New Hampshire

Christopher High's Katie Garrison signs with New Hampshire | Gilroy Dispatch | Gilroy, California

Published

2 years ago

February 26, 2024

Christopher High's Katie Garrison signs with New Hampshire | Gilroy Dispatch | Gilroy, California

Christopher field hockey star Katie Garrison scored 32 goals to lead the Cougars in a 17-2-2 season this past fall. The Cougars finished in first place in the Blossom Valley Athletic League, Mt. Hamilton Division, with an 8-0-2 record, and advanced to the Central Coast Section playoffs.

Garrison’s offensive output ranked as the best in the state of California with a 1.882 goals per game percentage, and the Cougars’ senior has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of New Hampshire next year and continue her field hockey career.

Garrison continues a trend of Christopher student-athletes who have excelled for the school and moved on to play in college. The CHS program under Dani Hemeon Perez is strong, and Perez’s lineage dates back to her play for Gilroy coach Adam Gemar and Gemar’s establishment of field hockey all over the city and the area.

The genesis of this “center of excellence” in the city of Gilroy, including the leadership of Gemar and his former player Perez, Gilroy ’11 and an All-American at Iowa and part of the USA Women’s National Development Team, will be covered in detail in a future article.

“I am very fortunate to have played for Coach Dani and been a part of the CHS Field Hockey program,” Garrison said. “During my freshman year, I was the youngest on the varsity team and was very new to the sport of field hockey. Under coach Dani’s mentorship, I was able to grow and evolve into a leader for my team and develop my skill set.

“My coach really pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me, and for that I am thankful. I was able to unlock my full potential playing for Coach Dani while continuing to learn and elevate as not only a field hockey player, but as a person.”

Garrison’s accomplishments are among the headlines for a spectacular period of excellent and successful Christopher High School field hockey under Perez. Over the last four seasons, the Cougars are 68-13-4 with three league championships, the last two years in the BVAL Mount Hamilton Division, after previously competing in the Pacific Coast Athletic League, Gabilan Division. Christopher has also qualified for and advanced in the Central Coast Section playoffs to one final, one semifinal and two quarterfinals.

“Katie is a great field hockey player with really strong fundamentals,” Perez said. “She was a starting forward on our team all four years. As a forward, she does a great job leading for the ball and creating space in tight situations. She is also an incredible leader and was voted one of our team captains both her junior and senior seasons.”

In the 2022 season, Christopher had an 18-7 mark, 6-4 in league play and had a superb playoff run. The Cougars defeated Valley Christian 2-1, Hollister 5-1, Los Altos 1-0 in two overtimes and Los Gatos 1-0 to reach the final, where they were edged by Archbishop Mitty 1-0.

In the fall 2023 season, the Cougars fashioned an unbeaten league season, featuring a 0-0 tie and 1-0 win over rival Gilroy. The only defeats came to Mitty 1-0 in overtime early in the season, and to St. Francis 1-0 in the playoffs.

“My senior year was the best year with the program yet,” Garrison said. “My teammates were wonderful people that I was lucky to play with, and the team culture was excellent. I am incredibly grateful that my team trusted me to take on a leadership role these past two seasons; it was an honor leading such a special group of girls.”

Garrison, the latest in a long line of successful student-athletes at both Christopher and Gilroy, began initially as an endurance athlete in swimming and cross country and moved to field hockey relatively late. At the end of seventh grade, she tried a field hockey camp at Gemar’s Infinity Club and fell in love with the sport.

Garrison is extremely well-rounded. She recently became a Campus Captain for the Hidden Opponent (thehiddenopponent.org/campus-captains), and also started a Morgan’s Message chapter (morgansmessage.org/program-guidelines) at Christopher. Both are valuable resources for mental health.

Garrison was named CHS field hockey MVP. She was also recognized as BVAL co-senior of the year with Gilroy’s Jade Moncada. Additionally, Garrison also received the “Character Counts” award for female fall athletes at CHS, and was named first team All-West by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.

That team covered California, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas. Of the 16 players, only four were from California and Garrison was the only one outside of the San Diego area.

Now it is on to college. Garrison was very impressed with the UNH coaches and team members during the recruiting process and is looking forward to the next step in both her education and field hockey career.

“UNH was the best college choice I could have possibly made,” Garrison said. “From the start, Coaches Balducci, Danielson, and Hathaway made me feel incredibly valued as a player and a human being. They have a clear vision for their exceptional program, and were honest and transparent with me surrounding the goals and aspirations they have for their program in the years to come. Upon visiting campus and meeting the girls, I was even more impressed with the college and program. UNH’s field hockey program is strong and has shown that they can compete with other high-caliber programs, which is exciting.”

Garrison follows in the footsteps of fellow Cougars who advanced to play in college, including Julia Davis ’16 (Indiana U. of Pennsylvania), Jordan Anaya ’21 (UC Davis), Mia Katsuyoshi ’22 (Cal), Skyler Turiello ’22 (Maryville), and Cloey Turiello ’23 (Maryville).

It all begins with the genesis of field hockey by Gemar and the continuing tradition he and Perez have built in the city of Gilroy.

“Dani and I are on the same page,” Gemar said. “It’s fun. Period. That’s our number one goal. We want to be competitive. We want to teach everyone what they need to know to play at the next level. And to do everything athletes do; not just sit on the sideline.”

Both Gilroy and Christopher have amazing team cultures, with cohesiveness and friendships that are mirrored on the field with superb, successful field hockey. Players at both schools reference their teamwork and friendship highly.

“Commitment is a huge part of our team culture at CHS, and I am so proud of how the girls have really bought into this,” Perez said. “A big reason is that we play a team game, where passing and playing with speed is always the emphasis. In order to play this style of hockey, we really emphasize perfecting the fundamentals. As a coach, I do my best to not only prepare the girls to continue playing at the next level (if that’s what they hope to do), but to also give them the skills to be successful in whatever career path they choose to take.”

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New Hampshire

Possible 2028 Democratic White House contenders weigh in on Iran with New Hampshire voters

Published

3 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Possible 2028 Democratic White House contenders weigh in on Iran with New Hampshire voters

As the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran overtakes the foreign policy debate in Washington, two Democratic governors with potential 2028 presidential aspirations — Gavin Newsom and Andy Beshear — recently traveled to New Hampshire, introducing themselves to the state’s famously engaged voters. The two weighed in on the war and both criticized and questioned President Trump’s strategy and endgame.

“If a president is going to take a country into war, and risk the lives of American troops and Americans in the region, he has to have a real justification and not one that seems to change every five to 10 hours,” Beshear told CBS News after a Democratic fundraiser in Keene.

“This President seems to use force before ever trying diplomacy, and he has a duty to sell it to the American people and to address Congress with it,” Beshear continued. “He hasn’t done any of that. In fact, it appears there isn’t even a plan for what success looks like. He’s gone from regime change to strategic objectives and now is talking about unconditional surrender, which isn’t realistic where he is.”

Beshear also said he thought that Congress should have reined in Mr. Trump’s war powers.

“He is trying to ignore Congress. He’s trying to even ignore the American people,” Beshear said.

He went on to note that the president’s State of the Union address took place “three — four days before he launched this attack,” and Mr. Trump “didn’t even have the respect to tell the American people the threat that he thought Iran posed to us.”

Last week, both the House and the Senate failed to pass resolutions to limit Mr. Trump’s war powers and stop him from taking further military action against Iran without congressional support.

Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks with voters in Keene, New Hampshire, on March 7, 2026.

Anne Bryson

For Newsom, the war with Iran constitutes part of a broader criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At an event last Tuesday in Los Angeles, Newsom had compared Israel to an “apartheid state.” Later, in New Hampshire, he sought to clarify his comment.

“I was specifically referring to a Tom Friedman [New York Times] column last week, where Tom used that word of apartheid as it relates to the direction Bibi is going, particularly on the annexation of the West Bank,” Newsom explained during a book tour event Thursday night in Portsmouth. “I’m very angry, with what he is doing and why he’s doing it, what he’s going to ultimately try to do to the Supreme Court there, what he’s trying to do to save his own political career.”

Friedman wrote that at the same time that the U.S. and Israel are prosecuting a war in Iran, within Israel, Netanyahu’s government has undertaken efforts to annex the West Bank, driving Palestinians from their homes; fire the attorney general who is leading the prosecution against Netanyahu for corruption; and block the government’s attempt to establish a commission to examine the failures that led up to the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Jews by Hamas.

CBS News has reached out to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment.

On Iran, Newsom said, “I’m very angry about this war, with all due respect, you know, not because I’m angry the supreme leader is dead. Quite the contrary. I’m not naive about the last 37 years of his reign. Forty-seven years since ’79 — the revolution,” Newsom said. “But I’m also mindful that you have a president who still is inarticulate and incapable of giving us the rationale of why? Why now? What’s the endgame?”

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with political commentator Jack Cocchiarella at an event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on March 5, 2026.

Anne Bryson

Many attendees at Newsom’s book event said that the situation in Iran is a top-of-mind issue for them, too. Some said they’re “horrified” by what is happening.

29-year-old Alicia Marr told CBS News she decided to attend Newsom’s event because of his social media response to the war with Iran.

“There was one spot left, and I decided to pick it up, and it was due to his response to the war, that it is just unacceptable, and I would agree with that,” Marr said.

While some voters like Marr are eager to hear about where potential candidates stand on foreign policy, many at Newsom’s event said they care most about how potential candidates plan to address domestic issues.

“I’m more focused on getting the middle class back on track and fighting the oligarchy, and I’m less invested in international issues,” said Anita Alden, who also attended Newsom’s event,

“I wouldn’t call myself America first, but we have so many problems at home that are my priority,” she told CBS News.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who may also be weighing another White House bid, told Fox 2 Detroit last week that she “unequivocally opposes” the Trump administration’s military action in Iran and urged Congress to take action.

“If we want to stop Donald Trump with this random decision that he has arrived at, then Congress must act, and Congress must act immediately. The American people do not want our sons and daughters to go into this unauthorized war of choice,” Harris said.

Mr. Trump has lashed out against Democrats who have pushed back on his Iran strategy, calling them “losers” last week and arguing that they would criticize any decision he made on Iran.

“If I did it, it’s no good. If I didn’t do it, they would have said the opposite, that you should have done this,” the president said.

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New Hampshire

Mass. man nabbed after allegedly driving over 100 mph in N.H.

Published

16 hours ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Mass. man nabbed after allegedly driving over 100 mph in N.H.

Local News

Police say the Attleboro man was driving 104 mph in a 55 mph zone on Route 202 near in Rindge, New Hampshire.

A Massachusetts man was arrested late Wednesday night after police say he was driving more than 100 mph on a New Hampshire roadway.

Officers with the Rindge Police Department stopped a vehicle shortly after 11 p.m. on Route 202 near Sears Drive in Rindge following a report of a car traveling at excessive speed, according to a statement from Chief Rachel Malynowski.

The vehicle, a 2020 Kia Stinger, was spotted traveling at 104 mph in a posted 55 mph zone, Malynowski said.

The driver, a 21-year-old man from Attleboro, was arrested and charged with reckless operation of a motor vehicle, according to police.

He is scheduled to be arraigned April 5. If convicted, the man faces a fine of at least $750, in addition to the court’s penalty assessment, and a 90-day license suspension, Malynowski said.