SYHS Winter Teams See Action in CIF Playoffs

By Mike Chaldu michael@santaynezvalleystar.com

The third week of February brought CIF playoff action to the Cen tral Section, with all of Santa Ynez High's basketball and soccer teams taking part in the postseason, and Pirate wrestlers competing in the section tournament also. Meanwhile, a couple of SYHS spring teams got their seasons started.

Boys basketball

After finishing the regular season 19-8 (10-4 and third place in the Ocean League), the Pirates earned the fifth seed in the Di vision III bracket and a home game against Righetti in the first round.

Santa Ynez overcame the visitors from Orcutt 57-51 on Feb. 15 as Jackson Ollen burger (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Caleb Cassidy (16 points, 13 rebounds) had dou ble-doubles, and Landon Lassahn added 18 points and 7 rebounds.

The win advanced the Pirates to the sec ond round, where they traveled to Bakers field to play the West High Vikings on Fri day, Feb. 17.

Girls basketball

The Lady Pirates finished the regular sea son 11-18 and 4-10 for a sixth-place finish in the Ocean League, but earned a No. 10 seed in the Division VI bracket.

And the girls were successful in the first round, defeating host Kennedy High of Del ano 41-29 on Feb. 14.

Helina Pecile had 14 points, 12 rebounds and 6 steals for Santa Ynez, while Lexi Mol era scored 13, and Jadyn Gardner tallied 8 points and 5 boards.

The Pirates traveled to Madera on Thursday, Feb. 16, to face Matilda Torres High, the second seed in the tournament.

Boys soccer

The Pirates (13-7-5 in the regular season, 9-2-3 and second place in the Ocean League) were seeded 11th in the Division IV bracket, but then traveled to Parlier High in the Central Valley and defeated the host Panthers 3-1 on Feb. 14.

After a scoreless first half, the Pirates got on the board 13 minutes into the second half when Spencer Silverman put away a shot was blocked by the Parlier goalie. The initial shot was taken by Erik Salinas after a quick wall pass from Braeden Melville.

Seventeen minutes later, Santa Ynez got its second goal after Gabriel Beleski battled Parlier’s defender in the box, and the defender was unable to control the high ball and kicked it over his own goalkeeper for an own goal.

After Parlier was able to earn a goal from a free kick with five minutes left, Braeden Melville scored a couple minutes later when he knocked in a rebound after the goalkeeper deflected a shot by Emilio Guerrero.

Santa Ynez advanced to the second round, where they played Lompoc at home Thursday, Feb. 16.

Girls soccer

The Pirate girls finished the regular season at 7-10-2 (5-7-2 and fifth place in the Mountain League).

Entering the Division III bracket as the No. 4 seed, SYHS edged visiting Templeton 1-0 on Wednesday, Feb. 15, as Ashlin Finley scored the lone goal in the second half off an assist from Keira Hazard.

The Pirates earned another home game in the second round as they played No. 12 Hanford on Friday, Feb. 17.

Santa Ynez took 14 wrestlers (nine boys, five girls) to the CIF Central Section DIII Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 11.

For the boys, five wrestlers earned a spot in the Central Section Championships. Those wrestlers were Ben Flores (third place, 145 lbs.), Santino Alvaro (fifth, 126 lbs.), Fernando Nunez (fifth, 152 lbs.), Triston Lake (seventh, 170 lbs.), and Tomas Rodrigues (seventh, 220 lbs.).

For the girls, three Pirates qualified for the Section Championships, and a fourth qualified as an alternate. They were Malia Ortiz (second place, 111 lbs.), Kylie Franson (eighth, 131 lbs.), Hailee Taylor (seventh, 137 lbs.), and Elianna Loera (alternate, ninth, 189 lbs.).

The Central Section Championships took place last weekend (Feb. 17-18) in Clovis.

Spring sports starting

A couple of the Pirates spring sports programs got off to a good start.

The Pirates baseball squad traveled to Santa Maria High on Feb. 14 for its season opener, and the Pirates made it a good trip as they beat the Saints 16-6.

Bradley Lood drove in five runs for SYHS, while Adam Stephens scored three runs and Tate Minus had three hits.

Stephens and Minus also excelled on the mound, combining to strike out 12 and scatter five hits.

Meanwhile, the Pirates girls beach volleyball team defeated visiting Santa Barbara 3-0 in a non league duel at Sunny Field Park.

"The girls played aggressive, yet smart volleyball today," said head coach Melissa Rogers. "They did a great job of being patient with the process and capitalizing on opportunities when available. Every match was a three-game battle. Jayda Henrey and Gianna Pecile won 21-16, 15-21, 15-13 in the 1’s position. In the 2’s, Kaki Allen and Sadie Lishman won 21-18, 16-21, 15-12. In the 3’s position Hannah Allen and Cailin Glover won 20-22, 21-19, 15-9."

Flowers and Butterflies Arrive in Buellton

The city's Community Art Project is now up on the Avenue of Flags

Staff Report

Buellton’s Arts and Culture Committee through the Buellton City Council announced the completion of a large scale community arts project: “Funky Flowers and Butterflies.”

The banners are now on display along the Avenue of Flags in Buellton. The committee received incredible art submissions and would like to thank all the artists. In the end, they were able to combine the works of 36 community artists aged 5-75 to create the 14 designs you found on the banners along the Avenue of the Flags.

“The artwork submitted by the community was absolutely amazing," The Arts and Culture Committee members commented. "When we put all the pieces together, it really showed how creative our community can be and that beautiful things are possible when we make art possible for all.”

Each month this year, the City of Buellton will be featuring a different design and showcasing the community artists. So far they have featured:

January’s artwork by Jonathan Perez ("Flowers") and Vienna Sun ("Vines"), and background pattern by Vienna Sun. January’s artwork is sponsored by the Buellton City Council & Arts and Culture Committee.

February’s artwork by Hannah Grace Bankey ("Blue Flower"), Noelle Esdaile ("Purple Flower"), Emma Perez ("Heart), and Mia Altamirano ("Background Flower"). February’s artwork is sponsored by Visit SYV.

To see all of the featured art, the original art, and learn more, please go to Buellton.Art