Santa Ynez didn’t look far to find coaches for its first girls flag football team.
Maddie Quiroga and Hannah (Cantrell) Wright, both graduates and standout athletes from the school, and currently coaches of the JV girls basketball team, were named co-head coaches for the flag football program, Athletic Director Josh McClurg announced.
“We are extremely excited to be starting girls flag football at SYHS. It is one of the fastest growing sports in the country and we had to make it a priority to get it started,” said McClurg. “I have been impressed with watching Maddie as our girls head JV basketball coach the last three years. She has a great rapport with the girls and brings a positive energy that is needed as a high school coach.
“The girls program added Hannah as a JV coach this year, and the two of them work extremely well together, so it was a no-brainer on who we needed to have as our inaugural girls flag football coaches.”
Quiroga, a 2014 SYHS grad, was captain of the varsity girls basketball team during her junior and senior years. She holds the school record for 3-point shots in a game and the record for points in a season, while also earning All-Los Padres League honors in her senior season. She is currently finishing school to become a teacher.
Wright captained the girls volleyball and basketball teams in her senior year of 2014-15. She was a three-time all-league selection in basketball and twice earned honors in volleyball. She broke the school record for hitting percentage in a volleyball match.
Wright went on to play volleyball at SBCC, where she was named all conference both years. She graduated from UCSB and is currently teaching at Jonata Middle School in Buellton.
Both coaches have deep ties to Santa Ynez’s athletic program’s legacy. Hannah’s father (Rob Cantrell) has been the school’s girls soccer head coach since 2005. Her mom and brothers both graduated from SYHS, and her brother Austin played football the last four years.
Her uncles all played football for the Pirates in the 1990s, and one (Brennan Swanson) went on to play football at Cal State Northridge and had a short stint with the San Francisco 49ers. Her cousin Harloe Swanson, who will be a senior this fall, is a member of the girls track 4×100 team that broke the 30-year old school record this past season.
Maddie Quiroga is a proud Santa Ynez Valley Chumash descendant of the first student/athletes to become Pirates in 1896.
Her father Michael Quiroga graduated in 1980 and was a standout four-sport (basketball, football, baseball, and tennis) athlete. He is considered one of the best basketball shooters in school history. Since his passing, Maddie and her family have started the Mike Quiroga Scholarship Fund at SYHS in honor of his legacy.
Maddie’s uncle, David Quiroga, was also an all-star athlete at SYHS, along with her aunt Lydia Quiroga. Her sister Ashley was a four-year varsity basketball starter for the Pirates.
“The fact that both coaches come from a long line of standout Pirate athletes is pretty special. The small town connections of the Valley are what make our school so special and it is what helps to instill Pirate Pride in all of our athletes,” said McClurg.
