SBART Scholar Athlete of the Year Award: Maddox Stretz from Dream Cast Media Group on Vimeo.
Maddox Stretz gets it done on the football field and in the classroom at Bishop Diego.
He’s also skilled at building and racing nitro-gas- and electric-powered remote control cars. He races at tracks throughout Southern California, and volunteers to run monthly races at the track at Elings Park.
His passion for the activity has helped inspire him to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering in college, where he also plans to play football.
Stretz has all the credentials to further his education and athletics to the next level.
The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table is proud to honor Stretz as Bishop Diego’s Scholar Athlete of the Year.
He is being presented the award in a video-taped ceremony with award sponsor Marc Gamberdella of Merrill Lynch’s Gamberdella-Spurill Group, and Bishop Diego football coach Tom Crawford.
Stretz holds a 4.61 grade point average, the top-ranked GPA among the Bishop Diego Class of 2022. His class load includes honors calculus, Advanced Placement government, AP English, theology, ceramics, and advanced strength and conditioning.
Maddox, the son of Sarah and Grady Stretz, has been named the top scholar athlete at Bishop Diego, and has achieved the top GPA during his freshman, sophomore and junior years at the school.
In football, he earned All-Camino League first-team honors as a linebacker. He helped the Cardinals win the league championship and finish with an 8-2 record.
“Maddox is a stellar individual in so many facets,” said Crawford. “The proverbial coach on the field, I know he’s being honored for taking care of business off the field. His GPA is reflective of not just his high IQ, but his discipline, his willingness to challenge himself with tough courses. He’s really put himself in a great position for college.
“That IQ he shows in the classroom carries over on the field as well. It’s one of the reasons he’s a captain for us. He’s a humble leader who sets the bar on and off the field by his work ethic and example.”
One Maddox’s joys of playing football at Bishop Diego was having his father, Grady, on the coaching staff as the defensive coordinator.
“The time we have spent together and the experiences we have shared is something that I will always treasure,” Maddox said.
He has received interest from the University of Texas at El Paso, Yale and Penn.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.