Vincent Rinaldi’s performance on the track for Carpinteria and Natasha Gill’s play for San Marcos in a championship tennis match were rewarded with Athlete of the Week honors at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon at The Creekside Restaurant.
Rinaldi broke school records in winning the 100 and 200 meters at the 101st Russell Cup at Carpinteria Valley Memorial Stadium. He ran 10.87 in the 100, beating the previous mark of 10.94. In the 200, Rinaldi clocked 21.87, besting his previous record of 22.05.
Rinaldi’s wins led Carpinteria to its first team title since 1999, and he was chosen the Outstanding Athlete of the Meet.
Gill captured the Channel League singles championship with a victory over top-seeded Sophia Ostovany of Santa Barbara. The San Marcos sophomore finished as the league runner-up during her freshman year.
“Natasha was playing lights out and went big on all her shots, which gave Sophia a lot of trouble and prevented her from being on the offensive like she was during the season,” said San Marcos coach Jonny Sapp.
The female honorable mention choices were Becca Rodriguez (San Marcos soccer) and Natasha Stapf (San Marcos basketball).
The other male contenders for the award include Ryan Speshyock (Dos Pueblos baseball), Jed Greenwald (San Marcos tennis) and Andrew Douglas (Santa Barbara basketball).
— 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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