Scotts Valley High graduate Quinn Turowski has always been competitive in anything he does.
Whether it’s making a move to grab the last slice of pizza or being involved with the go-ahead score, winning was always the driving force behind it all.
“I’m a competitor and I hate to lose. I’ve always been like that since I was little,” he said.
It started when he was just 5 years old while playing Pee Wee football with most of former teammates at Scotts Valley. Since then, they’ve always had a mindset to being the best at every sport possible.
That same way of thinking is exactly what worked for Turowski who shined for not just one but two programs.
The standout Falcons’ athlete was explosive on the football team as the leading wide receiver and defensive back, while his dominance on the baseball squad helped it earn a trip into the Central Coast Section semifinals for the first time since 2007.
Anytime he stepped on the playing field there was a chance for something special to happen.
It takes a special type of athlete to have that kind of impact, which is why Turowski was named the Press Banner’s Boys Athlete of the Year for the 2023-24 school year.
“It’s an honor to be called that because it means a lot to how much work I put in over the offseason and I just did anything I could to help my team out,” he said. “I wasn’t looking for any of that [recognition]. I just played the sports that I loved and that’s what it came to.”
Scotts Valley’s athletic director and football head coach Louie Walters said Turowski was one of the most gifted athletes to come out of Scotts Valley High because of his speed and his sports IQ.
“He’s just a smart kid and he’s a play maker whether he’s on the football field or the baseball field, he makes things happen,” Walters said.
Scotts Valley High was one of the smallest public schools in the CCS with an enrollment of just 621 students for the 2023-24 school year.
Based on those stats, Turowski said bigger schools always underestimated them. Yet, all it did was put a chip on their shoulders and make them hungrier for a victory.
“No one expects us to win, so we just go out there and show them what Scotts Valley’s about,” he said. “That was definitely a factor of why we wanted to win so much, just to show all these big schools that these little schools can do it, too.”
Turowski said that’s why football is different from any other sport because it was all about going to battle with his brothers. It was also the connections they built with each other for the past four years.
“The Scotts Valley kids, no matter what sports they play, they have a lot of pride. They want to succeed,” Walters said. “It’s a tight knit community. We don’t always have the biggest kids, the fastest kids and the strongest kids, but we always find a way to compete.”
Turowski led Scotts Valley to a Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division–North crown by going 6-0 in league play. He also helped them storm past Aragon High for a 33-21 victory in the CCS Division III quarterfinals.
Turowski was named the Mission Division’s Offensive Player of the Year after finishing with a team-best 709 yards receiving and 19 receptions with 11 touchdowns. He also recorded three interceptions on defense, according to stats on the Monterey Bay Preps website.
“We were all ready to win as much as we could,” he said. “Just the work we all put in and the relationships that we have with each other, it was gonna be a good year. We knew that.”
The same could be said for the 2024 Falcons baseball team.
Turowski and company closed out the regular season on a nine-game win streak. They placed second in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League with a 10-5 record in the final standings.
Scotts Valley also earned a 3-2 playoff victory over Willow Glen High in the CCS D-IV quarterfinals.
“Everyone wanted to be there this year and wanted to go to work, wanting to practice, and I think it showed us after our 10-game win streak how good we actually were,” Turowski said.
Turowski’s goals this season were simple: hit one home run and qualify for the playoffs. Check and check.
He batted a .375 average (33-for-88) with two home runs, 10 doubles, 22 RBIs, 28 runs scored and 24 stolen bases, according to the MaxPreps website.
On defense, Turowski stood his ground at third base with 31 putouts and six assists, including two double plays. He also made a couple of appearances on the mound, allowing two hits while racking up five strikeouts in three innings pitched.
Turowski earned All-SCCAL Second Team honors for his performance on the ball field.
“Being a part of the sports teams at Scotts Valley, it’s taught me teamwork and how you can work with your brothers,” he said. “It just shows me lots of life skills that I’m definitely going to use later in life. I’ll never give up and stuff like that.”
Next up, Turowski is going off to the University of Arizona where he plans to walk on for either the football or baseball team, maybe even both.
Honorable mention
Colton Dureson (Sr.), Scotts Valley – football, golf
Aiden Nounnan (Sr.), San Lorenzo Valley – basketball, soccer, track
John Clinkenbeard (Sr.), San Lorenzo Valley – soccer, baseball
