High School Sports

Despite finishing as the runner-up to Notre Dame-Salinas for the second straight year in the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s Mission Division, the Hollister High girls tennis team has given longtime coach Ed Cecena and assistant coach Rick Espino plenty of joy this season.  “My highlight...

After going 0-4 against the tougher teams on its schedule including Wilcox, Valley Christian, Palma and Salinas, Hollister High senior Asher Kearns said the team is ready to finally record a signature victory in its season-finale against Aptos on Nov. 4.  “I know we can...

The Hollister High field hockey team has never won a league championship since it started fielding a program eight years ago.  That all changed this season as the Haybalers have clinched at least a share of the Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division title. Hollister...

Caitlin Miller grew up playing soccer until she found a sport she truly fell in love with—volleyball.  The Hollister High senior started playing volleyball as an eighth-grader in part because her older sister, former Haybalers standout Nicole Miller, played the sport.  “I would always watch my...

Led by senior standout Julia Torrez, the Hollister High girls golf team is having another solid season on the links.  Torrez shot an even par 36 against Notre Dame-Salinas in the season-opener at Ridgemark, a score that seventh-year coach Molly Orsetti believes is a school...

After struggling through a one-win season last year, the Gavilan College women’s volleyball team is back on track.  Entering the week, the Rams were 5-3, having won four of their last five matches. They’re doing it with a similar formula and a familiar face in...

Before the season started, Hollister High senior Alex Valencia set a lofty goal for himself: average 10-plus tackles a game. The 5-foot-11, 190 pound inside linebacker is close, which means he’s having a pretty solid season.   “I’m averaging nine tackles a game so I feel...

As a returning cross-country athlete, Melina Chavez spent the summer by—you guessed it—running.  Unlike most of her peers, however, Chavez did most of her running on a treadmill instead of on the trails. The kicker?  “I just preferred it better than running outside,” the Hollister High...

Having played just four matches through the first three weeks of the season, Hollister High girls water polo coach Rachel Smithee is looking forward to the team getting more match time.  “We have the next two weekends where we’re doing tournaments so I think it’s...

It wouldn’t be a stretch to say the Hollister High football team is coming off one of the more improbable victories in program history.  Trailing by 10 points to Monterey High with under four minutes remaining in their Sept. 16 non-league game, the Haybalers pulled...