Student Profiles
Cruz Jauregui
Multisport athlete senior Cruz Jauregui is both a strong physical competitor for his teams and also a team leader. Jauregui currently plays for the PVHS football team and in past years has competed in wrestling and track and field for shotput and discus.
Jauregui’s main focus is football since he has been playing for 12 years. He plays as a left tackle and defensive lineman. Jauregui said, “My favorite part about football is the brotherhood on the team and how everyone has each other’s backs. It is a huge team sport and you need everyone to do their own job in order to win.”
PVHS places a large focus on teamwork which likely contributed to the team’s win in the CIF State Football Championship 2018. Jauregui said, “One of my major achievements as a football player was playing at states with my team.”
Many athletes have struggled with the pandemic including Jauregui. He did not have a home gym like many others did and with all the gyms being closed for the pandemic Jauregui was not able to keep up with his usual strength training. Jauregui said “COVID affected me very much and I had these rusty weights that my brother used in high school that he just left outside. I had about 75 pounds of garbage weights that I had to be creative with to use. I did body weight stuff as well, but none of that helped me gain any strength, if anything I lost a lot of strength.”
Jauregui also participated in wrestling the past three years, but said “UnfortunatelyI probably will not do a fourth year because of COVID related reasons.” However last year Jauregui won Subway Scholar of the week for his efforts in the mat room and in the classroom.
Last year Jauregui picked up shotput and discus with track and field, but due to the onset of the pandemic the season was cut short.
This year it looks as though Jauregui will continue to solely focus on football and be the best PVHS athlete he can be.
Carter Lyons
Longtime baseball player senior Carter Lyons has been playing baseball for almost 14 years. Lyons has been a part of the PVHS baseball team since his freshman year. This season, Lyons is one to watch as he led the team to victory against Gridley with three hits.
Lyons stated “I have played baseball for so long because I use it as an escape from everything, like from stress and other things that go on in life, it just creates a lot more fun in life.” During COVID-19 Lyons was able to use baseball as a distraction. He said, “baseball definitely helped me more than ever during COVID.”
Despite being a strong offensive player, Lyons is also a skilled defensive player. Lyons plays as a shortstop for the PVHS team. Lyons said that he always liked playing shortstop because “it is a complicated position and there are a lot of responsibilities that you have to have to play that position. It is one of the hardest positions to play mentally, and I like it the best because a lot of the action happens there.”
Lyons is planning on attending Butte College out of high school to play for the baseball team there and then transferring to a four year college. Lyons said “I’d like to go as far as I can in baseball and try to make it to the pros. I know it’s a long shot, but it’d be really awesome to get there.”
Gabrielle Mino
Junior Gabrielle Mino has been swimming for 12 years and shows skill in the water. Mino attended a meet in Utah when she was 12 years old to go swim for Sierra Nevada Swimming and represent them at Western Zones.
Mino swims almost every event , but she said, “My best event is probably the 100 yard freestyle and I swim that in about 56 seconds.”
Swimming is both a team and individual sport. When Mino wins a race she contributes points to the team to help win the meet. Mino stated “I like that swimming is an individual sport because I get to push myself and if I mess up it doesn’t fall on the whole team’s shoulders.”
Despite Mino’s accomplishments, she has faced a challenge with her back. Mino had to receive back surgery a few years ago which stopped her from swimming. Mino said, “With my back surgery, my team was so helpful and they were so supportive so I was never afraid to leave the team because I knew they would always be there for me when I came back”
Mino has swam varsity the two years she was able to swim in high school, but when she was out for her injury freshman year she still made it a point to attend meets. Mino stated, “I was still able to go to the meets to cheer them on and I was still a part of the team.”
This season, Mino is a swimmer to watch as she is still improving her times from seasons prior.
Maya is a senior at PVHS and edited for the Saga in its debut year. She loves journalism and being involved with her community.
