane (144) and Neil Cunningham (157).

Three days after the Nipomo matches, the Pirates sent nine wrestlers to the CCAA League Finals in San Luis Obispo, with six placing in their weight classes.

For the girls, Willa Hansen placed sixth at 117, Dallana Margarito second at 147, and Andrea Garcia second at 172. For the boys, Luke Kruse placed third in 146, Jonathon Rodriguez second at 159, and Jack Kohne third at 167.

SYHS will compete in the CIF Team Tournament in Morro Bay this weekend, Feb. 6-7, and the weekend after, Feb. 13-14, will be the CIF tournaments in Hanford (Sierra Pacific High School, girls) and Fresno (Edison High, boys), where competitors hope to move on to the subsequent CIF Masters and State tournaments.

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After a month of non-league opponents and preseason tournaments the Santa Ynez High boys and girls basketball teams began Sunset League play at the start of the new year. And both posted their first league wins in convincing fashion on Friday, Jan. 16.

Boys defeat visiting Templeton

The Pirates boys squad finished with a 9-9 record in the preseason before falling to Righetti in its league opener to assure they would not go 8-0 like they did last year. On Jan. 16, they defeated visiting Templeton 57-43 to assure they won’t finish 0-8 in league like they did two years ago.

Jude Pritchard, who has a team-high 15.7 points per game so far this year, and Wesley Satterthwaite had 14 points to lead the Pirates. Gael Villalobos had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Satterthwaite also had 7 boards.

“They played us close for three quarters. Their 3-2 zone defense was tough to penetrate,” SYHS head coach Rod Caughell said after the game. “Fortunately, we shot very well from the outside, which can be a weakness with the 3-2, and we were able to open it up in the fourth quarter.”

Caughell also had praise for the Pirates defense.

“We played great defense,” he said. “Templeton’s a great three-point shooting team, but our guys kept their hands in the face. We broke away in the fourth, with some turnovers and they missed some foul shots.”

The Templeton win followed a Jan. 13 loss to Righetti by the score of 70-57. Pritchard led the way for the Pirates with 18 points, while Mason Skidmore scored 12 points and Lucas Ollenburger added 11.

The loss and win over Templeton, showed how erratic the team could be, according to Caughell.

“We’re just a Jeckyll-and-Hyde team,” he said. “Sometimes we don’t show up with the necessary energy to win, and other times we can’t be beat with our level of intensity.”

Caughell believes that his team will do well if they can keep up the energy it had against Templeton.

“We got about four guys who can score in double digits easily,” the coach said, identifying Pritchard and Ollenburger as the go-to guys on the team. “Like I said, if we keep the level of intensity for every game, we’re in good shape.”

The Pirates 1-1 in league and 10-10 overall, traveled to Paso Robles on Tuesday, Jan. 20, and will go to Lompoc on Friday, Jan. 23, before returning home for a non-league game against Carpinteria on Jan. 27.

Girls squad romps at Cabrillo for first league win

In a game against a winless opponent, things turned out as expected for the Pirates girls basketball team as it won easily in the Conquistadores gym 69-32.

Lexi Molera was top scorer for the Pirates with 18 points on six 3-pointers, while Helina Pecile had 12 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 steals, and Rylan Agin (12 points, 8 rebounds) and Jazmine Juarez (10 points) also shined.

That first league win followed two losses, to Morro Bay (45-42) and Righetti (65-39).

“It’s a tougher league this year, and we have to contend with Morro Bay and Righetti, so that’s tough,” SYHS head coach Jennifer Rasmussen said. “However, I just want to get this team ready for the postseason, and I think if we can get the playoff berth, we can get a run like last year.”

The Pirates last year made it all the way to CIF Section Finals before losing, but then got a state-playoff berth and won a game before being eliminated. So far this year, SYHS stands at 9-6 with a 1-2 Sunset League record.

The girls team returned home on Tuesday, Jan. 20, against Atascadero, and will play Lompoc at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23 (tonight).

Pirates soccer scores season high in win over Dunn

The SYHS boys soccer team had it highest scoring output on the season on Saturday, Jan. 17, in a 5-0 win over Dunn in Los Olivos

Hector Gonzalez, Osvaldo Muro, Vince Guerrero, Danny Garcia, and Yahir Torres scored the goals for SYHS, while Luis Garcia (2), Walker Sweetland, Marcos Rivera and Mario Zepeda got assists.

“As the season comes to an end, the team is getting stronger and ready to compete for a spot into the playoffs,” said Rivera.

Head coach Hector Garcia’s team, with a record of 5-3-3 (1-1-2 in the Sunset League) played at Atascadero on Tuesday, Jan. 20, and will travel to Nipomo on Friday, Jan. 23.

Girls soccer shuts out Cabrillo

The SYHS girls soccer team stayed undefeated in the Ocean League with a 3-0 win over the Cabrillo Conquistadores on Jan. 9.

Hannah Ricci, Isabella Rubio, and Mia Pulido scored second-half goals to lead the Pirates to victory.

After taking last week off, the Pirates played Mission Prep on Tuesday and will play Nipomo at home Friday, Jan. 23

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The Santa Barbara Community Rowing racing team excelled during the first weekend of December at the Christmas Regatta in Long Beach, California.

On Dec. 7, the team competed in this unique, short sprint event against teams from the southwest U.S.
SBCR’s Jacie Dingman, a Santa Ynez High School sophomore, came home with three medals: gold in the U19 Women’s Single, silver in the U17 Women’s Single, and bronze in the U17 Women’s Double with teammate Lizzie Jacobsen, a sophomore at San Marcos High School.

Other gold medal winners included the U15 coxed quad rowed by Will and Campbell Allen (Goleta Valley Junior High), John Asher (Laguna Blanca), Finn McCauley, and Zen Budden (Laguna Blanca). McCauley and Will Allen also came together in the U16 Men’s Double for a silver medal.

Another foursome took home bronze in a U16 quad that included Aidan Chase (Alpha School), Liam Moore (Alpha School), McCauley, and the Allen brothers.

The SBCR Masters team also competed at the regatta, bringing home an additional three silver and two bronze medals.  

“What a great end of our fall season and start of the sprint season,” said SBCR Coach Gracie Barbara. “I am extremely proud of all of our rowers; we took home a lot of medals, which is a direct result of their hard work. We have several new rowers and it’s great to see them being so competitive so quickly. We have a very bright season ahead of us.”

Santa Barbara Community Rowing, based at Cachuma Lake, is the only rowing organization in Santa Barbara County. If you are interested in donating to the club, or learning more about rowing, SBCR offers summer camps for youth ages 11-plus, as well as Learn to Row programs throughout the year for adults and kids.

For more information visit www.rowsbc.org/

SYHS boys soccer edges Mission Prep to go above .500

Vince Guerrero scored the first goal of the match and then the game-winner in the second half as the Santa Ynez High boys soccer team defeated Mission Prep 3-2 on Saturday, Dec. 13, in San Luis Obispo, raising its record to 3-2.

Guerrero was assisted by Mario Villegas for the Pirates’ first goal of the half. Mission Prep scored twice to take a 2-1 lead into the half. However, the Pirates were able to come back in the second half, scoring twice on direct free kicks — Cristian Sandoval tied the game, and then Guerrero made scored the tiebreakers.

Guerrero currently leads SYHS on the young season with 4 goals and 9 points.

Two days earlier, SYHS dropped a 2-1 decision at Lompoc. After a scorless first half, Guerrero tallied the first goal, again with an assist from Villegas, but the Braves came back with two goals for the win.

Coach Hector Garcia’s Pirates began Sunset League play at home Tuesday, Dec. 16, against Atascadero, and will play visiting Nipomo on Friday, Dec. 19, at 6 p.m. The team will then go on winter break, with its next game on Saturday, Jan. 3, at Morro Bay.

SYHS boys basketball goes 1-2 at Morro Bay tournament

The Santa Ynez High boys basketball team defeated Hilmar 67-48 on Saturday, Dec. 13, at the Morro Bay HIT Tournament, salvaging a win after three losses in the three-day affair.

Lucas Ollenburger had 21 points and 9 rebounds against Hilmar, while Gael Villalobos added 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Jude Pritchard posted 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Ollenburger had a total of 53 points over the four games, and leads the team in scoring with 16.8 points per game. Pritchard is second with 14.5 ppg, and Villalobos third at 13.3 ppg as of Dec. 13.

The PIrates lost their first three games of the tournament to San Luis Obispo (55-51), Nevada Union (66-42), and Central East of Fresno (68-57), and are 4-7 after the Hilmar win. After games against Laguna Blanca (Dec. 16) and Morro Bay (Dec. 18), SYHS returns home to play Channel Islands on Friday, Dec. 19, its last game before winter break.

SYHS girls basketball off to 4-1 start

The Santa Ynez High girls basketball team beat visiting Pioneer Valley 54-24 on Dec. 9. Lexi Molera led the way with 13 points, while Jazmine Juarez added 8 points, and Elena Sleiman and Lilli Palacios had 6 points and 4 steals apiece.

The Pioneer Valley game was the team’s last until they go to the Oxnard Tournament on Dec. 26 and play three Ventura County teams: Oxnard (Dec. 26), Buena (Dec. 27), and Rio Mesa (Dec. 29).

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As we enter December, the winter sports teams at Santa Ynez High School are starting their seasons with hopes of postseason action around February. A rundown on earlier season action starts here:

Boys soccer edges Cabrillo in season opener

The Santa Ynez High boys soccer team hosted Cabrillo in its season debut on Thursday, Nov. 20, opening up a big lead and then withstanding a CHS comeback to win 3-2.

In a game played in the rain, Marcos Rivera and Santos Orozco each had a goal in the first half to make it 2-0 at intermission. Vince Guerrero then scored the Pirates’ third goal at the start of second half, before the Conquistadors found the net twice to make it 3-2. However, SYHS was able to hold on for the win.

Abner Banegas, designated as Man of the Match said “was very happy to get the start in my first varsity match and help the team get their first win of the season. Santos [Orozco] and him were a great team as center backs, and I hope it’s one of many more wins for the season.”

Coach Hector Garcia’s team, which finished just short of the .300 winning percentage required to make the CIF Central Section playoffs in 2024-25, had two road games this week: Tuesday, Dec. 2, at Arroyo Grande and Thursday, Dec. 4, at Orcutt Academy (results not available at press time). The Pirates play next at Lompoc on Thursday, Dec. 11, at 6 p.m. They return home on Tuesday, Dec. 16, for their first league game against Atascadero at 6 p.m.

Girls basketball bests Nipomo to tip-off season

The Santa Ynez High girls basketball team is coming off a 2024-25 season that saw a memorable postseason run, and on Thursday, Nov. 20, got its 2025-26 season off to a rousing start with a 47-32 victory over Nipomo.

Lexi Molera (14 points, 4 steals), Nelina Pecile (9 points, 12 rebounds, 5 steals), and Rylan Agin (6 points, 6 rebounds), all standout on last year’s team that was CIF Central Section Division IV runner-up and had a win in the state tournament, led the way for the Pirates, while Jasmine Juarez, a sophomore on last year’s squad had 9 points and 7 rebounds.

“The girls were playing with impressive intensity, unity, and focus tonight,” SYHS head coach Jennifer Rasmussen said. “We only lost one senior from last year’s team, so we are looking forward to this year!”

The Pirates are currently playing in the Lompoc Tournament this weekend with game tonight, Friday, Dec. 4, and Saturday, Dec. 5.

Boys basketball drops two at Santa Clara Tournament

The Santa Ynez High boys basketball team went to the Santa Clara Tournament on Thanksgiving weekend, losing games to Eastside (86-51) on Friday, Nov. 28, and Bishop Diego (68-31) on Saturday, Nov. 29. That give the Pirates a 2-3 start to the season.

SYHS won its first two games of the season. In the opener on Nov. 18, the Pirates defeated host Pioneer Valley 70-54. Lucas Ollenburger led the way with 24 points and 9 rebounds, with Gael Villalobos adding 13 points and  Mason Skidmore 10. Two days later, on Nov. 20, the Pirates traveled to Nipomo and beat the Titans 70-37. Ollenburger had 14 points and 13 rebounds, with Skidmore (15), Villalobos (10), and Jude Pritchard (14) all scoring in double figures.

SYHS played its first home game Tuesday, Dec. 2, against Cabrillo (result not available) and will next travel to Arroyo Grande for a 6:30 p.m. game Monday night.

PIrates boys, girls wrestlers compete before Thanksgiving

Sean Yamasaki has started as SYHS’s new boys and girls wrestling coach and reported during Thanksgiving week, “it was a busy last couple days for the Pirates — almost everyone competed.”

The boys wrestling squad had a good showing at the Santa Maria Tri Tip Duals on Wednesday, Nov. 26, as the team was 4-1 on the day, defeating San Marcos, Buena, Del Sol, and Atascadero and losing to Pioneer Valley.

“We had three of our wrestlers Neal Cunningham (157), Kaj Kretschmer (190), and Joey Duarte (285) go undefeated as well,” Yamasaki said. “Andrew Badger (138) and Curren Lane (150) also went 4-1 on the day.”

On Tuesday, Nov. 26, the Pirates’ first-year wrestlers also competed in the novice tournament at Santa Maria, with Dylan Zepeda, Luke Kruse, and Zeke Virgen all claiming first place in their weight classes.”

SYHS’s girls wrestlers also competed, as on Saturday, Nov. 22, at Lompoc High.

“Our girls competed, with Dallana Margarito taking first place, Patricia Silva taking second, and Melody Lopez taking third.”

The SYHS girls wrestlers will next see action Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5-6, for the Island Girlz Tournament at Channel Islands HIgh. Boys wrestlers will next see action at the Mad Ranch Tourney Dec. 13 at Liberty High School in Bakersfield.

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With the way Von Gordon has been playing golf while a student at Santa Ynez High School, one might think he’s been at it since he was a little kid. Not quite so.

“So, yeah, I started it up in 2020,” he said. “I think tail end of 2019 or 2020, I started golf; and you know I played baseball, but when COVID hit, it just shut down baseball. Then I started playing more golf and I fell in love with it.”

That led to team MVP honors at SYHS as a freshman and sophomore, helping the Pirates capture back-to-back CIF Central Section titles in 2023 and 2024, success in several junior tournaments, and a berth in the U.S. Junior Amateur tournament in 2025, and now acceptance into a university that has seen incredible success in many of it sports over the past few decades.

On Tuesday, Nov. 18, Gordon signed his letter of intent to the University of Oregon to play golf for coach Casey Martin, a former PGA player, at a short signing ceremony in the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District on Tuesday, Nov. 18.

“Going to play a college sport, no matter what level, is an unbelievable challenge to meet,” said SYHS Athletic Director Josh McClurg in introducing Gordon. “It’s even bigger when you play for a power 25 school in every sport. It takes a ton of hard work, which I know Von has put into it.”

Before signing his LOI, Gordon paused to thank the people that supported him throughout his journey.

“I just want to say thank you to everyone who’s supported me, and made this possible,” he said. “Thanks to Mom and Dad, love you guys; I want to thank the friends supporting me and always having my back. I appreciate that.”

Gordon was joined at the ceremony, which happened during the school’s lunch hour, by his mother, brother, and a multitude of friends, most of whom were wearing the (usual) Ducks colors of kelly green and gold.

After signing, Gordon described the recruiting process that eventually took him to Oregon.

“It took a while and there were other school that came in and out of the picture,” he said. “But at the end with my offer from Oregon, and connection with the golf coach, it was just green lights all throughout with the coach and the program.”

Gordon will be going to a program which has become a national power in golf under Martin throughout its time in the Pac-12 and now the Big Ten. Martin, a former PGA Tour player now entering his 20th season as Ducks coach, has led the team to 11 NCAA Championship appearances, including winning the 2016 NCAA title and finishing runner-up in the 2017 championships. Among his former players is 2023 U.S. Open Champion Wyndham Clark.

Martin said he is excited to have Gordon begin his Oregon career.

“Von is sort of a late bloomer and shifted to golf a few years ago. He had a terrific summer,” Martin said on the goducks.com website. “I watched him several times and feel like he will have an immediate impact on our program. He has a great golf swing and works so hard. I can’t wait to have him on the team.”

Gordon is just as excited to be going to the campus in Eugene, where he plans to major in business.

“I’m just looking forward to the whole atmosphere,” he said. “The football program and the athletic culture — it’s just really exciting because there’s so much energy and so much effort that goes into it.”

But for now, Gordon can concentrate on his senior year and his boys golf season coming up in the spring.

“It’s really good to have this decision made, and the weight off my shoulders,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to finishing my last year here [at SYHS].”

Among many others to join Gordon at the ceremony was his mother Amy — she said Von’s father Rob, a professional photographer, was on assignment in Lanai — and she expressed gratitude to the community and the role it played in her son’s journey.

“Von is dedicated and self-motivated, but he been helped by so many people,” she said. “I think being at Alisal (Golf Club) and having this special community and having found golf has been such a blessing in his life. I just can’t thank the community enough.”

The post Santa Ynez High golfer announces commitment to University of Oregon appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

On Friday, Nov. 7, the Santa Ynez High football team got to do something it hadn’t done in 15 years — host a CIF playoff game as the Pirates took on the Dos Palos Broncos of the West Sierra League in the Central Valley in a Central Section Division IV game at Rio Memorial Field. 

However, the contest would end up being the end of the season for the No. 6-seeded Pirates as they fell to the 11th-seeded Broncos 14-0. The loss not only meant elimination for SYHS, but was the first time since 2019 the Pirates had been shut out in a game. 

The game was not an offensive masterpiece as the Pirates gained 212 yards of offense, a season low. While offensive statistics for Dos Palos were not provided, the Broncos were able to move the ball at times, and while able to score the two touchdowns, had other scoring chances foiled by an opportunistic Pirates defense. 

SYHS forced three turnovers on the night, with Diego Pulido getting an interception to stop a DPHS scoring threat just before halftime, and Greyson Foy and Levi Snow had fumble recoveries. Also, Ayden Finley blocked a Broncos field-goal attempt in the third quarter to prevent another DPHS score. 

However, the Pirates were partly done in by a familiar bugaboo: Penalties. At least one of the Broncos’ scoring drives was helpled by flags thrown against SYHS. In the second quarter — after the Broncos had a touchdown called back on a penalty — DPHS’s Jesus Bon kicked a field goal, but a Pirate defender was called for rough- ing the kicker. The Broncos decided to accept the penalty and take the field goal off the board, and a couple plays later, DPHS’s Andre Flores ran it in from the 1-yard line and with the extra point, the visitors had a 7-0 lead. 

On their next drive, the Pirates thought they had a potential game-ty- ing TD when Jude Pritchard hit Jaxson Glover with a 35-yard scoring pass, but SYHS was called for an illegal man downfield penalty to negate the score. That drive ended when Pulido missed what would have been a school-record-tying 47-yard field goal. 

The Broncos added to their lead in the third quarter when quarterback Quinton Herrera threw a 62-yard TD to Bon, who added the extra-point to make it 14-0, where the score would stay until the final siren. 

The game was a disappointing end to the season for the team and head coach Josh McClurg, who was frustrated at the penalties that hurt his team.

“We just killed ourselves tonight,” McClurg said. “I’ve been telling these guys all year not to lose their composure, and tonight we kept getting these unsportsmanlike-conduct flags, which I have to say about 90 percent of them were warranted. They just need to learn they can’t keep taunting or they’ll get called on it.” 

Despite the ending, the coach had a lot of praise for the team and how they rose above expectations this year. 

“I’m very proud of these guys, proud of the work they did to get here,” McClurg said.“For instance, with our defense, at the beginning of the year, we didn’t know what we had, and they really stepped up and improved, and they kept us in the game tonight.” 

The Broncos went to lose to third- seeded and undefeated McLane High of Fresno 46-7 in a Division IV quarterfinal on Nov. 14. 

Girls tennis duo advances to CIF Individual Tournament 

The Santa Ynez High girls tennis team is out of the team playoff for this year, but one of its doubles teams qualified for the CIF Individual Tournament at Garces Memorial High in Bakersfield last weekend, Nov. 14 and 15. 

Keegan Withrow and Haley Townes breezed through their two matches in qualifying on Nov. 9, defeating Atascadero’s No. 2 team of Castorinas and Carbona 8-0 in Round 1, and then AHS’s No. 1 team of Sanchez and Luchetti 6-0, 6-2. They are the No. 9 seed in the CIF tourney; results were not available at press time. 

SYHS’s Danielle Hyland won her first match against Morro Bay’s Maggie Apple 8-6 and lost her second match 4-6, 2-6 to SLO’s Zoe Stackhouse. She did not advance to CIF. 

Girls water polo falls to top seed in CIF-CS Division III 

After defeating Exeter in the first round of the CIF Central Section Divi- sion III playoffs, the SYHS girls water polo team got to face Sierra Pacific, the division’s top seed in the second round. There, the Pirates’ season came to a close with an 8-3 loss to the Golden Bears from Hanford. 

Angelina Lefemine, Eleanor Murphy, and Paige Reynolds got the goals for SYHS, who finished the season at 13-11, including a 3-3 mark and third-place finish in the Sunset League. 

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By Mike Chaldu

michael@santaynezvalleystar.com

The bad news on Halloween night for the Santa Ynez High football team was their defeat to Righetti in the regular-season finale, as the Pirates, despite getting off to an early lead, saw the visiting Warriors make big plays leading into halftime and into the second half to post a 34-24 win at Rio Memorial Field.

With the defeat, their second straight to close the Sunset League slate, the Pirates finished at 2-2 in the league, and 6-4 overall. SYHS had lost at San Luis Obispo the previous week by a 28-23 score. Righetti and SLO both finished 3-1 to share the league title.

Despite the setback, SYHS got some good news the next day, Nov. 1, with the release of the CIF Central Section playoff seedings. With a No. 6 seed in Division IV, the Pirates will be at home for their first-round matchup against 11th-seeded Dos Palos. The Broncos also finished with a 6-4 overall record and were second place in the West Sierra League with a 4-1 mark. The winner of that game will travel to Fresno to face No. 3 seed McLane, the North Yosemite League champ with a 10-0 overall record, on Nov. 14.

The game against Righetti was a chance for Santa Ynez to capture at least a share of the Sunset League title, and to begin with, things looked good for the Pirates.

SYHS scored on their first drive, culminating in an 8-yard scoring pass from Jude Pritchard to Austin Willis and the Pirates led 6-0 after a missed extra point. In the second quarter, Diego Pulido added a 21-yard field goal for a nine-point lead, and after Righetti got on the scoreboard with a 5-yard TD run by Michael Mendez, Pulido kicked a career best 44-yard field goal — just three yards off the school record for a 12-7 Pirates lead.

It looked like that scored would hold up by halftime, but Righetti was able to get into SYHS territory in the final second of the second quarter, and then Warriors quarterback Nick Matautia hit received Thomas Harris with.a 38-yard touchdown run as the half ended to give Righetti a 14-12 lead at intermission.

In the second half, Righetti blocked an SYHS punt, and Julian Santos returned that for a touchdown, and Mendez rushed for another to give Righetti a 27-12 lead. After Pulido caught a 3-yard TD from Pritchard to close the gap, Mendez rushed for his third touchdown of the night, and the Pirates’ Greyson Foy closed the scoring with a 1-yard TD run with 3:38 left in the game.

Pirates head coach Josh McClurg blamed the loss on the inability to contain the Righetti offense, which came up with plays at crucial moments.

“We can’t give up big plays,” he said. “No matter where it’s at, the big plays are going to kill us. We can’t do that.”

McClurg also pointed to his team’s composure: “We have to be able to have composure in adversity, and not point fingers. We’ve struggled with that this year; when things are going good, we’ve been good, but when they go bad, we struggle with composure.”

SYHS was riding high on Oct. 17 with a 51-0 shutout at Pioneer Valley that had them at 2-0 in league and 6-2 overall. In that game, Austin Willis returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, the third time Willis had taken a kickoff back all the way this season, and the third time the Pirates have done so on the opening kick. The Pirates also scored touchdowns on the ground (three times), by pass (one), and also with interception return (Pulido) and fumble return (Ayden Finley).

The next week, Nov. 24, the Pirates lost a tough game at San Luis Obispo 28-23 for their first league loss. Like in the Righetti game, SYHS had a lead late into the second quarter until the Tigers scored with about a minute left to take a 14-10 lead at halftime. The Pirates were able to regain the lead at 17-14 as Pritchard threw a 12-yard TD pass to Jaxson Glover, and after getting the ball back, hoped to add to it, but SLO returned a Pritchard interception 35 yards for a score to give the Tigers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Kickoff for Friday’s playoff game against Dos Palos will be 7 p.m. at Rio Memorial Field.

Pirates girls water polo wins first-round playoff match

The Santa Ynez High girls water polo team won its first-round CIF Central Section Division III game over Exeter 7-4. The Pirates (13-10), the No. 8 seed in Division III, scored four goals in the second period to open up a lead, and then, when the No. 9 seed Monarchs drew to within one goal, scored a couple while shutting out Exeter the rest of the way.

Juliet Kerr led a balanced scoring attack with two goals, while Elena Sleiman, Angelina Lifeline, Paige Reynolds, Adriana Bilac, and Eleanor Murphy scored a goal apiece. Goalkeeper Rylan Agin was solid, with nine blocks and even has an assist.

The Pirates now advance to the second round, where they will play No. 1 seed in Hanford at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8

Santa Ynez closed out it regular season by defeating Cabrillo 11-3 to finish its play in the Sunset League finals on Oct. 29.

Lefemine led the way with four goals and four assists, while Bilac and Sleiman had two goals apiece. Goalkeeper Rylan Agin had 13 blocks to turn back the Cabrillo attack. The previous day, the Pirates lost 10-6 to Paso Robles in their first game of the tournament, with Bilac scoring twice and getting four steals, Eleanor Murphy with two goals of her own, and Agin with 15 blocks in goal.

The Pirates stood at 12-10 with a 3-3 league record for the regular season.

Pirates girls tennis eliminated in second round of CIF playoffs

The SYHS girls tennis team, the defending CIF Central Section Division II champions, fell short of a second straight title, suffering a 6-2 defeat to Reedley on Thursday, Oct. 30. The Pirates were swept in singles play, with the doubles teams of Keegan Withrow and Haley Towns (8-6) and Danielle Hyland and Claire Tipich (8-3) earning the only two points for SYHS.

SYHS won its first-round playoff match 5-4 over Templeton on Tuesday, Oct. 28. Danielle Hyland won the deciding match at No. 2 singles, 6-2, 6-3, in a hard-fought battle. No. 1 Keegan Withrow (6-1, 6-4) and No. 5 Clea Malkmus (6-3, 6-3) also won in singles, while doubles duos Withrow and Townes (8-1), and Tipich and Ainsley Haws (8-6) picked up points in doubles.

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The Santa Ynez High football team returned to Rio Memorial Field for the third straight week on Friday, Oct. 3, for its Sunset League opener vs. Atascadero. The visiting Greyhounds opened the scoring with an interception return for a touchdown on the Pirates opening drive, and ended the scoring with a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

However, between those two plays, the Pirates dominated, with four touchdowns on offense and three interceptions on defense, giving Santa Ynez a 28-13 victory, which raised their record to 5-2 overall.

The Pirates marched to the win with a strong ground game, gaining 245 yards rushing, led by quarterback Jude Pritchard, who gained 105.

“We really wanted to establish the run game, and we did,” said SYHS head coach Josn McClurg. “This week we challenged the offensive line, because we felt they did not play a great game last week [against Santa Maria High] and they rose to the occasion and blocked their tails off. I thought we had our way with them in the running game.”

As far as the passing game, Pritchard didn’t have to go to the air often, but he did complete 11 of 19 passes for 121 yards and three touchdowns. Jaxon Glover only had two reception for 20 yards, but both those catches were for touchdowns. Likewise, Levi Snow’s only catch of the evening was also for a score.

The defense, meanwhile, was stingy, keeping the Greyhounds’ offense out of the end zone until the fourth quarter. Defensive back Jack Swain had two interceptions on the night to go with seven tackles, and Diego Pulido had a pick of his own, and eight tackles.

“Once I saw them on defense, I know that was going to be fine,” McClurg said. “We gave up that interception and fell behind, but the defense stopped them on the next drive and we got the ball back, and we were fine after that.”

The Santa Ynez offense showed its effectiveness right away, taking the opening kickoff and marching down into Atascadero territory. However, that momentum was stopped when the Greyhounds’ Damon Mitchell picked off a Pritchard pass and took it 75 yards for a score. After the missed extra point, Atascadero led 6-0.

Undeterred, the Pirates again took the kickoff and moved down the field. This time, they were not stopped as Ayden Finley took it in on a 2-yard touchdown run. Pulido added the first of four successful extra points for a 7-6 SYHS lead. Later in the first quarter, Glover caught his first touchdown pass, a 9-yarder, to put his team up 14-6, a score that would hold until halftime. Snow caught his 20-yard TD pass in the third quarter, and Glover would have another TD reception in the fourth quarter.

Behind 28-6, the Greyhounds would score on a 29-yard pass with 4:54 left to cut the deficit, and then recover the ensuing onside kick, but the Pirates stopped them on downs and ran out the clock.

The Pirates enjoyed a bye week on Friday, April 10, and returned for a road game at Pioneer Valley on Oct. 17. SYHS goes out for another road game at San Luis Obispo on Oct. 24, then comes home for its regular-season finale vs. Righetti on Halloween night, Oct. 31.

Girls tennis

The Pirates lost to San Luis Obispo 8-1 in their last regular-season dual match of the season.

“Our lone win came from Claire Tipich, who showed incredible resilience — battling back from a 2–5 deficit in the second set to win 13–12 in a tiebreaker and push the match to a third set. An impressive fight!,” said Pirates head coach Jennifer Rasmussen.

The match was also during Senior Day, and three of them were honored.

We had the honor of celebrating our three amazing seniors: Keegan Withrow, Danielle Hyland, and Rylee Arellano,” Rasmussen said. “I’d like to thank them for their leadership, dedication, and the energy they’ve brought to the team. They’ll be missed!”

Girls water polo

The Pirates edged Cabrillo 6-5 in their Sunset League match to move to 10-9 (2-3 in league) on the season.

Juliet Kerr and Adriana Bilac had two goals apiece, while Rylan Agin had a whopping 12 blocks.

SYHS ends its regular season with a home game against Paso Robles on Wednesday, Oct. 22.

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In an annual ceremony to honor its athletic past, Santa Ynez High School used the evening of Friday, Sept. 19, not only to stage a football game between SYHS and Nipomo, but also to recognize five former student-athletes and one former coach and faculty member for their induction into the schoo’s Wall of Fame.

In a ceremony preceding the kickoff, the school honored former soccer, swim, and Iain McPherson, former Pirates volleyball star Meghan Mosebar, former football and track star Josh Hartman, water polo, soccer and swimming standout Chris Pace, former football star Kelley Moore, and football and golf standout Parker Colvin.

Retired SYHS teacher Dave Smith accepted the Wall of Fame plaque for Iain McPherson, a native Scot who spent 26 years as a coach and teacher at SYHS before his untimely death in 1999. Known for his tough love approach, he earned respect from students and players by pushing them to achieve more than they thought possible. As an All-American swimmer himself, he coached numerous athletes to CIF, All League
MVPs, and All-American.

Smith was a colleague and good friend of McPherson’s when both were at SYHS.

“I got here in 1975, and he had been here for three or four years already and we became good friends,” Smith said. “I was a swimmer, and I had a sister who spent some time in Scotland, so we had a lot of common ground.”

Smith said McPherson left a lasting legacy with the Pirates’ aquatic sports programs

“He really made a mark in water polo and swimming,” Smith said. “I’m glad I was able to come accept this plaque for him and also happy I got to see some of his former athletes come to see this.”

Meghan Mosebar, who lives in Florida, was also unable to attend the ceremony in person, but Meighan Dietenhofer, a former teammate, was able to accept the plaque for her. After a standout career in high school, she played Division I volleyball at Purdue and William & Mary. She is currently a teacher and club volleyball coach in Rockledge, Florida.

Josh Hartman, who accepted his plaque along with his daughter Willow, was a standout in football and track at SYHS before graduating in 2006. On the football field, Josh was named the team’s Most Valuable Player and honored as the school’s Most Valuable Male Athlete in his final year. After high school, Josh concluded his athletic career at Chapman University, playing football while earning a bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis in finance.

Chris Pace, who accepted his plaque carrying his young son, Jonah, not only was a three-sport star at SYHS, but outside of athletics was an Eagle Scout, Boys State School Rep, and senior class president. He continued his water polo career at the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he graduated in 2008, and went on to a distinguished USAF career.

“They’ve been calling me for quite a few years, but with me moving all over being with the Air Force, I could never schedule it,” Pace said. “Finally, one year they called and I brought up a few old teammates of mine and asked if they were on the wall, and they said, ‘oh, we got them in years ago!’ So I figured it was time to get this done.”

While some of his fellow inductees came in from out of town, Pace has moved back to the Santa Ynez Valley, bringing his family in to settle here just a couple months ago.

Kelley Moore, whose brother Mitch as on hand to accept his plaque, graduated Santa Ynez in 1972. He went on to play football at Allan Hancock College and Chico State. After graduating from CSU Chico in the spring of 1977, Dr. Kelley Moore has been blessed to have had a lifetime,49 years in the coaching profession. After stints at Hancock and Thiel College, he has been an assistant football coach at Arizona Western University.

Parker Colvin played four years (2005-09) of football and golf at SYHS, earned the Jeff Rio Memorial Scholarship and was named the most Valuable Male Athlete for the Class of 2009. After graduating
high school, Colvin attended Cal Lutheran University, where he played four years on the golf team, serving as team captain. He graduated from CLU with a degree in exercise science with an emphasis on sports medicine.

“I’m super honored to be inducted, I was at this school for four years and I loved it here,” Colvin said. “I made sure to bring my old letterman’s jacket to wear to this, just to show everyone, I still bleed black and orange.”

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