It was a packed house for the penultimate Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Press Luncheon of 2023 on Monday.
The state champion Santa Barbara City College Women’s Water Polo team was honored, Penny Wrought was awarded Carpinteria’s Phil Womble Ethics in Sports Award and winter sports previewed their upcoming league seasons.
The luncheon was held at Harry’s Plaza Cafe and guest hosted by Paul Menzel of the Menzel Family Foundation.
SBCC Women’s Water Polo Honored for Historic Season
The Vaqueros were well-deserving of being honored for their 2023 season, as it very well may have been the greatest in the history of CCCAA Women’s Water Polo.
SBCC was led by head coach Chuckie Roth, the back-to-back WSC Coach of the Year.
“We are honored as an athletic department to be just a part of the daily inspiration and top-level coaching that Chuckie shares with his student-athletes,” SBCC Athletic Director LaDeane Hansten said. “He maintains a focus on student-athlete safety and well-being, academic success and interpersonal growth.”
Their 37-1 record that ended in a state championship made them the winningest team in CCCAA state history and secured back-to-back titles, a feat accomplished for the first time since 2012-13.
The championship was the program’s third since its inception, and the 28-game winning streak to begin the season was the longest in CCCAA history.
“This is a really special group of young ladies,” Roth said. “A special part about them is how they treat each other… The way they treat each other in and out of the water is why they are standing here today.
“Every time this year that I asked if they wanted the easy way or adversity, they always chose adversity so I’m really proud of them for that.”
Penny Wrought Earns Phil Womble Award for Carpinteria High
Wrought was named Carpinteria High’s recipient of the Phil Womble Ethics in Sports Award for her effort and participation on the Warriors’ basketball and volleyball teams.
She joins Santa Barbara’s Carter Battle, Bishop Diego’s Harry Hayman and San Marcos’ David Ramirez as this year’s recipients. Dave Pintard of the Pintard Group sponsors the award.
As it states on the SBART website, “This award acknowledges student-athletes who value and incorporate into their daily lives, the following qualities: accountability, respect of teammates, opponents, and officials, honesty, positive attitude, reliability, loyalty, sportsmanship, others above self, and team above personal interest.”
Wrought’s basketball coach, Henry Gonzales, presented her with the award.
“Penny has been a committed, dedicated and hard-working member of our program for the past three years,” Gonzales said. “She has earned the respect of her teammates because of these qualities. Penny is a selfless teammate who is willing to do what is right and best for her team.
“More importantly, Penny is an amazing young lady with a bright future ahead of her.”
On top of her efforts on the court, Wrought is an active member of the Carpinteria High community while excelling in the classroom.
To go along with her 4.0 GPA, she is an FFA officer, a member of the public speaking and vet science teams and raises animals for the fair.
She has also registered community service hours at an animal shelter, a vet clinic and an art center.
“Penny personifies all those qualities that we hope to plant and grow in the student-athletes at Carpinteria High School,” Athletic Director Pat Cooney said. “She’s a fierce competitor, she is a great representative of Warrior Athletics, and she is deeply invested in forming the backbone of the school.”
Winter Sports Entering League Season
The local girls water polo and basketball teams gave updates on their non-league season and looked forward to matchups against league rivals coming this week.
The Channel League basketball season begins on Tuesday with Santa Barbara High as the only local team opening on their home court.
The other local basketball teams not in the Channel League also kick off their league matchups throughout this week.
Girls water polo will have to wait one more week before league play, as most of the local teams will compete in the Villa Park Tournament over the upcoming weekend.
Student-athletes in attendance, by order of presentation:
SBCC Women’s Water Polo: Full team
Dos Pueblos Girls Basketball: Justine Katz, Carly Letendre
Dos Pueblos Boys Basketball: Micah Goss, Christian Perez
Dos Pueblos Girls Water Polo: Alina King, Megan Garner
San Marcos Girls Basketball: Natasha Bender, Carley Nielsen
Santa Barbara High Girls Basketball: Aleena Padilla, Chloe Adams, Janet Perez
Carpinteria High Boys Basketball: Sebastian Reed, Sawyer Kelly
Bishop Diego Girls Basketball: Diana Mendez, Galilea De La Cruz
Carpinteria High Girls Basketball: Charlotte Cooney, Jamaica Cook, Penny Wrought
Carpinteria High Girls Water Polo: Giulia Piccoletti, Mina Handall
San Marcos Girls Water Polo: Charlotte Raisin, Serenity Stanfield, Marina Brown
Santa Barbara High Boys Basketball: Finn Whipps, Owen Horn
San Marcos Boys Basketball: Brody Green, Koji Hefner
Dos Pueblos Boys Soccer: Luka Jevremovic, Rodrigo Diaz, Andrew Gomez
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