Cate three-sport student-athlete Fiona Pan was honored as the school’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year to headline the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Press Luncheon on Monday at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.
While Pan received the first Scholar-Athlete of the Year award of the school year, local fall sports teams provided updates as their seasons continue to march along and dive into some of the biggest games of the year.
The SBART Press Luncheon is sponsored by Fidelity National Title Group, Investec Real Estate, Knight Real Estate Group and Carp Physio.
Fiona Pan Named Cate Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Pan is in the midst of her senior year at Cate, and she has made quite the impact during her time as a Ram.
In the classroom, she boasts an impressive 4.43 GPA with coursework that includes Advanced Intro to Modernism, Advanced Statistics, Advanced Neurobiology, Advanced Politics and Contemporary America, Advanced Vocal Music and Rock Band.
She is also the prefect of the schoolhouse dorm, the head of the school’s women’s forum and a writing lab peer tutor.
Meanwhile, Pan has developed into a three-sport standout, playing for the soccer, lacrosse and flag football teams. She is a two-time Second Team All-League player and one-time First Team All-League honoree on the soccer pitch.
She was also instrumental in the inception of Cate’s girls flag football team, which is in its inaugural season this fall in the fourth year that it has been an official CIF-Southern Section sport.
“I really want to thank (Cate athletic director) Wade (Ransom),” Pan said. “At the end of my freshman year, I sent him this really long email about wanting to start the girls’ flag football team, because I didn’t really feel like I had a place in fall sports at Cate.
“Over the last couple of years, he’s really supported me in being able to create the first-ever girls flag football team for Cate, and I’m so happy that I can leave that legacy.”
Pan is the first of 11 Scholar-Athletes of the Year for this school year. The award is sponsored by Marc Gamberdella of the Gamberdella-Spruill Group of Merrill Lynch.
Cross Country Teams Begin League Action
The local cross country teams have enjoyed a slower start than most fall sports to their seasons, but many will begin the league season in the next two weeks.
While the Channel League teams of San Marcos, Dos Pueblos and Santa Barbara High will have their league prelim meet on Saturday at Lake Casitas in Ojai, Carpinteria will kick off Citrus Coast League action next Tuesday at Santa Paula Creek Sports Park.
The Royals, Chargers and Dons will all be competing in the Channel League alongside Buena and Ventura, but Saturday’s meet will also include the Pacific View league teams: Channel Islands, Del Sol, Oxnard, Pacifica and Rio Mesa.
“Cross country season really starts this weekend. We’ve had some meets, but now it becomes where it really matters,” San Marcos head coach Marilyn Hantgin said. “We’ll be going up against some great competition.”
Football Teams Enter League Play
The high school football season has reached its halfway point, with the majority of local teams coming off their bye week and heading into their league openers this weekend.
Santa Barbara High (3-2) is back in the Channel League after a two-year hiatus, set to host Moorpark for the league opener on Friday at 7 p.m. at Peabody Stadium. The league also includes Ventura, Westlake, Rio Mesa and Thousand Oaks.
San Marcos (2-3) and Dos Pueblos (3-2) are once again in the Tri-County League, with the Royals beginning league play at home against Fillmore and the Chargers beginning on the road at Hueneme. Both games are set to kick off on Friday at 7 p.m. Santa Paula and Royal are also in the league.
“Bye weeks tend to allow you to get healthy, or they can derail your momentum. We felt we had a good week and we’re excited as we pick off our league,” Dos Pueblos football head coach AJ Pateras said.
Bishop Diego (2-3) is once again in the powerhouse Marmonte League, set to begin its tough schedule on the road against Newbury Park on Friday at 7 p.m. Simi Valley, Pacifica, St. Bonaventure and Oaks Christian round out the Marmonte League.
Carpinteria High (0-5) will kick off Citrus Coast League action down in Oxnard against Channel Islands, another winless team, on Friday at 7 p.m.
“Our team still has a good attitude, and we’re ready to go into our league this week,” Carpinteria High football coach Van Latham said. “Something’s got to give. Both teams are winless, so it’s going to be a battle.”
In 8-man football, Laguna Blanca will begin its Frontier League schedule on the road on Saturday with a matchup against Hillcrest Christian slated for 11:30 a.m. Cate will host Orcutt on Saturday at 2 p.m. in its non-league finale.
Student-Athletes in Attendance
Cate Girls Soccer, Lacrosse, Flag Football: Fiona Pan
SBCC Football: Ayden Staricco
Dos Pueblos Football: Adrian Avila, Isaac Tellez
Dos Pueblos Cross Country: Townes Widger, Samara Goodlett, Allison Espino
Dos Pueblos Flag Football: Hazel Burgess, Ruby Streatfeild
Santa Barbara High Flag Football: Elina Stump, Lylee Harris, Maddy Stoll
Carpinteria High Girls Golf: Sophia Garay, Athziry Rojas
Carpinteria High Cross Country: Penelope Rowe, Ronny Rosales-Bui
Carpinteria High Football: Caleb Kelly, Giovanny Martinez
San Marcos Flag Football: Cami Weiss, Milana Lynn
Santa Barbara High Girls Golf: Hannah Mahboob, Livvi Zampelli
San Marcos Cross Country: August Singer, Nathan Daughters, Abby Herbst, Maya D’Amour
