The 2025-26 athletics season gets underway this week as the season’s first girls volleyball game is played on Thursday afternoon in Cloverdale. It’s followed by a weekend tournament at Vintage High School in Napa, then three more weeks of non-league play and tournaments before the first Redwood Empire – Mountain game on Sept. 23, against Rancho Cotate.
The girls volleyball team, coached again by Jonathan Nuttall, plays in the North Bay Redwood league, composed of Rancho, Analy, Elsie Allen, Piner, St. Vincent and Healdsburg. Last year the team’s record was 7-20 overall, 3-7 in league play.
Football practice is well underway with new head coach Taylor Tappin following up on Criss Rosales’ one-year tenure.
The first test of the new program is next Friday, Aug. 29, against Fremont’s Washington High. The game will be played at Rec Park, with the familiar voice of Richard Bugarske again calling the action. A series of non-league games follow on successive Fridays, both at home and away, until the Redwood Empire – Mountain opener finds Healdsburg visiting San Rafael on Sept. 26.
The Mountain is the home for Healdsburg for the second year running. The North Coast Section (NCS) reviews league placement every two years so it’s quite possible, with the Hounds being winless in league play since 2017, that Healdsburg will be in a new group next year. The team’s overall 2024 record was 3-7, 0-6 in league play. Other Mountain teams are Sonoma Valley, Piner, San Rafael, Novato, Archie Williams and Terra Linda, as well as Healdsburg.
Cross Country also gets an early start this fall, with Healdsburg listed as a Division 5 team. Their first competition comes Sept. 4 at the Bob Shor Invitational at Spring Lake Park in Santa Rosa, followed by the Viking Opener Invitational at Santa Rosa High on Sept. 13. The team is again scored in the Oak division of NCS. A number of key runners return this fall, including Jake McWilliams, Wyatt Drew, Lucas Welty, Beatrix Hawkes, Justina Domenichelli and Fia Huebel among others.
Also on the radar: Girls tennis, which gets started early this year with an Aug. 26 match against Cardinal Newman. And girls golf, a league-winning team last year, returns to action on Sept. 16 in Ukiah, followed by a Sept. 18 match against Montgomery here in Healdsburg.
All student-athlete information from HHS can be found at sites.google.com/husd.com/healdsburgunifiedathletics/home.
