by Kai Stoltzfus, Sports Co-Director & Chloe Van Pelt, EIC
Beach Volleyball
Hits and service points in the sand spiked as the women's varsity beach volleyball team stepped onto the grainy sand courts. With a team of six, three pairs of two compete at the varsity level on the sand under the blazing sun. Players explained the key component they experience to being successful is having excellent communication with your partner, as observed by junior Reese Theissen, who partners with junior Kate Harrington. “Having a good team that I can communicate with and work well with everyone really helps on and off the court.” With a new season comes over three new players to the sport itself. Senior Pricilla Utter has noticed how this has positively impacted the team and leads them to be victorious in their games. “Our team has really been impacted with the talented turnout of girls who are giving a new sport a try. We have so many amazing athletes on our team and we grow better every day,” Utter said. The varsity team will use these strategies as they face arguably their biggest rival of the season, Arroyo Grande.
Swim & Dive
PRHS swim and dive dove into a new kind of season this spring. The dive team grew from three divers to 12 this year and added their first male diver, Austin Cripe, since 2022. Top Diver and captain Emily Joy McNeal feels a sense of accomplishment having so many divers on the team this year. “I feel proud and excited for the future of our springboard dive team, especially with the new pool being built,” McNeal said. McNeal placed fourth place at an Arroyo Grande Invitational meet in March 2025. An abundance of divers has also made practice times a challenge with only two diving boards but McNeal has found a way to manage this uncertainty. “As captain, I try my hardest to make it to every practice, whether I am in the pool improving my own skill or on the pool deck helping to coach my peers,” McNeal said. The swim and dive team has had over three meets so far, one of them a dual meet against Templeton and Morro Bay. The first place swimmers included Garrett Haggmark in the 200m Freestyle and 100m Butterfly, Mason Ruppe in the 500 m freestyle, Ezra Smeltzer in the 100m freestyle and 50m freestyle and Keely Smith in the 100m Butterfly.
Men's Golf
Navigating the fairways and greens, the varsity boys golf team kicked off their season at the Templeton Hunter Ranch Golf Course on Mar 10, 2025. Varsity hosts six players in total with one sophomore and five seniors. Sophomore Liam Clark is first ranked with a top score of 76 at the Monarch Dunes Course in Nipomo. As Clark progresses over the season he is most interested in attending CIF towards the middle of May. “I’m most looking forward to CIF and hoping to shoot between a 76-78 would be really great,” Clark said. Second ranked and senior Mason Fotheringham has noticed how the team itself has been able to have a strong team dynamic that helps them play to the best of their ability. “We’ve been most successful in our teamwork and communication with each other,” Fotheringham said. They play their next home game at the Paso Robles Golf Course at 11:00AM.
Men's Tennis
From a team of 10 in 2024, to a team of 16 in 2025, the men’s tennis team has grown tremendously this season, their record currently being 2-3. Senior Asyel Mendoza, has recognized that this year his focus while playing is about consistency more than anything else. “I am not just focusing on making the hardest hits but being consistent in my moves to put the ball away.,” Junior Eli Moore, has also dialed in specific skills to compete at a more consistent level. “I have been working on my forehand [swings], my serves, my volleys, my backhands and actually practicing in preparation for matches coming up,” Moore said. Both athletes play individual matches as well as matches with a partner. Mendoza feels a different atmosphere when playing with his partner Jack French compared to when he plays the single player matches. “Doubles are a lot more energetic and my partner and I are always trying to support and build each other up,” Mendoza said. In both types of matches, the men’s tennis team looks forward to the wins they can get this season with a larger team and are prepared for a high competition season. The top ranked individual players start with senior Anthony Williams, second is Mendoza and third is French. The top ranked doubles pair is Moore and Williams, followed by Mendoza and French. Their next match is on April 8, 2025 vs the St. Joseph Knights on the Bearcat courts at 4:30PM.
Softball
Eleven unafraid underclassmen are stepping up to the plate as the. The varsity softball team consists of over 75 percent of its team being underclassmen. They host six freshmen, five sophomores, and two seniors. As the team kicked off their season with their first scrimmage vs the Arroyo Grande Eagles on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025 the team began to view their team dynamic and their strengths. Senior and Captain Kylee Nancolas noticed the mass amount of effort and ambition the team has to succeed. “Every practice we all come out there and we work really hard. We’re all there for a common goal and that is to get better. To do that we have to put in our best effort,” Nancolas said. Even with high effort on and off the field, there is still room to improve. Sophomore Izzy Murphy has seen an area of improvement with consistency. “We can improve on being consistent and starting out strong as a team. If we start out strong this can lead to us having a better game,” Murphy said. Their next game is on April 8, 2025 vs the Templeton Eagles at the Bearcat softball field.
Men's Volleyball
“Scrappy, athletic and funny” is how junior Joey Deliema and senior Alex Chavez describe their volleyball team. They have witness the power of strong offensive playing in their first season win 3-1 against Mission Prep. Deliema, playing as libero and Chavez, a setter, recognize that the strongest part of their team so far has been their ability to utilize their powerful hitters. “I think the best thing we have this year is our offensive plays and with players like Colin Daugherty, Ezra Smeltzer, and Brandon McWilliams we can make a big change,” Chavez said. Ahead of the team is an April San Jose tournament, providing a chance to bond and build connections outside of the court. Deliema plays as the main defense position in the back row, putting effort into perfecting his passes as well as his serves. “Serving is one of the most important parts of the game, and I have been really focusing on my serves during practice because that is half of my job out there,” Deliema said. Chavez, the senior setter, wants to “continue working on my setting and studying them to prevent things from happening,” he said. Their next game is on April 8, 2025 vs the Nipomo Titans.
Baseball
A good season starts with a strong off-season, and this has been the strategy for this year’s baseball varsity baseball team. Junior Talen Freitas, a second baseman and shortstop, acknowledges the steps this team has made to set themselves up for a successful season. “I think we had a better offseason than we did last year, we had a goal this year to win league and go to CIF, continuing the powerful season we had last year,” Freitas said. With a team of seven seniors and five juniors, this team has surpassed the maturity and understanding of the game from last year. “Last year we were learning to play together and this year we are older and have gained more knowledge of baseball,” senior outfielder Kenyon Rickson said. Freitas admits that “hitting is one of the hardest parts of baseball” and is focusing this season on getting on base. “Being able to try and get a few hits every game or get on base for your team to score runs, is probably the biggest thing for us,” Freitas said. Sophomore Xander Hermanson leads the team with a .545 batting average (54 percent of at bats he gets a hit), followed by senior Landon Cook, with a .400 average. Hermanson also leads the team in the highest on base percentage, with a 0.600 OBP (on base percentage), followed by Marcus Garcia with a 0.556 OBP. Their next game is on April 8, 2025 vs the Nipomo Titans.
Stunt
No, it's not the same as cheer. This team is a driven group who’s main goal is defeat schools in closely judged competitions filled with physicality and precision. “We are going against another team. There is no team we are cheering for. We put in the work. And that is what we show on the mat,” Sophomore Abigail Johnson. To her as well as her other 22 teammates, stunt is far from the classic cheer stationed on sidelines during football games. The PRHS stunt team is a technical, advanced and competitive group of women currently ranked number one in league. They face schools such as Arroyo Grande, Rigetti and San Luis Obispo, as do many other competitive sports. The team has found success in taking advice and criticism to improve their form and performance. “I would say the ability to take in critiques and learn new skills and put those out and use them has been our greatest success,” Johnson said. Junior Taylor Gignoux has also noticed great strength in her team this year. “Our team has been most successful so far in our pyramids and toss routines,” Gignoux said. Johnson and Gignoux are both looking forward to competing in the Big Orange Battle Stunt tournament mid-March and facing teams like SLO high for a second chance at a win. The team is led by senior captains Kiana Martinez, Stephanie Roman, Alondra Anguiano, and Brissia Centeno-Solorio.
Track & Field
From throwing, to long distance running, to hurdles, the track team has various areas of skill and work together as a team to perform to their highest skill level. In long distance running, sophomore Luke Kleinman sees how the dynamic of their runners group has improved their team bonding and community. “We’ve been successful in creating a really good team community as well as performing well on the top levels,” Kleinman said. Another senior on the team, Jocelyn Castro, notices the dynamic of the mental aspect of running. “With all the hard work that you put in, you think about your setbacks, and then you think about how you want to be better than how you were before so it really helps you improve,” Castro said. Track has over 60 players competing this year. Junior Justin Wilshusen leads in pole vault as he set the school record of 16'0 at the Atascadero meet on Mar 19, 2025. Senior Tyler Daillak leads in long distance running as he is ranked 3rd in California in the 1600m. Sophomore Samantha Roby leads in the 1 KG discus with 84’8 feet. They end their season with JV having their last meet on May 2, 2025 and varsity competes on May 8, 2025.
photos taken by Chloe Van Pelt, Jade Wagner, Joseph Taronto, Emerie Reynoso, Caden Medeiros, Colton Rundstrum, and Jesus Ursulo