Sports

Melissa “Moe” Llanes knew something was up when Gavilan College men’s basketball coach Derek Jensen called her during the team’s Feb. 9 game-day shootaround.  Moments later, Gavilan Athletic Director Ron Hannon and trainer Erik Hilliker walked into the gym and Llanes, the team’s assistant coach,...

Nyla Valencia’s visit to the University of Iowa was the stuff dreams were made of.  And it was packaged into a mini movie, courtesy of Nyla’s dad, Joel. A Sobrato High senior, Nyla signed her national letter of intent on Feb. 8 to become a...

Like a blindside hit, Nathan Williams never saw it coming.  The Live Oak High senior was overwhelmed with emotion when he learned that he would be awarded the Dwight Clark Beyond Extraordinary Award during halftime in the 47th annual Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Football Game on...

As long as Derek Jensen is the coach of the Gavilan College men’s basketball program, the Rams should be in good shape.  Like his predecessor and brother, Dallas, who went on to become the coach at College of the Sequoias, Derek has shown to be...

Maddie Vasquez literally grew up on the local soccer fields including the one at Live Oak High, where her dad, Tony, is the longtime girls soccer coach. Whenever Tony was coaching a game, Maddie was there, running on the field and kicking the ball...

Kiefer Nguyen may not be the most talented player on the Oakwood High boys basketball team, but he’s definitely one of the most valuable.  “I’ve got bigger kids and better athletes, but I can’t take Kiefer off the floor because he shoots the ball so...

In the formative years for a kid playing sports, being substantially taller than everyone else doesn’t necessarily equate to an advantage.  Just ask Ethan Marmie. The 6-foot-7 Sobrato High junior forward had his fair share of growing pains as it took a while for him...

Armed with athleticism, length and a hyper-competitive drive, Sobrato High sophomore Briana Bouton reflects what the team aims to bring every game: a tenaciousness from start to finish.  All of Bouton’s skills were on display in the Bulldogs’ 69-12 win over crosstown rival Live Oak...

Trey Bringuel was an eighth-grader when he first attended the Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Game, and to this day he remembers thinking one thing.  “I thought it would be cool if I could play in the game one day,” he said.  The Sobrato High senior is going...

At the midway point of the Blossom Valley League’s West Valley Division season, the Sobrato High boys soccer team has become the odds-on favorite to win the championship and earn just its second Central Coast Section playoff berth in program history.  The Bulldogs (13-0-1 overall,...