Gabe Medel is a worker and a giver.
The Carpinteria High junior plays three sports for the Warriors, carries 3.9 GPA with a class schedule that includes advanced placement and SBCC dual enrollment courses, and is involved in several campus organizations.
Yet, with all that going on, he finds time to volunteer coach with Special Olympics and help out with the organization’s School Games track and field meet, and coach with the Carpinteria Mavericks Basketball Club.
Medel was recognized Monday as Carpinteria’s recipient of the Phil Womble Ethics in Sports Award at the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon.
Medel recently finished the water polo season, helping Carpinteria win the Citrus Coast League championship with a 6-0 record. He was named second-team all league.
He’s now playing basketball for the Warriors. In the spring, he’ll play on the volleyball team.
Medel is heavily involved in campus life, too. He’s a member of MESA (Math, Engineering and Science Aptitude), EAOP (Early Academic Outreach Program), the guitar club and the yearbook committee.
Water polo coach Stephen Kim said Medel is well deserving of the Womble Award because of his hard work and selfless attitude.
“Gabe did not start in the beginning of the season,” Kim said through event presenter and sponsor Dave Pintard. “However, he continued to work hard and encourage his teammates and he earned a starting position during the CIF playoffs.
“He is an excellent example of commitment, hard work and positive attitude that pays off.”
Volleyball coach Dino Garcia said through Pintard that Medel is “a charismatic team player that thinks quickly on his feet and would be an asset to any program he enters.”
Basketball coach Corey Adam said Medel possesses the qualities of a good teammate — being able to set aside individual interests for the betterment of the team.
“(Gabe) is the type of kid who definitely can do that,” he said. “He’s not going to complain about playing time, he’s just going to come to practice and work harder and make the decision of the coach that much more difficult.
“He’s the type of kid I would want my son to emulate: how he carries himself and all the things he does.”
Pintard noted that Gabe follows “a family heritage of community service and doing the right thing.
“His family has been a wonderful community fixture in the city of Carpinteria,” he said.
Gabe was joined by his mother and father, Tina and Brian, and grandfathers Lorenzo Martinez and Ben Medel.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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