Santa Cruz’s John Mel, 26, advanced to the quarterfinals at the World Surf League’s Corona Cero Surf Open Cerritos in Los Cerritos, Baja California Sur, Mexico, on Saturday. The final day of the Men’s Qualifying Series 2, 000-point event is Sunday. Mel, No. 17 on Men’s QS 2025/2026 rankings, faces No. 5 Taj Lindblad, of San Clemente, in Heat 3 of the quarterfinals. In Heat 4 of the Round of 16, Mel posted a two-wave total score of 12. 55 for second place to advance. He finished behind No. 41 Ryan Huckabee (14. 15) of Flagler Beach, Florida, who also advanced to the quarterfinals, and ahead of No. 40 Carlos Munoz (12. 35) of Costa Rica, and No. 16 Blayr Barton (11. 80) of Sandridge, Virginia. Munoz tied for ninth overall and earned 630 points, and Barton tied for 13th and earned 530 points. Mel (11. 45) also took second place in Heat 6 of the Round of 32 on Saturday. He finished behind Lindblad (11. 65). No. 60 Chase Niemann (8. 75) and No. 91 Makai Bray (4. 05), both of San Clemente, were eliminated. Men’s cross country D-III NCAA Championships: UC Santa Cruz senior Luke Holland (24: 31. 8) took 25th out of 294 qualifiers at the 8k NCAA D-III Championships at Roger Milliken Center, Spartanburg, South Carolina, on Saturday. Johns Hopkins senior Emmanuel Leblond (23: 35. 0) won the individual title, and University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (82) won the team title. Banana Slugs junior Camden Jaureguy (25: 24. 5) took 111th. 3C2A State Championships: Hartnell sophomore Giancarlo Mendo took 62nd out of 194 runners to help the Panthers (268) take 11th place at the 3C2A State Championships in Fresno on Saturday. The Watsonville alum completed Woodward Park’s 4-mile course in 21: 26. 9. Cuesta sophomore Weston Greenelsh (19: 51. 0) won the individual title, and Cuyamaca (90) won the team title. Women’s cross country D-III NCAA Championships: UCSC sophomore Elena Stanciu (23: 12. 9) took 157th out of 294 runners at the 6k NCAA D-III Championships at Roger Milliken Center, Spartanburg, South Carolina, on Saturday. Middlebury junior Audrey Maclean (20: 16. 8) win the individual title, and NYU (79) won the team title. UCSC (844) took 31st out of 32 qualifying teams. Senior Helena Janku (23: 39. 3) took 214th for UCSC, and senior Emma Wirz (24: 05. 9) took 244th. Freshman Fiona Wolf (24: 25. 2) took 262nd, and senior Cheryl Chuang (24: 54. 8) took 276th. Men’s basketball Cabrillo 88, at Shasta 69: Sophomore forward Jonny Gasologa scored 16 of his team-high 20 points in the second half, and the Seahawks pulled away for the win in the second game at Shasta’s round-robin tournament on Friday. Cabrillo (5-1 overall) led 67-65 with seven minutes remaining and went on a 22-0 run to break the game open. Sophomore forward Skylarr Redwood made five 3-pointers and scored 19 points for the Seahawks, who suffered their first loss on the young season a day earlier. “We got some great bench production,” Seahawks coach James Page said. “Everyone played and contributed. It was a good bounce back win for the guys.” Sophomore forward Mike Carson scored 16 points for Cabrillo. Freshman forward Ben Dotten, a Santa Cruz alum and former Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League MVP, scored nine points. Freshman forward Cheik Diop scored 18 points to lead the Knights (0-8). Sophomore guard Trenton Gorden scored 17 points and sophomore guard Anthony Sanchez scored 16. Cabrillo faces Santa Rosa (6-1), ranked No. 6 in NorCal, at Shasta on Saturday at 2 p. m. At Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 79, UCSC 69: Senior guard Andrew Ferrara-Jones had 16 points, three rebounds, and three steals, but the Banana Slugs lost their road game Friday. Senior center/forward Joe Espy had 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two blocks for the Banana Slugs (1-4), who trailed 32-30 at the half. Senior wing Caden Breznikar had 12 points and five rebounds. He committed seven turnovers of the Banana Slugs’ 24 turnovers. Will Householter scored a game-high 17 points for the Stags (4-0). Cahal Connolly had 16 points and six rebounds, and Reid Jones had 13 points, 10 steals, and four rebounds. UCSC plays at Caltech (2-1) in Pasadena on Saturday at 4 p. m. NBA G League At South Bay 115, Santa Cruz 95: Two-way forward Jackson Rowe had 17 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks, but the Warriors lost to the Lakers at UCLA Health Training Center on Friday night and remain winless in the Tip-Off Tournament. Guard LJ Cryer made 3-pointers and scored 16 points, dished out a game-high nine assists, and made six rebounds and two steals for the Warriors (0-6). Guard Taevion Kinsey scored 15 points for Santa Cruz, and center Marques Bolden had 14 points and eight rebounds. Guard Trey Galloway chipped in with 11 points. Adou Thiero, on assignment from Los Angeles, scored a game-high 19 points for the Lakers (4-1), and forward-center Drew Timme recorded a double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds. Two-way guard Nick Smith Jr. finished with 17 points and six rebounds. Guard Bronny James Jr., also on assignment from Los Angeles, and forward Anton Watson each scored 15 points, James Jr. also made eight assists and three steals. Two-way guard Chris Mañon came off the bench and recorded 12 points, seven rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. The teams play again in El Segundo on Sunday at 5 p. m. Reporting Scores Coaches are encouraged to report scores and highlights to sports@santacruzsentinel. com following games. Please include your name and contact number in the email.
https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/11/22/sc-surfer-john-mel-moves-into-quartefinals-in-mexico-local-roundup/
