Apparently, middle distance track star Nikki Hiltz, 30, the Sentinel’s 2023 co-Sports Newsmaker of the Year, wasn’t done.

The Aptos native, who identifies as transgender/nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, became the first openly trans athlete to compete in an Olympic final in an individual event in ’24, one year after they became the first openly non-binary athlete to win a U.S.Track and Field national title.

Hiltz continued to make headlines at a staggering pace in 2024 and has been named the Sentinel’s co-Sports Newsmaker of the Year, again. This year, they share the honor with Olympic wrestler Dominique Parrish of Scotts Valley.

Hiltz, who has signed on with Grand Slam Track, turned in too many stellar showings to mention them all.

Topping their list of highlights, Hiltz repeated as national champion in the women’s 1,500-meter race at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in a personal-best 3 minutes, 55 seconds.

Hiltz placed seventh in the women’s 1,500 final in 3:56.38 at the Paris Games.

They initially set out to win Olympic gold, and kept a great outlook after falling short of that goal.

“To measure my Olympic experience off of less than a 4-minute race would be such a disservice to this whole journey,” said Hiltz, a first-time Olympian. “I’ve had such an incredible time and really taking it all in, walking away very happy.”

Hiltz had plenty of reasons to be proud of their showing. They had just one sub-4 finish in the 1,500 prior to ’24 but continued to show their potential. They posted finishes of 3:56 or faster three times this year, including twice in a three-day span in Paris.

They were among the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes celebrated at the White House in September.

Earlier this month, Hiltz won the Kalakaua Merrie Mile women’s title in Honolulu. They posted a 4:28.65 finish to edge Weini Kelati by .03 seconds for the title.

Parrish qualifies for Olympics

Dominique “Domino” Parrish, 28, a pioneer for women’s wrestling in Santa Cruz County, accomplished the unthinkable in April.The former Scotts Valley High star, who went on to shine at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, and later at the national level in freestyle winning the 2022 world title, qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Parrish, competing in the Championship Series at 53 kilograms at the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials in State College, Pennsylvania, beat 2012 Olympian Haley Augello, two matches to none, to become a first-time Olympian.

“Honestly, it doesn’t even feel real,” said Parrish, in a post-final interview with NBC Sports. “I don’t really know what just happened.”

Parrish paused as she fanned herself with her hand and fought back tears.

“I’m a little overwhelmed, but, I mean, it’s emotional, but it’s so silly because it’s wrestling,” Parrish said. “It’s just a sport. But then, moments like these, win or lose, it makes you feel so good, it makes you feel so bad, but, damn, I’m going to the Olympics.”

Parrish went 0-2 in Paris.

Others considered for Sports Newsmaker of the Year

Eli Fitchen-Young >> Santa Cruz High senior Eli Fitchen-Young made a historic addition to his running résumé by winning the Division IV race at the 37th CIF State Cross Country Championships in Fresno on Nov. 30.

Fitchen-Young, a three-time Central Coast Section individual champion who will compete for Duke University next season, completed Woodward Park’s 5,000-meter course in 14 minutes, 41.3 seconds.

He became just the second male runner from Santa Cruz County to win a state title.

“Super exciting,” Fitchen-Young said. “I’m super stoked with it. I’m still at a little loss for words.”

Fitchen-Young’s finishing time bettered his previous PR of 14:49.5, which helped him place fourth in D-IV as a junior.

He posted the third-best time, regardless of division, out of 1,020 total boys qualifiers. By finishing in the top five overall, Fitchen-Young qualified for a spot on Team California at the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) in Portland, Oregon, for a second straight season. He placed 34th in the race after completing the 5K course at Glendoveer Golf Course in 16:03.4.

Scotts Valley wrestler Danica Kelley >> Scotts Valley High senior wrestler Danica Kelley won her weight division at the California Interscholastic Federation State Championships.

On her back and nearly pinned, Kelley earned a reversal and recorded a quick pin of No. 4 Alex Maday of Whitney at the 1:43 mark in the first period of the final.

“I’ve been wrestling for seven years now and never even placed at state,” said Kelley, a three-time state qualifier. “This was a pretty exciting jump. I was pretty stoked.”

Kelley went 5-0 at state with four wins by pin to give her a perfect, 30-0 record on the season. The Boulder Creek resident became Santa Cruz County’s first state champion since Scotts Valley’s Dominique Parrish, currently a member of the U.S. Women’s Freestyle Team, repeated as champ at 116 pounds in 2015.

Kelley now competes for Menlo College in Atherton.

Santa Cruz High’s boys basketball team >> The Cardinals (27-7), the SCCAL champion, were the CCS Division III runner-up after suffering a one-point loss to Sacred Heart Cathedral, but they found new life in the CIF NorCal Regional playoffs.

Led by senior center Ben Dotten, junior forward Kirby Seals, and sophomore forward DeMarco Hunter, the Cardinals, under the direction of longtime coach Lawan Milhouse, rolled past Head-Royce School of Oakland, West Park of Roseville, Ygnacio Valley of Concord, and Bullard of Fresno to become the second boys basketball team in school history to make a state final.

Santa Cruz fell short in the D-III state championship, and lost to Bishop Alemany of Mission Hills at the Golden 1 Center, home of the Sacramento Kings, on March 8.

MVC’s record setting duo >> Monte Vista Christian’s senior duo of quarterback Dominic Pierini and receiver Nico Downie added to the record book each week this fall.

The Mustangs quarterback finished the regular season leading the state in passing yards (3,789), a total that broke his single-season passing record for Santa Cruz County from last year (3,057). He is the county’s all-time career passing yardage leader with 8,312 yards. He also holds the county’s single-game mark (486). He also set county marks for touchdown passes in a season (35) and career (77).

Downie finished the season with a state-leading 1,620 receiving yards, and 14 TDs. In his career, he hauled in 193 passes for 3,332 yards and 38 touchdowns — the latter two totals are county records.

Aptos girls water polo >> Aptos’ girls water polo program finally earned its day in the sun.

The top-seeded Mariners, a CCS runner-up twice in the past three years, knocked off No. 2 Santa Cruz 7-4 in the Division II final at Sacred Heart Prep on Nov. 17.

It was Aptos’ fourth match against Santa Cruz this season and third straight win against the Cardinals. Both teams tied for second place behind Soquel (22-7) in the SCCAL standings.

Goalie Mary Suarez-Abraham made 12 saves and also scored a goal for the Mariners (17-10), who advanced to the CIF NorCal Regional tournament.

Santa Cruz boys volleyball >> The Cardinals (38-3), led by Julien “Juju” Pally, Gammon Nilssen, Tim Pohlmann, Leo Sapunor, and Maverick Maynor, dominated for the majority of the season. They finished the regular season with just one loss.

They were felled by Valley Christian in four sets in the prestigious CCS Open Division final, a stinging defeat considering they’d beaten the San Jose-based private school twice before in nonleague action.

They were ousted by another private school, San Jose’s Archbishop Mitty, another team they’d beaten in nonleague play, in the CIF NorCal playoffs.

Harbor girls volleyball >> The Pirates (23-11), led by seniors and SCCAL co-MVPs Isla Johnson and Maren O’Farrell, repeated as unbeaten SCCAL champion and advanced to the CCS D-IV final for a third straight season.

After beating Menlo and league foe Scotts Valley in the section playoffs, Harbor suffered a brutal, five-set loss to Sacred Heart Preparatory in the championship.

The Pirates will enter the 2025 season riding a 26-match unbeaten streak in league play.

Also in the conversation >> Several other high school teams and individuals made postseason splashes and were considered for Sports Newsmaker honors. Santa Cruz’s baseball team made a solid run in the playoffs before it suffered a 1-0 loss to Capuchino in the D-IV final at Excite Ballpark in San Jose on May 23. … During track and field season, Scotts Valley resident Nathaniel Guillory and Soquel’s Jonelle Scott were crowned as champions at the CCS Finals in Gilroy on May 18. Guillory, a senior at Los Altos, won both the 100-meter race (10.78 seconds) and 200 (21.37), and Scott won her third straight title in the pole vault after clearing a height of 12 feet, 3 inches. … Soquel’s football team became the first from Santa Cruz County to win the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s Gabilan Division title outright, but the Knights suffered a rough finish in CCS Open/Division I playoffs, falling to Archbishop Riordan in San Francisco in the opening round. … The Aptos football team, the Gabilan’s fourth-place finisher, made an impressive run in the CCS D-III playoffs. The Mariners earned wins over Willow Glen and Palo Alto before falling to eventual state champion Carmel in the section championship at Rabobank Stadium in Salinas on Nov. 29.