The San Marcos High School Alumni Foundation presented scholarships to seven graduating seniors who demonstrated the highest scholastic, citzenship and athletic standards.
There were four winners of the “Coaches Scholarships,” named after legendary coaches from the school. The recipients are: Eva Moschitto (Moe Claydon Scholarship), Ben Partee (Satini Puailoa II Scholarship), Alex Moosbrugger (Joe Mueller Scholarship) and Connor Hess (Maury Halleck Scholarship).
In the category of “Foundation Scholarships,” the winners include Meghan Downing (Bard Salcido Memorial Scholarship), Morgan Jensen-Magne (Class of 1961 Scholarship) and Alejandro Martinez (Football 1970- and Class of 1980-sponsored Ian Brown, Paul Robinson and David Taejian Memorial Scholarship).
Alumni Foundation member Dennis Kittle, who coached Martinez in freshman football, noted that Martinez, with the help of his mother and uncle and varsity head coach Jason Fowle, overcame physical limitations to play for the Royals. He was a noseguard on the varsity.
Martinez, who last month was named winner of the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table’s Larry Crandell Scholarship, will continue his education at Cal Lutheran University.
“His mental toughness and personality were both great,” Kittle said. “Physically, he had undergone several operations and it was a struggle for him. We were all very happy to see him receive the SBART Larry Crandell Award. He really earned it.”
The Brown, Robinson and Tafejian Memorial Scholarship is named after former San Marcos student athletes who passed away before their time.
Downing, a legally blind student-athlete and musician, was a member of the San Marcos swim team. She was a finalist for the 2019 Goleta Teen of the Year Award. Her scholarship is named after a long-time teacher and coach at the school who passed away in 2012.
Jensen-Magne, a four-year varsity softball standout for the Royals, signed a letter of intent with Holy Cross University. The Class of ’61 Scholarship she received is funded by donations from class members.
The criteria for the Coaches Scholarships includes participation in a varsity sport, in the arts, mock trial or other extracurricular activities at school.
“We had a tremendous job in evaluating the 30 applicants,” Kittle said. “They all had great backgrounds and were very high-performing students.
Moschitto played two years of volleyball and was a standout member in the performing arts program.
Partee was a record-setting quarterback for the Royals’ football team, played basketball and baseball, holds a grade point average of 4.8 and is headed to Gannon University in Erie, Pa., on a football scholarship.
Moosbrugger was one of the leaders of the baseball team and Hess was a standout in track & field who’ll continue his career at Westmont.
Funding for the Coaches Scholarships is arranged by a former San Marcos student athlete and pro baseball player. He prefers to remain anonymous.
Funds also are raised through the San Marcos Golf Classic Tournament and the San Marcos Fall Bowling Tournament.