SBART Phil Womble Ethics in Sports Award: Sophia Panossian from Dream Cast Media Group on Vimeo.
Sophia Panossian raised the level her of water polo game to earn a spot in the San Marcos starting lineup during her sophomore year.
It was the shortened COVID-19 season of spring 2021, and coach Chuckie Roth had a group of seniors who lost a full season and playoffs in their final year of high school.
He explained the situation to Panossian, saying her playing time was going to be impacted.
“She said to me, ‘What’s best for the program, I’ll support, and I support you,’” said Roth of her response. “She really could have played more, but she’s looking out for other people.”
That team-first attitude made Panossian a well-deserved recipient as the 2021-22 San Marcos High School honoree of the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table’s Phil Womble Ethics in Sports Award.
She was recognized by award sponsor and longtime SBART board member Dave Pintard in a virtual ceremony that included Roth.
The award is presented to a high school junior student athlete who exemplifies the highest standards of ethics and sportsmanship. It acknowledges accountability, respect of teammates, opponents and officials, honesty, positive attitude, reliability and humility in their daily lives.
Abe Jahadhmy, the San Marcos athletic director, said Panossian was a “natural selection” as she fit all the criteria for the award.
“Every teacher and person that knows Sophia speaks very highly of her for her integrity, hard work, lots of school spirit and leadership,” said Jahadhmy.
Roth has seen her spirit and leadership on the pool deck for the last couple of years. She was voted the Most Inspirational Award winner on the swim team this past season.
“She came up with slogans, cheers, anything to get the team fired up. The next thing you know everyone is drawing tattoos all over themselves of Royals, because Sophie started it,” said Roth.
“She leads in a positive way; she inspires others to be better, and she does it with a great GPA and a high level of character and ethics.”
Her 4.7 GPA helped San Marcos capture CIF-SS and CIF State Team Academic Championships this school year.
Her classroom work has earned her membership in the National Honor Society and an Academic Excellence Award. She also is a member of the San Marcos Entrepreneurship Academy.
In the pool, Panossian has been on back-to-back Channel League championship swim teams. She swam league-champion 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams as a junior.
This past winter, she started on the Royals’ league title team in water polo, which finished the season among the top eight teams in Southern California.
In the community, the daughter of Paul and Dana Panossian is active in the Santa Barbara City Junior Lifeguards program, logging nearly 600 hours of volunteer service.
As a participant, she has twice won the program’s 110% Junior Lifeguard Nick Johnson Award.
“She is in a league of her own, a really special student athlete,” said Roth.