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overhand pitching was al- lowed. Natalia Grossman crowned IFSC Bouldering World Champion Natalia Grossman, who began climbing at Pa- cific Edge in Santa Cruz in 2007, burst onto the climb- ing scene with a handful of huge wins, none bigger than in mid-September, when she was crowned 2021 IFSC Bouldering World Champion. The 20-year-old, a former Santa Cruz Montessori stu- dent who lives in Salt Lake City, won her first gold at the IFSC Boulder World Cup in Salt Lake City in May. She conquered all four fi- nal bouldering problems posted on an outdoor climb- ing wall at Industry SLC in front of an estimated crowd of 3,000. As the season stretched on, she continued finding success, as well as the po- dium. She made the podium — a top-three finish — five times in boulder and five times in lead. She shared exp eriences from each of her competitions with her 94,000-plus followers on In- stagram and documented her surge in skill and con- fidence. While her first gold came in Utah, Grossman credited her bronze finish Meirin- gen, Switzerland, in mid- April for jump-starting her season. "The Meiringen World Cup, where it all started!" she wrote her Instagram page, @nataliaclimbs. "I came into this competition with zero expectations and felt no pressure from oth- ers (boy did that change throughout the season). This competition showed me my potential, lit a fire within me, and reminded me of all the reasons I love competing. It felt amazing to be able to travel, spend time with my teammates and compete after being home for so long." Haley Jones wins Final Four honor, NCAA title Santa Cruz's Haley Jones was the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player after leading the Stanford Uni- versity women's basketball team to the 2021 NCAA Di- vision I title on April 4 in San Antonio. Jones, a former standout at Archbishop Mitty in San Jose, had a team-high 17 points and eight rebounds for the Cardinal (31-2) in their 54-53 win over Pac-12 foe Arizona to claim the na- tional title. She had team- high 24 points and four re- bounds in a 66-65 win over South Carolina in the semi- finals. "We've been through a lot and we were pretty re- lentless this year," Jones told Good Morning Amer- ica following the win. "But, we were on the road for two months and we just grew closer and resilient and it feels surreal to be here now." On the season, Jones, a sophomore, started 32 games and averaged 13.2 points and 7.4 rebounds. The Cardinal trained in Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz for a portion of the season due to COVID-19 restrictions in Santa Clara County. They played three games at Kaiser Perman- ente Arena, home of the Santa Cruz Warriors, going 2-1 at the venue. Jones was honored with a victory parade in Santa Cruz on May 2 and she threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a San Fran- cisco Giants' game July 6. Gabe Discipulo helps UCLA claim NCAA water polo title Santa Cruz's Gabe Dis- cipulo, a 6-foot-3 center, helped the UCLA men's wa- ter polo team win the pro- gram's 12th NCAA Division I title on March 21. Discipu lo, a for mer standout at Bellarmine College Prep, scored three goals in the Bruins' tour- nament opener against Cal Baptist, a 19-14 win, and scored the opening goal in an 11-10 win over Stanford in the semifinals. UCLA (9- 7) topped USC 7-6 in the championship. "Honestly, it's an inde- scribable feeling," Discipulo told the Sentinel. "With the group of guys we had last year and everything that went into it, following cer- tain protocols for COVID, it was great to be able to do it with all my friends." The Bruins went 20-4 in the fall and saw their ti- tle defense end in overtime against Cal, 15-13, in the na- tional semifinals. Nikki Hiltz makes 1,500 final at Olympic Trials Nikki Hiltz, who used Transgender Day of Vis- ibility on March 31 to an- nounce on Instagram they identify as trans and non- binary, had a solid show- ing as they fell short their bids to qualify for the To- kyo Games. Hiltz took 13th in the 1,500-meter final in 4:10.60. A 26-year-old Aptos High and University of Arkansas alum who is now sponsored by adidas, Hiltz post ed the fastest time of any runner in the two semifinal heats. They won the second semi- final in 4:05.87. "This past week I got to chase my childhood dream of becoming an Olympian," Hiltz wrote on Instagram. "I may have fallen short of my goal to make the Tokyo team but I'm proud of my fight. "The pursuit of self dis- covery this season has been incredibly hard at times. But it has also been one of the most powerful and re- warding journeys. There's nothing more fulfilling than being able to love yourself enough to show up as your- self. I am so grateful for all the love and support I've re- ceived this season." Triathlete Katie Zaferes wins Olympic bronze Two-time U.S. Oly m- pian Katie Zaferes, a for- mer Santa Cruz County resident who relocated to Cary, N.C., earned her first career Olympic medal July 26, taking the bronze at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 women's triathlon event in Tokyo. Z a fere s' father, Bill Hursey, passed away in April at the age of 60. She said she felt his presence during the Olympic triath- lon race. "I saw a rainbow dur- ing the race, and thought, 'Hey, Dad!' " she said. "He would have been crying. He would have been so proud and happy." The bronze by Zaferes was the third U.S. medal in women's triathlon history at the Olympic Games. Walmer Martinez signs with Monterey Bay F.C. S a n t a C r u z n a t i v e Walmer Martinez — a for- mer Cabrillo College star and member of the El Sal- vador Men's National Team — became the first player to sign with Monterey Bay Football Club of the USL Championship on Dec. 22. Martinez was acquired via transfer by Monterey Bay F.C. from fellow USL Championship club Hart- ford Athletic after playing his first season in the league in 2021. "There is nothing better than playing for a commu- nity who has seen me grow and develop; I'm glad to be coming home," Martinez said. "I grew up playing soccer all throughout these local communities, they've seen my journey and fol- lowed my stages from play- ing as a young boy to play- ing in stadiums filled with thousands of fans. It's the most amazing feeling to know that everyone who has followed and supported me will now be able to watch me play on my home turf for Monterey Bay F.C." High school teammates draed on same day Wat sonv i l le's Rub en Ibarra and Chase Wat- kins, basketball and base- ball teammates at St. Fran- cis High, were both selected on Day 2 on MLB's First- Year Player Draft on June 12. Both signed professional contracts. I b a r r a , a 6 -f o o t - 5 , 290-pound first baseman for San Jose State, was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the fourth round, 119th overall. Watkins, a 6-4 left-handed pitcher for Oregon State, was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the ninth round, 274th overall. "Unbelievable," Sharks coach Kenny Nakagawa said of his former team- mates getting drafted. St. Francis has an enrollment of 227 with fewer than 100 boys. "Two guys from a little community like ours, and a small, little school, in the top 10 (rounds). Unbeliev- able. It couldn't happen to two better kids." Jeremy Lin helps Santa Cruz Warriors reach G League semifinals The moment former NBA sensation Jeremy Lin signed with the Santa Cruz War- riors in January, the Golden State Warriors' G League af- filiate drew world-wide at- tention. Lin, who had aspi- rations of returning to the NBA, proved it was more than a publicity stunt. He helped Santa Cruz reach the G League semifinals in the Orlando bubble. Limited to 11 games this season due to back tight- ness, Lin reached dou- ble digits in scoring nine times and scored 20 or more points six times. The nine-year NBA veteran and former NBA champion av- eraged 19.2 points, 3.2 re- bounds, 6.4 assists and 3.7 turnovers. He finished the regu- lar season ranked seventh in the league in points per game and fourth in assists per game. "I really was on a team that was all about the team — and I loved that," Lin said. "I don't want to play on teams anymore where it's not about the team, it's not about winning, it's not about playing basketball and rooting for the guy next to you. We did that here a nd I'll lose in the semis with them any day, any night because that's how basket- ball is supposed to be. You don't always see that in the G League." Lin returned to Beijing Ducks for 2021-22 CBA sea- son. Santa Cruz Seahawks win Pop Warner Super Bowl The little guys — some no so little — came up huge. The Santa Cruz Seahawks — comprised of football players from throughout Santa Cruz County — went 3-0 in a six-day span at the 64th Pop Warner Super Bowl championships. They beat Florida's Port Char- lotte Bandits 28-8 for the 12U Division I national ti- tle at Camping World Sta- dium in Orlando on Dec. 11. "We've been locked and loaded from the get-go," said Jake Clark, the Se- ahawks' head coach. "This was our goal. We discussed it the very first day of prac- tice." With the win, the Se- ahawks (13-0) became the second team from the Bay Area to win a Pop Warner national title. Oak Grove won the D-I title in 2006. Santa Cruz football posts first unbeaten regular season since 1993 Santa Cruz High didn't need a perfect performance to achieve perfection in front of a capacity crowd at Memorial Stadium on Nov. 5. But what the Cardinals delivered was close. Brown University com- mitted running back Qwen- tin Brown rushed for three touchdowns, Josh Bendix ran for a score and threw for two TD passes to Caleb Womack, and the Cardinals' defense handcuffed yet an- other opponent in a never- in-question, 40-6 win over Soquel. The Cardinals (9-0) be- came the program's first team since 1993 to fin- ish the regular season un- beaten. They also won the Stump rivalry trophy for a third straight season and lock ed up the Pacific Coast Athletic League's Mission Division title in one fell swoop. SLV makes county history with first outdoor wrestling meet The pandemic forced coaches to be creative to get safely get competi- tions in. And with indoor action banned for certain sports last spring, wres- tling coaches thought out- side the box. In their first competi- tion of the season, San Lo- renzo Valley took the action to its picturesque football stadium, which neighbors a portion of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. The Sports FROM PAGE 2 SHMUEL THALER — SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL Santa Cruz Cruzan Haley Jones smiles broadly as she rides in a parade in her honor down Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz with her NCAA women's basketball champion Stanford University teammates Hannah Jump and Agnes Emma- Nnopu on May 2. SPORTS » PAGE 8 ANDREI GOLOVANOV — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Santa Cruz native Natalia Grossman competes for Team USA during the women's lead finals at the IFSC Climbing World Championships in Moscow on Sept. 21. Grossman won the silver medal. 831.588.7800 DRE #01167773 List With The Leader www.tonyaprile.com Happy New Year 2022 ank you to all my dedicated clients, family and friends who support me in my Real Estate profession. I wish everyone good health, happiness and prosperity in the New Year 2022. Your Trusted Realtor Discover the Difference Discover Tony Aprile FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2021 SANTACRUZSENTINEL.COM | | 7 S

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