Sports

It had been a decade since the Scotts Valley High girls’ basketball team made it all the way to the Central Coast Section finals back during the 2015-16 season. That drought was broken Thursday night as the No. 2 seeded Falcons cruised to a 58-41...

Pacific Grove Pony fell short to Santa Cruz Pony, as Santa Cruz won the Pacific Grove Invitational 7-2.

This week’s edition of the Press Banner Sports Ticker highlights local prep athletes for their performances during the week of March 25-31.    Preps of the Week Boys: Scotts Valley High senior Lorenzo Gonzalez won both the shot put and discus events during a Santa Cruz Coast...

Tanner Murray is the kind of kid parents love, kids look up to and coaches dream of having on their team. So, it’s no wonder that this San Lorenzo Valley High School grad (class of 2017) has the whole valley cheering him on as he embarks on the next exciting chapter of his life, playing baseball for the Tampa Bay Rays. While he lettered in baseball, football and basketball during his junior and senior years at SLVHS, Murray has always had an abiding love for baseball. His baseball career began in his own backyard, playing whiffle ball with his dad, Scott, and continued on with San Lorenzo Valley Little League (Full Disclosure: This reporter was the President of the SLVLL during a portion of the time Tanner was playing.  I take no credit for his well-deserved success). In 2017, he was named “Athlete of the Year” at SLVHS, after helping his baseball team achieve the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League title with a 9-3 record, surpassing the other five teams in the league. After high school, Murray attended UC Davis, and found a new, but familiar, home on the field with the Aggies. He dug in as shortstop, and parlayed that passion into a stint with the Orleans Firebirds during summer camp in Cape Cod in 2019. Cape Cod is asummer baseball league, says Murray. It’s part of UC Davis, and probably where the Rays’ scout saw him. In a video available on the Firebirds’ YouTube page, Murray dished with “Bird Bites” host Scotty Gange, and talked about his dream of someday playing in the big leagues. Well, the big leagues are getting closer: On June 11, 2020, Shortstop Tanner Murray was the 4th round draft pick by the Tampa Bay Rays. 2020 has been a heck of a year, and COVID-19 hasn’t done most industries any favors. Turns out baseball is one of them. In a regular year, the MLB draft is 40 rounds of teams selecting their choice players; this year, those 40 rounds were reduced to just five. Five rounds, with hundreds of potential picks chewing on their lip, pacing the floor and waiting to hear if their name is called. Murray’s name was called in the 4th round, 125th overall. What set Murray apart? “Well, I’m young,” said Murray. “I’m a calendar year younger than everyone else in my draft class. They tend to draft shortstops, and that’s my category. And I’m a coachable guy—I play the game the way the coaches like it to be played.” His previous baseball coaches would agree, and they all reached out to him to offer their congratulations once word of Murray’s success hit the airwaves. “I had hundreds of people calling and texting to congratulate me,” said Murray. “People I hadn’t spoken with in 15 years were so excited for me! It took me about three days to get back to everyone and thank them.” The draft seemed to come at just the right moment. Murray had just finished his last final the day before, and he was joined at Davis by family members. His parents, grandparents and older sister London were all there, holding their breath. After Murray’s name was called, there was a wave of cheers and tears that enveloped the room. Now that Murray’s career plans have played out, he’s still looking into classes at Davis for the fall quarter since the COVID has impacted training camps. Although previously interested in the field of physical therapy (thanks to his mom, Chantel, an adaptive physical education teacher with SLVUSD), Murray has now changed his focus to interior design. “I have a lot of good ideas, and it all flows pretty easily for me,” he says. With any luck, those interiors will come standard with air conditioning. Is Murray ready to take on the Florida heat? “They hold spring training in Port Charlotte. I haven’t been to their spring training facility, but I flew out to their major league stadium in Tampa.” And? Murray grins, “It’s pretty awesome.” The kid with the bright blond hair and the killer arm wants to send a message to all the kids who are playing sports, or waiting for the pandemic to cede so they can get back on the field/court/diamond. “When everything gets back to normal, play as many sports as you can for as long as you can,” says Murray. “Always keep a smile on your face, finish whatever you start, and listen to your coaches. They know more than the players do! When your opportunity comes to play your dream position, go after it. Go 100%. You won’t regret it. And finally, treasure your teammates and friends. The more you push your teammates to get better, the more they’ll push you. Those relationships will create friendships, those friendships will create memories, and those memories are things you’ll cherish for the rest of your life.” 

Aptos High last week announced that Johnny Velez was named the new head coach for both the boys’ and girls’ wrestling teams. The 31-year-old Aptos High alum is replacing long time coach Rudy Guzman who retired at the end of the 2023-24 season. Guzman was an...

 E-mail local sports news to lucjan@pressbanner.com or call 438-2500.Cross-countryScotts Valley HSHere are Falcons’ cross-country October results:In the league meet on October 1 vs. Santa Cruz High, boys won 18-45 Luke McCartney placed 1st, John Ross 2nd and Davis Ross 4th. Girls lost 37-18; Jessica Kain was Falcons’ top finisher in 3rd place.At the October 3rd Artichoke Invitational in Half Moon Bay: John Ross won it, Luke McCartney placed second.At the October 10th Serra Invitational at Crystal Springs, Noah Bassi won the JV competition beating 232 other runners, while Ross and McCartney made the top 30 in the field of 252 Varsity runners.In the Henry Cowell triple league meet on October 15, John Ross won the boys’ competition, while Jessica Kain was 2nd and Annika Osterkamp 7th in the girls’ competition. Boys beat Soquel 16-47, lost to San Lorenzo Valley 27-29. Girls beat Soquel 17-44, lost to SLV 22-37.San Lorenzo Valley HSIn the triple league meet on October 1,SLV boys beat Mt. Madonna and Harbor by the same 15-45 score lost 28-27 to St Francis. Girls won all their league meets to date.On October 3rd Artichoke Invite boys placed 3rd, girls 2nd.At October 10th Serra Invitational at Crystal Springs, both teams placed 3rd.At the Henry Cowell Park triple league meet on October 15, Abbey Meck won the girls’ race; her team beat Scotts Valley 22-37 and Soquel 17-44. Ian Anderson was 2nd, as boys beat Scotts Valley 27-29 and Soquel 15-45.Boys are ranked 1st in Central Coast Section's Division 4, girls 2nd.Girls’ volleyballScotts Valley HS played five games in October, winning three and losing two. They are 5-6 in league, made the playoffs already with three more regular season games left. San Lorenzo Valley is 1-5 in October, with the only win against St. Francis.Girls’ tennisWith a new coach, Matt O'Brien, at the helm, San Lorenzo Valley HS girls’ tennis re-entered Santa Cruz County Athletic League this fall, after having no team for the previous three years. O'Brien is recruiting heavily, promoting tennis, especially to kids exiting the middle school where he teaches and coaches.Scotts Valley HS is on the opposite end of the spectrum, they clinched the SCCAL championship with two rounds of league play left to go. They were nominated as last week's Falcons of the Week.FootballBoth teams started the league play with blow-out wins last weekend. San Lorenzo Valley beat Soquel 35-6 and Scotts Valley dispatched Harbor, 55-13. They meet this Saturday at 2 p.m. in Scotts Valley at the traditionally big rivalry game.Water poloLady Cougars are still unbeaten, sitting at the top of the Monterey Bay League's Pacific Division, with two league games left before the playoffs start.