Wrestling head coach Alex Garza nominated both his girls and boys wrestling teams for the January Athletes of the Month honors, in recognition of their hard work during the school’s big wrestling tournaments. Submitted photo
By Neil Farrell
Morro Bay High School’s Athletic Booster’s Club has named its Athletes of the Month for January 2026, and one coach named his whole team for the honors.
Girl’s soccer
Girls’ soccer head coach, Cesar De Alba named Chava Brody for the honors. “Chava Brody has not just come into MBHS varsity girls soccer as a freshman but she’s also our newest captain and with her leadership she’s been excelling with already 15 goals this season leading the squad to hopefully a league title this year!”
Boy’s basketball
Varsity Basketball Assistant Coach, Nolan McMurray, named his senior point guard, Sands Dougherty, Athlete of the Month after a wild finish to a recent league game.
“Sands has come back in full force after returning from a left thumb injury,” the coach said. “On Jan. 8, our first league game against Nipomo came down to the wire. After a back and forth game the score was tied 48-48 in the fourth quarter.
“Sands got a steal with 3-seconds remaining in the game and secured a huge win for Morro Bay with a reverse layup buzzer beater. This win got the whole team fired up and gave the Pirates a 1-0 start in league games this season.”
Wrestling
Alberto Garza, the head coach for both the boys and girls wrestling teams wanted everyone to share the honors.
“The Wrestling Staff wants to nominate our entire team,” Coach Garza said. “The amount of work these wrestlers put in during the month of January is insane, from the normal everyday practices, to hosting two dual meets, a girls’ two-day Tournament that is consistently growing each year, and a boys’ two-day Tournament that sees 90 schools and over 2,000 people on campus.
“And to get the praise we get for running efficient and great events, it’s due to the hard work of our team. We just can’t choose one individual for Athlete of the Month.
Estero Bay News congratulates all the Pirate athletes and those singled out by coaches for special recognition. We wish them all good luck and Go Pirates!
