How SLO County’s standout teams and athletes did in this year’s winter sports
Several teams and players achieved success in San Luis Obispo County high school winter sports, including strong league, CIF and state performances.
Here are some of the countywide team and player highlights, including soccer, basketball, cheer and wrestling.
Atascadero
Boys basketball
The Atascadero boys basketball team (21-11) finished runner-up in the CIF Central Section Division 2 final and earned a berth in the CIF state tournament.
Atascadero guard Shea Buckley was named Tribune county Player of the Year and first-team Mountain League while Damon Mitchell earned league Defensive Player of the Year.
The Greyhounds went on to open the CIF State Division 3 playoffs with a 69-62 road win against Warren, of Downey, on March 3, before falling 67-61 to Colony, of Ontario.
Girls basketball
The Greyhounds (21-9) made it the CIF Central Section Division 4 semifinal game.
They were led by McKenna Nichols, Jacey George, Laney Arnold and Mia Purchase.
Nichols was a Sunset League first-team selection.
Girls wrestling
Emma Garrett took third place at Central Section Masters this year, and the senior recorded a career record of 128-42.
“And what makes that even more mind-blowing is that roughly 90% of those wins came by pin,” Coach Joe Belmonte said in an Instagram post. “That speaks to her relentless mindset, her toughness and her refusal to ever back down from a challenge. Emma is one of the most driven, kind and inspirational athletes I have ever been around.”
Garrett earned a berth in the state tournament as well.
Arroyo Grande
Girls basketball
Ellie Sloan was first-team Mountain League selection.
Girls soccer
Callie Barker and Eva Kerr were first team Mountain League selections in soccer.
Boys wresting
Levi Padilla was a first-team Mountain League selection.
Mission Prep
Hunter Drake (Mountain League boys basketball), Peyton Pierce (Ocean League girls soccer) and Micah Hoffman (Ocean League boys soccer) were first-team selections in their respective leagues and sports.
Morro Bay
Girls basketball
The Pirates (21-7) shared a league title with Righetti and made it to a CIF Central Section Division 3 semifinal.
Senior Violet Pace, who was Tribune county Player of the Year, eclipsed her 1,000th career point on varsity, and Coach Alex Engel earned his 100th career win.
Wresting
Abby Tuller was a CIF champion and appeared in the state tournament as well.
Nipomo
Girls wrestling
Nipomo successfully defended its 2025 team title with a repeat victory of the Central Coast Athletic Association girls wrestling championship, held Jan. 31.
The program “will continue to grow and (the coaches) look forward to continuing to build on the programs successes from the last several years,” said athletic director Russ Edwards, noting the JV team won its championship as well.
Four individual CIF champions were: freshman Rocio Ayala, 110 pounds; senior Nikole Navarro, 135 pounds; sophomore Tasi Maumausolo Matagi, 190 pounds; and sophomore Taya Maumausolo Matagi, 235 pounds. Navarro was the league MVP for the upper weight division class.
Including those four CIF champion girls, 10 girls total qualified for the CIF Masters tournament, according to Nipomo athletic director Russ Edwards.
The other six were: 100-pound division sophomore Yolette Esliman (CIF second place); 105-pound division junior Madi Mendez (CIF sixth place); 115-pound division junior Cecilia Villanueva (CIF fourth place); 130-pound division senior Asia’h Scheidt (CIF third place); 145-pound division senior Monse Garcia (CIF sixth place); and 155-pound division senior Karina Sandoval (CIF sixth place). The team finished sixth at Masters with four girls medaling. Scheidt finished seventh at 130 pounds, Navarro finished sixth at 135 pounds, Tasi Maumausolo Matagi finished third at 190 pounds, qualifying for state, and Taya Maumausolo Matagi was the 235-pound Masters champion and voted upper weight Masters Championship MVP.
Taya’s first loss of the season happened in the championship match at state, Edwards said. Taya finished second at state with an overall record of 38-1 for the season. Taya finished sixth at state last year as a freshman.
Boys soccer
Nipomo won the CIF Central Section Division 5 championship versus Dos Palos, 6-1.
The Titans (19-6-3) had an offensive outpouring in the title game at home, including goals from Shane Smeda, Roman Cortez, Casey Lemus, Finnean Callaghan and two from Chase Myers. Noah Krebs and Sebastian Zarate each had two assists.
Nipomo won a first-round Division 5 CIF state game 3-3 (shootout) versus Roosevelt before falling 5-0 in the second round to Crystal Springs.
Krebs, Cortez and Myers each had goals in the state win over Roosevelt.
“This year we have a group of talented guys, but the thing that made this team so special was our connection,” Krebs said. “We are the team with the strongest bond. We’ve been playing together since we were little kids and that’s a huge factor in our success this season. This season the most enjoyable thing for me was the CIF run. There was always a lot of fans supporting, and winning important games is really fun.”
Paso Robles
The school named its top winter athletes from each team who the coaching staff considers the best athlete on that team.
The school’s top athletes in their respective sports included the following: Camila Landin (girls wrestling); Drake Mello (boys wrestling); Lila Colegrove (girls soccer); Pedro Sandoval (boys soccer); Kate Harrington (girls basketball); Jeremy Borm (boys basketball); Teagan Borla (competition cheer).
Boys wrestling
The team won the Mountain League with several first-team league selections in Logan Camack, Isaiah Mendez, Saul Coronado, Josh Willis, Pedro Coronado and Caleb Koloski.
Mello was the league MVP for the lower weight division.
San Luis Obispo
Cheer
The team competed at four events, including the CIF-Central Section championship, where it placed fourth out of 11 teams, and the CIF state championship.
Captains included Sadie Fischer and Piper Davis.
“Their leadership was the engine of this team,” said Coach Lisa McDonald. “They were instrumental in maintaining morale and focus during our most rigorous training blocks, helping a predominantly rookie roster bridge the gap between basic skills and the technical precision required for a CIF comp routine.”
Season award recipients: Daisy Brito Amador (Black & Gold / Most Outstanding); Piper Davis (MVP); Lilly Miller (Hustle & Grit); Lauren Rethmeier (Standout Rookie).
“Watching these athletes transform from a group of rookies into a top-5 finisher at the section championship was a testament to their work ethic,” McDonald said. “They’ve proven that cheerleading at SLO High is a rigorous, elite-level sport, and earning a spot at the CIF state championship was the perfect way to validate their effort.”
Girls soccer
The Tigers (14-3-2, 7-0-1) finished Mountain League champions.
Willa Scott, Kynsi Szytel, Sloan Retsek, Kalah Ashby and June Scott were each first-team all-league selections.
Girls wrestling
Emiri Sarabia finished as the individual league and CIF champion.
Boys wrestling
Matthew Milner was a top 12 state placer.
Milner was a first-team Mountain League selection, and Johnny Olmos was MVP of the league’s lower weight division.
Templeton
Girls soccer
The Eagles (11-6-6, 6-1-3 Ocean) placed second in Ocean league with Mckenna White voted league goalie MVP.
The team made it to the semifinals in CIF-Central Section Division 4 playoffs before losing in double overtime.
Madelyn Becker, Maleah Canales and Reagan Leavitt were first-team Ocean League selections.
Junior Kennley Sizemore led the team with 15 goals; Leavitt had 12 goals and four assists. White recorded 152 saves on the season.
Boys basketball
Harrison Bays was a first-team Sunset League selection for the Eagles (19-11, 4-4 Sunset).
Girls basketball
Gabriela Barroso was a first-team Sunset League selection for the Eagles (15-10, 6-2 Sunset).
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