The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table will be inducting seven new members into its Hall of Fame on Monday, Sept. 18. The Induction Class of 2023 includes four athletes, a coach, a community leader and a special achievement honoree.
This is the first in a series of stories about this year’s inductees.
As Jenna Ridgway Corliss was clocking good times in cross country and track & field, she also was racking up high marks in the classroom, first as a student-athlete at San Marcos High and then at Brown University.
Her education achievements include a bachelor’s degree from the Ivy League school, Academic All-American honors and a Fulbright Fellowship.
As an athlete, Corliss qualified for the CIF State Meet in both cross country and track for San Marcos, and won honors while competing at Brown.
Corliss won Santa Barbara County meet titles in cross country and track in her junior and senior seasons (2005-2006) and qualified for the CIF State Championships in both sports as a junior. She placed ninth in the State Division 2 race in cross country and took 13th in the 1600 meters at the State Track & Field Championships.
She was recognized as the Round Table and San Marcos Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2006.
Corliss also competed in basketball and volleyball for the Royals.
Her athletic and academic achievements in high school earned her acceptance into an Ivy League institution.
At Brown, she competed on the cross country and track & field teams, receiving Freshman of the Year honors for the cross country team in 2007. In 2007, she was named All-Northeast Region and Academic All-American.
She was elected captain of the cross country team in 2008.
As a member of the track team, she qualified for the Eastern Regionals in the 5,000 meters in her freshman season.
Corliss graduated from Brown with a BA in Education Studies in 2010 and was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship to teach English in South Korea for a year (2010-11).
She earned a master’s degree in U.S. History from UC San Diego in 2012 and landed a job at Sage Hill School in Newport Beach as a teacher and an assistant cross country coach. In 2014, she was honored with the school’s “Lightning Award” for making a significant community impact.
Corliss’ vast knowledge in history earned her a position as a College Board Advanced Placement U.S. History Exam Reader.
She later served as a dean at Marlborough School in Los Angeles before returning to Santa Barbara in 2021. She was hired at SBCC as a dual-enrollment instructor in U.S. History, and last year started as an International Baccalaureate instructor for history at Dos Pueblos High.
“My guess is her students have no idea what a stud athlete she was in high school as she is very humble,” said Dos Pueblos Principal Bill Woodard. “She’s a favorite of our students who appreciate how dedicated she is to their success.”
Corliss and her husband, Alex, have two children: son Avon, age 4, and daughter Delaney, 1 1/2.
The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table will be inducting seven new members into its Hall of Fame including Alex Mack (San Marcos High), Sami Hill (Dos Pueblos), Paula Charest Lilly (Bishop Diego) and Jenna Ridgway Corliss (San Marcos) who are being honored for their achievements as athletes. Greg Patton, a Bishop Diego and UCSB alum, is being recognized for his remarkable coaching career; San Marcos alum Harvey Bottlesen, who founded the Santa Barbara Tennis Club, is the community leader, and journalist John Zant, a UCSB alum, is being enshrined for his seven decades of providing quality sports writing for the community.
In addition, the SBART is honoring one its founders, 96-year-old Bill Bertka. He is a L.A. Lakers legend, having been a part of 10 championship teams as an assistant coach and consultant.
The SBART Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held at the Cabrillo Arts Pavilion. Tickets can be purchased at this link.
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