SBART Luncheon: Sarah Monroy Earns Providence Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award

The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table handed out a pair of awards in front of a packed house at the SBART Press Luncheon on Monday at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.

Providence was the first of 11 schools this year to announce its Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the first Special Olympics Athlete of the Year was named as well.

Monday’s luncheon was guest-hosted by Noozhawk and Ben Howland.

Sarah Monroy Named Providence’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Monroy has excelled on the tennis court and in the classroom during her time as a Patriot, and her efforts were rewarded as she was named the school’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

As an athlete, Monroy is a top singles player for Providence, has been named to the All-Tri-Valley League First Team and helped the team to a CIF-SS championship in 2021.

She has also earned the Providence Athlete Perseverance Award and the Providence Athletics Award.

“Her teammates whole-heartedly follow her lead, she is coachable and has led her team to an undefeated season so far as the number one single,” Patriots tennis coach Leanne Patterson said.

Off the court, Monroy boasts a 3.5 GPA, is currently taking both AP Calculus and AP Spanish and she has a passion for engineering.

She is also active in the community, volunteering at Santa Barbara Food Bank, Santa Barbara Rescue Mission and Santa Barbara Community Church.

“I’m super honored and I’ve loved every single part of [the journey] of training with my amazing school,” Monroy said. “I super appreciate my family, my friends and everybody who supported me along the way, especially Leanne, my tennis coach, who has supported me in every way.”

Monroy is the first of 11 Scholar-Athlete of the Years for the 2024-25 school year. The award is sponsored by Marc Gamberdella of the Gamberdella-Spruill Group of Merrill Lynch.

Michael Madrigal Earns Special Olympics Athlete of the Month Award

Madrigal has excelled on the softball field while playing for the Santa Barbara All Stars, playing first base and pitching.

“Michael is one of our more talented softball players but more importantly he is the team’s emotional leader,” Special Olympics softball coach Bill Chiplis said. “He patiently and constructively gives less-able players tips on how to improve their swings and chances of hitting successfully.”

Michael Madrigal shows off his Special Olympic Athlete of the Month award at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Press Luncheon. (Diego Sandoval / Noozhawk Photo)

While Madrigal is one of the better players on the field, he has also made an impact on the organization’s ability to field a team this season.

In 2023, Santa Barbara did not have enough athletes to participate in official Special Olympics softball games.

So, Madrigal went out and actively recruited fellow Special Olympics athletes to join the softball team, and now they have enough players to compete.

Madrigal and his teammates will play in a Ventura Softball Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 5.

Games to Watch this Week

It’s another jam-packed week of local sports, including several key rivalry matchups at both the high school and collegiate levels. Here are some of the biggest games in town this week.

Tuesday, Oct. 1