Soccer
After a slow start, the Santa Ynez Valley Union High boys soccer team found its footing in the second half against visiting Pioneer Valley and remained unbeaten heading into the holiday break. The Pirates rallied back from a second-half deficit to claim a 4-2 victory Dec. 16 and improve to 8-0-2 on the season. With the loss, the Panthers fell to 7-3.Santa Ynez took a 1-0 lead into the half, but saw that advantage quickly erased when Pioneer Valley scored back-to-back goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half, both off the foot of Joaquin Ruiz, to go up 2-1.
Pirates junior forward Alex Uribe evened the score just a couple minutes after Ruiz’s second goal when he took the rebound of his own missed shot off the post and fired it to the back of the net. Junior Romario Diaz put Santa Ynez back out front in the 69th minute and then scored again in the 77th minute to close the door. Pirates senior Blake Joyner scored the lone goal of the first half on a penalty kick after Uribe was taken down near the end line by Pioneer Valley’s Marco Fuentes, who received a yellow card on the play. Joyner sent the kick inside the right post with just 2:30 remaining in the half.
Santa Ynez will be back in action at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 3, when it returns to Los Padres League play against visiting Lompoc.
Wrestling
The Santa Ynez Valley Union High grapplers had a busy weekend before their holiday break as they placed fourth among 13 teams in a tournament at Channel Islands.The Pirates went 7-2 in the event, which took place Dec. 16-17, to improve to 10-2 on the season. Their two losses were against eventual champion Ventura and host Channel Islands by three points.
Eight Santa Ynez wrestlers placed in the tournament, including first-place finishes by heavyweight Lee Jensen, who went 9-0 with nine pins to stay unbeaten on the season, and 160-pounder Josh Schaeffer, who went 8-1 with six pins and a major decision. Blake Chaves (195 pounds) and Abe Santos (170) each went 8-1 with eight pins and placed second in their weight classes. Joey Norcia (152) also came in second with an 8-1 record, including five pins and a major decision.
Zack Tolson (120) went 7-2 with six pins and placed third; Riley Huffman (145) was 7-2 with seven pins to place fourth; and Gabe Flores (182) went 5-4 with five pins to place fifth.
Also for the Pirates, 138-pound sophomore Canyon Farnsworth overcame an 0-5 start and picked up three come-from-behind pins to finish 3-5.
“It was a pretty inspirational performance by him,” assistant coach Michael Aanerud said of Farnsworth. “(He) showed a lot of resolve.” Santa Ynez will return home to open Los Padres League play Thursday, Jan. 5, against Cabrillo.
Basketball
The Santa Ynez boys basketball team had a rough run as it closed in on its holiday break.In a tournament at Fillmore on Dec. 8-10, Santa Ynez got off to a slow start and was unable to recover in an opening 55-35 loss to Carpinteria, and then blew a 13-point halftime lead in a 48-45 loss to Los Angeles Baptist. In their final game, the Pirates dropped a heartbreaker, 44-42, to Nordhoff.
Coach Rod Caughell said his team only played “three good quarters per game” during the tournament and improving that effort was one of the team’s top priorities going forward.
After the tournament, Santa Ynez dropped a pair of home games, a 52-31 loss to Templeton on Dec. 13 and a 72-47 setback against Cabrillo on Dec. 15, before heading to Carpinteria for a tournament Dec. 16-17. At that event, the Pirates fell to Port Hueneme, 48-47, and Fillmore, 46-28. Santa Ynez bounced back against Carpinteria on Dec. 20 when Karl Fredrickson hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds to lift the team to a 34-32 win. The Pirates led by six at halftime in that game, but trailed in the fourth before Fredrickson’s clutch shot gave them the lead for good.
Santa Ynez (2-8) will return to action Wednesday, Jan. 4, at Nipomo.
Water polo
The Santa Ynez girls water polo team bounced back from a one-point loss to Atascadero with another nail-biter, this one a 10-8 win over Cate School on Dec. 14.Against Cate, Michelle Kee and Holly Walter each scored three goals, while Leah Parlato and Megan Savage finished with two apiece.
The Pirates will return to the water Wednesday, Jan. 4, at Lompoc.