Sports

A young redhead blew hard one last time into her noise-maker vuvuzela, marking the end of the Soccer by the Bay Tournament in San Mateo on Aug. 21 and 22. When the echo of the horn had faded, her brother’s Scotts Valley-San Lorenzo Valley Thunder under-13 boys travel soccer team had defeated Livermore, 2-0, to claim third place in the competition that featured teams from all over California.

Scotts Valley High School wrestlers are winning tournaments left and right these days.

Scotts Valley High senior Danica Kelley took first in the 135-pound weight class bracket at the Central Coast Section Girls Southern Regional Tournament at Watsonville High on Feb. 10. The top eight wrestlers in each of the 14 weight divisions advanced to the CCS Masters...

For the first time in 52 years, the annual Wharf to Wharf Race will not begin at the traditional starting line in front of The Grove, aka the Coconut Grove, at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.   Instead, the 16,000 expected participants on Sunday will wait...

FootballDriven by a monstrous Halloween spirit, both San Lorenzo Valley and Scotts Valley high schools annihilated their football opponents in league games last weekend. On Friday night at Soquel, the Falcons left their starting line-up on the sidelines at the start of the second half as their back-ups continued the massacre of hapless Soquel Knights. The final score, 40-0, could probably have been in triple digits if not for the running clock.Despite the high winning score, San Lorenzo Valley HS didn't have such an easy job on Saturday afternoon. Visiting Santa Cruz High showed a lot of resurgence in the second half until two running TD's from Nick Salibi and Scott Poetzinger at the end of the third quarter practically sealed the win. Both teams will face their main title contender, hosts Aptos High – SLV Cougars this Friday evening, SV Falcons a week later, on Friday the 13.Water PoloWater-polo playoffs started, San Lorenzo Valley High boys hosted Harbor High on Tuesday night and lost 10-6. SLVHS girls, unbeaten league champions with a first round bye, avenged boys loss and beat Harbor 9-3 on Thursday afternoon. In the tournament championship game this Saturday they will face Stevenson at 3:30 p.m. at Santa Catalina.TennisScottsValley girls’ tennis team was unbeaten in the league. They played in the SCCAL finals at the Seascape Tennis Club this past Tuesday and Wednesday. The number 1 doubles team was the highest achiever in the tournament, with Desi Rakela-Elana Weingord claiming the league title by beating second seed, St. Francis High’s Katherine Casper-Meg Guild, 2-1. Both doubles and the whole Falcons team, league champions, made CCS finals, which will be played this Monday.Cross-CountryCross-country teams from both schools will run this Thursday, November 5, atSCCAL Meet at PintoLakeCountyPark in Watsonville, with JVs starting at 2:00 p.m., Varsity at 2:30 p.m., past our press time. We'll report the results on-line.Win NFL Tickets – Support SLV Athletics Boosters!Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers fans have a chance to win NFL tickets to the December 20game while supporting SLV Athletics Boosters. The raffle tickets for four Club Level Raiders game tickets are selling at all home football and basketball games. Cost: $20 per raffle ticket or $50 for 5 of them. You can also contact Athletic Director Mark Mercer at [email protected]. 

Scotts Valley High senior Danica Kelley has been on a tear since the beginning of the 2023 wrestling campaign, taking opponents down to the mat one by one in dominating fashion.   The Falcons’ wrestling star went 4-0 en route to a first-place finish in the...

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.”