SanLuisObispo.com: Sports

Cal Poly's Great West Football Conference title hopes over

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:18 PST

By Joshua D. Scroggin -- DAVIS � The Cal Poly football team has unfolded this story enough times to make it seem like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Four halftime leads. Four losses. All on the road.

The glass ceiling gets even droopier when considering the Mustangs (4-5, 1-2 Great West Football Conference) are 0-5 overall away from home and winless on artificial turf.

Cal Poly Football Notebook: Mustangs led at halftime � again

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:14 PST

By Joshua D. Scroggin -- DAVIS � Just as it has in its past three road games, the Cal Poly football team went into the half with the lead.

But the Mustangs (4-5, 1-2 Great West Football Conference) could have been in danger of losing that advantage before the half of Saturday�s 23-10 loss to UC Davis (5-4, 2-1 Great West) if not for the Aggies� clock management early in the game.

UC Davis burned two of its three first-half timeouts in the first quarter, which allowed Cal Poly to run out the clock to keep the Aggies from potentially driving for the go-ahead score in the final two minutes of the second quarter.

College Roundup: Cal Poly stuns Big West volleyball leader

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:12 PST

The Cal Poly volleyball team snapped a seven-match losing streak with a 23-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-18 Big West Conference win over first-place UC Santa Barbara on Saturday night in Mott Gym.

Freshman middle blocker Jennifer Keddy led all players in kills (17) and hitting percentage (.500).

Keddy led a quartet of Mustangs (7-19, 3-10) with double-digit kills, including Megan McConnell (16), Dominique Olowolafe (10) and Chelsea Hardin (10).

Prep Football: North County Christian wins season finale

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:10 PST

By Tribune staff report -- Playing in his final football game for North County Christian High, senior Josh Feld had 16 carries for 148 yards and three touchdowns and added a touchdown reception as the Crusaders beat visiting Alpaugh 66-6 in a game that was stopped at halftime because of the 8-man mercy rule Saturday.

Quarterback Keelan Willison threw four touchdown passes to three different receivers leading North County Christian (1-8, 1-3 Coast Valley League) to its first win of the season in the team�s final game.

Tyler Roth had two catches for 17 yards, both going for touchdowns for North County Christian.

Prep Football: Atascadero finds its groove in crushing Arroyo Grande

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:22 PST

By Donovan Aird -- In mid-October, there were questions about the Atascadero High football team.

After all, following a 13-3 loss to Righetti, the Greyhounds sat 4-2 overall and 0-1 in PAC 7 play. It was an uncharacteristic start for a program that had suffered only one other league loss since 2005, leaving many wondering if Atascadero had the makings of a group that could again look like the team to beat in the PAC 7 and make another playoff run.

So much for those questions.

Prep Football Roundup: Paso�s Burbank scores four touchdowns in rout

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:19 PST

By Tribune staff report -- Paso Robles� Robbie Burbank scored four touchdowns for the Bearcats and ran for 165 yards on 41 carries Friday night in a 62-7 PAC 7 football win at San Luis Obispo.

The Bearcats (4-5, 2-2 PAC 7) defense left the Tigers scoreless for the first three quarters, and the Bearcats scored in every quarter.

Dylan Candaele scored the only touchdown for the Tigers in the fourth quarter with a 7-yard touchdown run.

College Football: Mustangs look to win fourth straight Horseshoe against UC Davis

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:14 PST

By Joshua D. Scroggin -- Memories are always a bit sharper when it comes to recalling rivalry games.

Annual battles for trophies, bells, cups or whatever the sacred object may be seem to resonate much more than those that don�t.

And the only visions current UC Davis players have to summon about their annual football rivalry with Cal Poly � the Horseshoe Classic � are three straight losses, two by lopsided scores.

Barmann finishes second at regional

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:12 PST

By Tribune staff report -- Cuesta College�s Kelly Barmann finished second overall Friday at the Southern California Community College Cross Country Championships at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.

Barmann completed the 5K course in 17 minutes, 24 seconds in leading the Cougars to a seventh-place team finish at Mt. SAC.

Paige Petersen finished 38th with a time of 19:44, and Jennifer Love came in 59 at 20:15.

San Luis Obispo girls tennis team sweeps PAC 7 finals

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:10 PST

By Tribune staff report -- The San Luis Obispo High girls tennis team swept the singles and doubles titles at the PAC 7 finals Friday in Nipomo.

In singles, two Tigers met in the finals after Abigail Will defeated Arroyo Grande�s Mia McKinstry 7-5, 6-0 and Tori Troesch beat Pioneer Valley�s Caitlyn Brown 6-0, 6-3 in the semifinals.

Will defeated Troesch 6-1, 6-2 to repeat as singles champion. The sophomores also met last year in the title match as freshmen with Will coming out on top.

Big West Soccer Tournament: Cal Poly downs UC Irvine to advance to final

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:52 PST

By Joshua D. Scroggin -- It was almost as if Julianne Grinstead was laying low.

The 5-foot-9 defender is usually the big target on set pieces for the Cal Poly women�s soccer team, the tallest player available to redirect a free kick past the opposing goalkeeper.

But in the 22nd minute of the Mustangs� Big West Tournament semifinal at Alex G. Spanos Stadium on Thursday, UC Irvine really wasn�t paying much attention to the senior defender as teammate Kristina Condon-Sherwood set up for the corner kick.

Prep Football: Arroyo Grande, Atascadero meet with a lot on the line

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:49 PST

By Donovan Aird -- Independent of each other, the Arroyo Grande and Atascadero high school football programs have been far from historical strangers to success.

What makes their PAC 7 league meeting at Memorial Stadium in Atascadero at 7:30 tonight a departure from recent years, though, is that they enter in position to make simultaneous playoff runs for just the second time since 2001.

�We�re thankful to be in a position where these (late-season) games mean something to both teams,� said Arroyo Grande coach Tom Goossen, who has been with the Eagles� staff since 1986. �We�ve had some wars with (Atascadero) in the past going back to when coach (Larry) Welsh was there, and this is a very similar type of team to when Larry was there.�

Prep Football: LPL logjam may be uncluttered tonight

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:46 PST

By Donovan Aird -- Playoff scenarios and configurations are usually complicated messes of contingencies.

But as far as the Los Padres League�s top five high school football teams are concerned, some of the math is pretty simple: four of them will make it to the postseason, and one won�t.

St. Joseph (8-0, 6-0), the third-ranked team in the CIF-Southern Section Northwest Division, is a lock. Also sitting comfortably is sixth-ranked Pioneer Valley (7-1, 4-1).

Cross Country: It�s Garcia�s day at PAC 7 final

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:44 PST

By Donovan Aird -- As the two best boys cross country runners in the PAC 7 league, Andrew Garcia and Hugo Gutierrez have crossed paths before.

In fact, the seniors finished 1-2 at the annual San Luis Obispo County meet last week, with Arroyo Grande High�s Gutierrez coming in just one second ahead of Nipomo�s Garcia.

Garcia flipped that result Thursday afternoon at the league finals held at the Fairbanks Memorial Cross Country Course adjacent to Cuesta College, winning the 5K race in 16 minutes, 3.4 seconds. Gutierrez was second in 16:18.1.

Cuesta volleyball team downs Ventura

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:38 PST

By Tribune staff report -- Mackenzie Sullivan had 17 kills, and Kayla Kribbs added nine kills Thursday day as Cuesta College defeated Ventura 25-16, 14-25, 25-20, 25-17 in a Western Stat Conference volleyball match.

Cuesta�s Brooke Arnold had eight kills, and Ashlyn Cate had 41 assists for the Cougars (3-4 WSC), who avenged an earlier defeat to Ventura.

Kaitlyn Henry and Nicole Krump each had six kills for the Cougars.

Prep Roundup: Tigers� top tennis players move into PAC 7 semifinals

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:37 PST

San Luis Obispo High�s Tori Troesch won both of her singles matchups at the PAC 7 girls tennis prelims Thursday, defeating Nipomo�s Bianca Grant 6-0, 6-0, and Arroyo Grande�s Hayley Veal 6-2, 6-1.

Troesch will play Pioneer Valley�s Caitlin Brown in the semifinals today.

Brown swept both of her singles matches � 6-3, 6-2 against Atascadero�s Kristin MacBride and 1-6, 6-1, 10-7 against Paso Robles� Maria Petiy.

College soccer: 110 minutes and fit to be tied

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:08 PST

By Joshua D. Scroggin -- The Cal Poly men�s soccer team is one of three guaranteed to play in the Big West Conference�s postseason tournament, an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.

And of those three, which includes No. 3 UC Santa Barbara and No. 20 UC Irvine, unranked Cal Poly is the one that needs it most.

�That�s our only way in,� Cal Poly head coach Paul Holocher said. �Our only way into the NCAA playoffs is with the automatic qualifier. But that�s what�s great about the tournament. We�re the only conference in the west that has a tournament like this.

Prep Roundup: Morro Bay runners shine at LPL finals

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:48 PST

By Tribune staff report -- Morro Bay High won the girls team title at the Los Padres League cross country finals at River Park in Lompoc on Wednesday afternoon, while Templeton�s Savannah Camacho finished first individually.

Meanwhile, Morro Bay�s James Shipe won the boys race as an individual.

Camacho, a sophomore who finished second at the San Luis Obispo County meet last week, won on the 3-mile course in 18 minutes, 25 seconds.

College Roundup: Cal Poly picks up Big West cross country awards

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:08 PST

By Tribune staff report -- Cal Poly�s Joe Gatel, Mark Conover and Kayleigh Tyerman have been honored by the Big West Conference for their cross country successes.

Gatel, who set a course record at the Riverside Farm Course in winning the men�s individual Big West title Saturday, has been named the men�s athlete of the year.

Conover, who guided the Mustangs to their seventh straight team title Saturday and 10th overall title, is the men�s coach of the year. It is the eighth time Conover has been named the men�s coach of the year, a league record.

Fishing Report: Los Osos resident enjoyed Big Bass Splash tournament in Texas

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:05 PST

By Wayne Shaw -- �I�ve fished in bass tournaments for more than 40 years, but this one was the most fantastic event of them all.�

Leonard Willhite of Los Osos was referring to the trip he and longtime companion Joyce Leage attended at Lake Sam Rayburn, Texas, in April. It was the 25th anniversary McDonald�s Big Bass Splash Tournament, an event with a guaranteed $1 million payout. It was advertised as �The Largest Amateur Big Bass Fishing Tournament in history.�

Willhite was enticed to make the 4,370-mile round trip because it sounded like fun and it was a vacation, too. Probably, the excitement of hourly prizes for all eight hours of each day�s competition had something to do with his decision also.

Arroyo Grande Eagles win water polo match against San Luis Obispo Tigers

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:53 PST

By Tribune staff report -- The Arroyo Grande High boys water polo team got four goals apiece from Eric Marsh and Luka Vukomanovic in an 11-10 PAC 7 win over San Luis Obispo on Tuesday in Arroyo Grande.

The Eagles (18-10, 9-1) withstood a five-goal fourth quarter from San Luis Obispo (15-9, 5-4) after leading 8-5 coming in.

The Tigers were led by Kyle McAlahney, who led all scorers with five goals.