Football, baseball, and softball are making a return to competition

This weekend three more high sports (football, baseball, and softball) will be making their return to competition. The Friday night lights were back officially Friday, Mar. 19. Read our story Kaschewski Leads Eagles Over Wasco.

On Saturday, Mar. 20, both baseball and softball make their return. The Atascadero Greyhounds will begin the season by hosting the Morro Bay Pirates for a doubleheader, while the Bearcats will welcome the Nipomo Titans to Barnhart Field for just a single game. 

All three softball teams will begin their seasons on the road. Paso Robles will play in Nipomo, Atascadero will play in Morro Bay and Templeton will travel to Santa Maria. 

Athletic attendance is being allowed on a case-by-case basis depending on the school, the sport, and space available. Some sports may allow for multiple family members to watch games in person, while others will not. 

All three schools have set up live streaming options to view a majority of the upcoming sporting events for those not allowed in attendance. Those interested in watching a broadcast of Bearcat games with a full play-by-play and color commentary team should follow 805 Broadcasters and the Voice of Paso Sports Network. Live streams of Atascadero sports without audio are available for select games and can be found on the school’s website, while Templeton will be streaming their games on the NFHS Network. Templeton will be streaming football, soccer, basketball, and volleyball and is hoping to add basketball to the list as well. 

Sports Update: Last Week in Review

Last weekend North County High School Spring Sports continue in full swing, three more debuted this weekend. Get ready for some football!    

Atascadero 

The Atascadero High School’s cross country team was back in action, taking on the Titans in Nipomo. Atascadero and Nipomo raced on a flat 2.5-mile course that yielded some great times for both the boys and girls. The Greyhound girls defeated the Titans 40-71 while the boys lost 61-44 but were without their two captains. 

The Greyhound girls were able to run to victory behind strong races from Faith Rocha, who won her second race in a row, Anna Archibald and Kelsie Rigby, who each placed inside the top five. Rocha pushed the pace and led all runners with a time of 14:50. Archibald finished in third place with a time of 15:53, followed closely by Rigby, who placed fifth with a time of 15:59. Amelie Lovo (16:19), who placed sixth, and Chelsea Stilts (16:29), who placed seventh, rounded out the Hounds top five. 

The boys raced Sunday with senior captain Owen Fang or junior captain Tyson Rigby but still put together a strong team performance with four boys inside the top 10. Atascadero was led on Saturday by Kyle Shatwell (13:19), who placed fourth, followed by Dane Hardy (13:25) in fifth, Karl Walrod (13:58) in seventh and Nathan Cooks (14:00) in eighth. 

AHS girls tennis played one match last week against Arroyo Grande and had one rained out that has been rescheduled for Monday. The Eagles handed the Hounds their first loss of the season, winning 5-3. Atascadero’s Noella Breytenbach won her singles match handily 6-3, 6-0 playing in the number three position, but the match of the day went to Kyla Stokes in the number six spot. Stokes dropped her first set 3-6 before winning the next two 7-5, 10-1 to earn the singles victory. Atascadero’s third point came from the doubles team of Kylie Sims and Nina Bedell, who won in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. 

Templeton 

The Templeton Eagle cross country teams were also in action last week and faced Santa Maria High School who boasts one of the top boys and girls teams in the local area. Santa Maria entered the race undefeated on the boy’s side at 5-0 and 4-1 with its girls. In Santa Maria, the two teams raced on the track for 2.5 miles for a flat sprint, unlike standard cross country races that take the runners on a journey through hills and dales. Although Templeton ran hard, they came up short. The boys fell to Santa Maria 35-24 while the girls lost 38-20.

The race of the day was between the Eagle’s Josh Bell, who just broke the Templeton school record in back-to-back weeks, and the Saints’ Yair Torres. The speedsters raced along the track neck and neck for much of the race but were robbed of a photo finish when Torres ran into a teammate trying to weave through the cluttered crowd of athletes. Bell placed first overall with a time of 15:24 and was joined in the top five by teammate Nick Jansen who placed fifth with a time of 17:13. Jayden Buck (17:28) and Max Chalekson (17:30) placed seventh and eighth respectively and Nikita Norton (18:23) rounded out the Eagle’s top five. 

The Templeton girls were led once again by Maddie Bobbitt, who has proved to be one of the top runners in the league with her fourth consecutive first-place finish. Bobbitt outpaced everyone in the race finishing with a blistering time of 19:19. Finishing second for the Eagles and in seventh overall was Hannah Macfarlane (21:41), followed by Ava Lawrence (22:37) in ninth, Ashlyn Estes (22:49) in tenth and Mariana Perez (23:07) in eleventh. 

The girl’s tennis team from Templeton did not compete last week due to a Santa Maria forfeit.

Paso Robles 

The Paso Robles water polo teams were back in action last week as the boys played against Bakersfield-Garces Memorial while the girls faced Santa Ynez. The Lady Bearcats got down early but fought their way back, making it close, but ultimately lost to the Pirates 10-7. Offensively the girls were led by Allison Hernandez, who put five goals in the back of the net. 

The boys struggled against a strong and Graces team, falling 26-8. The Bearcat offense was led by Tre Eade and Cole Eberhard, who scored two goals each. Michael Brown, Jakob Baier, Ethan Vitale and Cameron Clayton also each added a single goal. 

Paso Robles’ girls tennis team has also kicked off their season but had both their matches last week rained out. So far on the young season, the girls are 0-2 after a pair of really close losses to the Greyhounds two weeks ago. Paso Robles dropped the first match 4-5 and the second 3-6. While the Bearcats dropped both matches, no. 1 player Abby Reimer remained undefeated winning 6-1, 6-1 in the first match and 6-0, 6-2 in the second match.