Several SLO County teams, athletes advanced to state tournaments this year. Here’s a look
A number of San Luis Obispo County high school teams and athletes made deep playoff runs and excelled in regional and statewide competition this year.
Here’s a look at some of the high-achieving squads and individual athletes in multiple boys and girls sports from around the county.
SLO cross country
San Luis Obispo High won the CIF-Central Section title and the girls team took third place, both qualifying for state championships.
Senior Milo Skapinsky recorded a 15:10.9 time at the state final in the Division 1 boys meet in the 5,000 meters, finishing fourth overall; Quinn White finished 14th with a 15:28 time.
The SLO boys finished fifth and the girls finished 15th in the state Division 1 state final.
Phoebe Drazsnzak finished 43rd overall at 18:57.6 in the 5,000 meters, and Brinley Ewen was 80th with a 19:42 time.
“This was our first year ever at Division 1, which came because of our past success,” said Coach Adam Basch. “Both teams won Mountain League and the county championship. We were the only team to send both boys and girls to the state championships in Division 1. That’s pretty cool for a Central Coast school.”
Basch said the program has been strong, and last year the boys’ team won the state Division 2 title.
“They had every intention of winning in Division 1 as well and did pretty well,” Basch said. “The future is strong also with two junior and three sophomore runners.”
Skapinsky, who will run next year at Stanford University (a perennial Top 5 NCAA program) and Templeton High junior runner Joshua Bell finished in the Top 10 at the Dec. 3 Champs Sports Cross Country (formally Foot Locker Cross Country) West Regional.
Skapinsky recorded a 15:29 time while finishing second and Bell logged a 15:33 time, coming in sixth.
The top-10 finish qualified them to compete against runners from the Midwest, South and Northeast Regional meets in the Champs Sports Country Championships National Finals, to be held Saturday at Morley Field, Balboa Park in San Diego.
“Milo is consistent and tends to keep his focus really well,” Basch said. “He has a race plan and the ability to hang out and burst ahead when he needs to. He also is a great teammate and helps others. He has a good team focus.”
SLO High runner Luke Reiss will attend Western Washington University in Bellingham, where he’ll run cross country. Quinn White was another standout for the Tigers on the boys team and plans to race in college as well.
SLO Volleyball
The Tigers went undefeated in Mountain League action with a 14-0 record and posted a 26-6 overall record.
SLO advanced to the Central Section Division 1 playoffs, losing to Clovis West 3-1 and then fell to Edison 3-2 in the state final.
The Tigers had wins against Clovis West, Bullard, and Centennial during the course of the season.
Arroyo Grande girls water polo
The Eagles went 27-8 this year, posting a 10-0 Mountain League record.
The league title marked Arroyo Grande’s 20th consecutive championship in girls water polo.
Arroyo Grande was ranked in the top 10 nationally during the season. They lost in the CIF NorCal Division II championship 10-5 to Carondelet High of Concord.
The Eagles’ Berkeley Sinner had 102 goals, Sophie McGehee posted 36 assists, Bay Burnett had 187 saves and Natalie Whitfield had 80 steals, all individual team highs.
Morro Bay girls water polo
The Pirates posted a 21-12 record and finished as the Mountain League runner-up at 8-2, losing to Arroyo Grande in the championship game 14-10.
Morro Bay finished third at the Western States Women’s Water Polo Tournament in Stockton, and finished as runner-up in the Division 2 playoffs said Coach Ryan Davis.
The Pirates beat Santa Ynez 14-2, Strathmore 18-3, and Redwood 12-4 before losing to Garces 14-10.
“Devin Downing had an outstanding game,” Davis said of the final. “Pearl Wishon had a great game coming off the bench, and Quinn Wilson led the team in drawn power plays.”
The Pirates finished second in Division 2 for the second year in a row and ended the season ranked 42nd in the nation, Davis said.
Paso Robles girls cross country
The Bearcats’ girls cross country team placed second in the Division 2 CIF-Central Section championship meet. Sydney Moore finished second overall in the 5,000 meters with a time of 18:58.91. The top two teams qualified for state.
Kalani Gaviola logged a time of 20:45.76.
“Sydney ended up being the top female runner in the area,” said Coach Ivan Huff. “She she has gotten some offers from college. So she’s got to make a decision here and just wants to try to have a good track season and then make some decisions.”
Paso Robles finished 20th in the state in the Division 2 championships, and Moore came in 26th with a 18:47.6 time at that event.
“They really handled the pressure at the county meet and league meet, and we did really to get to state,” said Coach Ivan Huff. “We had their best performance at the CIF meet we weren’t expecting to go to the state meet. And that was a pleasant surprise to finish second on get on the podium.”
Huff said the sport is “all about conditioning.”
The Paso Robles’ boys cross country finished second in the county and second in Mountain League action. They were led by Tyler Daillak.
“He was our number one runner the entire year,” Huff said.
Daillak posted a 16:59:42 time in the league championship in the 5K on Nov. 10 for seventh and Brian Arndt was ninth at 17:18:42.
Atascadero girls golf, cross country and football
Golfer Julianna Honea advanced to the Southern California regionals.
Honea shot a 77 at the San Luis Obispo Country Club during the CIF-Central Section finals, becoming the first female Atascadero High golfer to ever make it to state competition.
Another Greyhound standout in cross country, Frannie Perry, was the CIF Division III Central Section champion in cross country.
Perry posted a time of 19.12.10 in the 5,000 meters.
Atascadero football continues to roll with a CIF-Central Section title, winning 27-13 over Pioneer Valley in Division 5 football.
The Greyhounds (10-4) went on to beat Colusa 21-0 in a CIF state football championship contest on Dec. 3.
Atascadero plays San Gabriel in the Division 6-A state championship game on Saturday.
The Greyhounds are led by quarterback Kane Cooks, who has tallied 1,440 passing yards and 1,025 rushing yards and a combined 40 touchdowns thus far.
Kane’s brother, Trey Cooks, has rushed for 1,743 yards and 18 touchdowns.
This story was originally published December 6, 2022 at 11:49 AM.
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