Bearcathletes 2025

As senior Tyler Daillak stepped on the line at the CIF Division 1 meet at Clovis East High school he knew this was his last 1600m of the season and his last chance to break the elusive record of 4:09 set by Trad Berti in 2017. When the gun goes off Daillak sprints off the line well, but has no expectations for the race given he had caught a cold a couple days before. As he settles into second place as he feels the sandpaper air of the valley combining with his already sore throat. Halfway through the race Daillak takes the lead as the pace slows down once he realizes that even though he is sick, he is feeling pretty good. When the bell rang, signifying his final 400m lap of four he started picking up the pace before he full sprinted to the finish line with time of 4:08.92
Daillak has left his mark in the school record books during his time at Paso. He currently holds the school record in the 3200m (8:57), 1600m, 800m (1:54.61), and the 5k (14:53) on the Woodward Park course in Fresno where the state meet is held. During his senior year cross country season, he won the Hoka Foot Locker Nationals West Regional Qualifier and went on to place 23 in the nation at Balboa Park in San Diego, California on Dec. 7, 2024.
Daillak has been running competitively from a young age. In 5th grade he competed at the USATF Cross Country National meet in Tallahassee, Florida. In middle school, he had a family friend who coached him through difficult workouts and by the time he joined the high school cross country team, he already had his goals set.
“I knew I wanted to run in college, and I was ready to put in the work for that,” Daillak said. When he first joined the team he was first intimidated by the level of competition, but he found the team community under long time coach Ivan Huff welcomed him in.
During his freshman cross country season, Daillak recounts always trying to keep up with the senior varsity runners out on the roads on “easy” run days. When it came time for “Workout Wednesday,” where the team would run hard intervals around the baseball field, Daillak was prepared from his middle school training.
“I had done harder workouts when I was in seventh and eighth grade than I did in high school.” Daillak explained that while the workouts were easier, highschool running meant running more consistently with much more mileage than he had before, and when Daillak hit the track in the spring he was prepared.
In Daillak’s freshman track season, he ran 10:18 for the 3200m (2 mile), a respectable time for a freshman. By his sophomore year, he jumped to 9:34 and was able to qualify for the CIF Central section (Masters) Championship.” After Tyler grew five inches that summer and started running 60 miles a week, he went on to have a historic season where he broke the 3200m school record three times over and finished the season at the CIF State Championship with a time of 8:59. This time got the attention of Cal Poly SLO, where he is now committed to run on a full ride scholarship starting this fall.
Daillak attributes the success to: “A mixture of genetics, the motivation to keep going with the vision to run in college, and just an awesome team.” Huff explains how Tyler’s progression
was even a surprise to him, “I have been totally surprised. I saw how passionate he was about running, and that’s probably his biggest benefit for how far he’s come.” Huff expressed. But this progression didn’t come without challenge: during Daillak’s junior year, school was getting harder than ever and the fatigue of training was catching up to him. He explained how he had signed up for harder classes that year, which he had to find time to balance with running higher mileage of around nine miles per day.
To get Daillak to this elite level, Huff explains how his training had to change: “I had changed high school (level) workouts to a little more college type workouts-a little longer, a little harder, a little more intense.”
With his final season coming to an end, Daillak is looking forward to competing at Cal Poly next fall. He set himself the goals of breaking four minutes in the mile and 14 minutes in the 5k his freshman year.
Through all the ups and downs of eight seasons of
highschool running, the glory of winning cross country races and setting school records on the track, Daillak says his favorite part of it all is the simple Saturday morning long run with the team.

     As the referee motioned the Bearcats and Greyhounds onto War Memorial field on Feb. 4, 2025, senior Hannah Bourgault, a 2024 All-League player, took deep breaths to calm her nerves before entering her last home high school soccer game. Regardless of the pouring rain, she brought high spirits as she led the pre-game huddle. 

Bourgault relentlessly fought throughout the game with clean touches, swift movements, and extreme endurance. Just as relentlessly, she scored three goals in the game, ending with her season with 15 goals – more than any teammate. It wasn’t enough to defeat the Greyhounds who went on to win 4-3, and Bourgault hung up her Copas on her season and career as a Bearcat bittersweet – but certain she had left her mark.

After receiving four All-League awards for each year she played varsity, it’s clear she positively affected her soccer community. Following graduation, she plans on attending and playing on a Cal Poly club team.

After getting inspiration from her older sister, Sara de Leuw, Bourgault began playing soccer when she was four years old on a Paso Robles AYSO team. 

“I really looked up to her as a person when I was younger, so seeing that she played soccer kind of inspired me, and then I 0fell in love with it,” Bourgault said.

She eventually transitioned to Templeton recreational teams until she started playing for the PRHS women’s varsity team. Sophomore Lila Colegrove, who went to Almond Acres Charter with Bourgault, played with her on Templeton teams, played soccer with her on varsity Bourgault’s junior and senior year, and currently does track with her this year, has grown close to her over the years and has thoroughly enjoyed their time together.

“When I was younger I always looked up to her because I had known her forever and she was like the cool older sister’s friend. I always wanted to play with her –but never against her – because she was always better than everyone else,” Colegrove said.

Because of her commitment and leader like qualities, she was captain both her junior and senior year. 

“Hannah was a team leader from day one and she inspired her teammates in multiple ways- her strength, her cool header goals, her ability to control the game from holding mid, her hat trick on senior night, and I could go on,” former head varsity coach Steve Pugh said

Her teammates saw this, too, voting her for the team’s Offensive MVP her freshman year and All Around MVP and the Lions Club recipient her junior and senior year.

Furthermore, though she had raw talent from the start, Bourgault saw improvement in her performance over time.  

“I feel like I’ve always had a natural ability with athletics, but definitely one thing I needed to work on, besides my speed, was my footwork and abilities on the ball. I think that’s seriously something I’ve improved on in the past three years,” Bourgault said.

Bourgault leaves with 5,124 minutes played, the most played on the women’s varsity team, according to assistant varsity coach Matt Thompson.

“Watching Hannah in games was my favorite part. It’s when all of her hard work manifested into truly amazing soccer,” Pugh said.

Although soccer is her favorite, Bourgault also competes in track, in long  jump, the 4x100m relay, the 100m, and the 200m.  

“Doing track with her has been super nice because we’re able to work hard and take it seriously, but also have fun at the same time,” Colegrove said.

Though she nearly played  D3 soccer at Cal Lutheran, Bourgault ultimately chose Cal Poly to fit her major in forest and fire science. She is planning to play club soccer for Cal Poly and work towards a walk-on spot on Cal Poly’s team.

“I’m looking forward to getting to be on my own and taking on more mature responsibilities, as well as honing in on my career and looking for more opportunities and internships that correlate to my studies,” Bourgault said. 

     Like Aquaman called to the sea, senior Ezra Smeltzer found himself drawn to the water. From the moment he stepped into the pool, Goalie came naturally- reacting on instinct and defending his turf.

As captain of boys varsity water polo, Smeltzer led the Bearcats to a strong finish earning First Team All-League MVP. He anchored his team’s defense, contributing to the team’s overall record of 21-10  and a perfect 10-0 league season. Smeltzer currently holds records in three categories: 28 saves in a single game, 378 in one season, and 981 across his career. In addition to water polo, he’s also in varsity swim, clocking a 51.55 in the 100-yard freestyle and 11:04.45 in the 100 breaststroke at CIF D1C. Smeltzer is also captain of the boys volleyball team, with the position as middle hitter. 

“Smeltzer’s leadership is most certainly one of his defining attributes. He’s consistent, dedicated, and passionate. All of these attributes help him lead the team in every game,” Varsity Men’s Water Polo Coach, Colin Moore said. 

At 6’5” and spending nearly 20 hours per week training throughout the season, Smeltzer became known for his unmatched wingspan and his reliable reflexes which shut down even the toughest shots. His journey began the summer before his freshman year when Moore invited him and friends Garret Haggmark and Vincent Napolitano to join varsity practices. With prior experience in playing club water polo, Smeltzer locked into the goalie role since his sophomore year. 

“This matters now, I need to try my hardest. It really lit the fire, there’s a purpose behind it.” Smeltzer said.

Smeltzer’s inspirations are his three sisters who’ve previously led PRHS water polo. Smeltzer explained that one of his sisters, Tatiana Smeltzer, who played water polo at Cal State Northridge, inspired him to reach college level water polo. He plans to pursue his passion at Cuesta College.

“I was very happy to see Ezra grow into not only a sport that he loves, but also a position that he loves. Being a goalie definitely sets him apart from everyone else, and I think it helped him find his voice, quite literally, and take on more of a leadership role,” T. Smeltzer said.

     When Bruce Banner shifts into the Hulk, he grows physically strong and gains a temper, but manages to learn emotional control while in the Hulk form. Like Banner, wrestlers are physically strong, but need to maintain a strong headspace, and senior Denisse De La Cruz’s wrestling career has taught her the importance of having a strong sense of determination. 

This season, De La Cruz got first place in the Monache High School Tournament, where she beat the Nevada State girl’s champion– a win not everyone can accomplish, she mentioned. De La Cruz got third in CIF, second at League, and fourth in the Central Section, an achievement that secured her spot at the state level tournament on Apr. 28. 

PRHS’s most decorated female grappler has been wrestling for four years; she began her freshman year of high school, but prior to that she was in jujitsu for two years. Quickly after joining the wrestling team, De La Cruz found out she was the only girl on the team in a male-dominated sport, which encouraged her be a waymaker for future female Bearcat wrestlers. 

“I was the only girl on the team freshman year and I noticed it was hard for them to get acclimated to that. We’re a small town, so it was something that was new and different. Me staying gave the other girls more opportunities to grow, have more tournaments, and continue to wrestle,” she said.

Sophomore Melanie Cerron has been wrestling with PRHS since her freshman year as well and she felt that De La Cruz took her under her wing that year. 

“I learned my moves from her and a my wrestling style from her. We hang out all the time at meets, practices, and even after school. She’s like a sister to me,” Cerron shared. 

After highschool, De La Cruz plans to attend Missouri Valley College with a wrestling scholarship she secured with the help of her mentor, former Bearcat of Class of 2024 Thalia Busulto, who will also wrestle for MVC next year. De La Cruz plans to continue to wrestle while majoring in forensic science where she eventually plans to join the police force. 

     Hayden Roady leaves PRHS as arguably one of the most influential athletes of recent years. Captaining both the football and track team, he displayed his leadership was down to more than just his seniority. It also comes from his performance, holding the third fastest 100 meter time for the school and being one of the leaders in sacks last season.

For Roady, track has introduced friendships from all around California.

“How much you get to bond with literally everybody. I have friends from up here in Paso to all the way down in LA, just from track alone. There’s been times where I warm up with the other team.” 

He owes a big part to his success in sports to his family: Roady was first pushed to do football by his dad, and thereafter convinced to do track by his mom and grandmother, all of whom had played the respective sport before.

After high school, Roady has decided to further his academic and athletic career at Cuesta College, where he will be running track for the Cougars.

     From the yellow, wax floors of the volleyball court, to the rough dirt on the softball field, senior Kylee Nancolas can be seen diving for a ball in the back row or hitting a homerun on the Bearcat Softball Field. 

Nancolas has four years of varsity softball, with two years of being captain, and two years of varsity volleyball. She began her athletic career with her first sport being softball picking up a ball around age two with her dad nudging her into the sport.

“My dad is a really big baseball fan so I was immediately exposed to it at a super young age but didn’t start playing competitively until I was about eight years old,” Nancolas said.

Although there are many differences between volleyball and softball,  this is what Nancolas enjoys about having these two fall and spring identities.

“I enjoy softball most, just because it’s what I’ve grown up with, and it’s really shaped me and built me as a person and as a young woman, and I’ve gotten to meet many friends,” Nancolas said.

Over her four years in both sports programs, Nancolas has received four major awards because of her outstanding statistics and character. She has received the Bearcat Award in both volleyball and softball and received second team all league her freshman year in 2022. In her final season, she received the 2025 All Spring Team and 1st Team All League.

As her final season as a Bearcat comes to a close, Nancolas currently stands leading her team with a batting average of .523, 25 runs batted in, 14 doubles, and two home-runs. 

As Nancolas ends her senior year, she is soaring to her next adventure at Fresno State where she will be majoring in Fresno State, but not continuing her athletic adventure.