SBART Luncheon: Carter Plowman Named Laguna Blanca’s Phil Womble Award Recipient

A pair of individual awards were handed out and many local teams in the midst of playoff races gave updates at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Press Luncheon.

Laguna Blanca’s Carter Plowman and Special Olympics Athlete Fiona Garwood were honored at Harry’s Plaza Cafe, the host of the Round Table every week of the school year.

Carter Plowman Wins Phil Womble Award

Plowman’s dedication to athletics as a member of the football and tennis teams along with his contributions to Laguna Blanca’s campus earned him the school’s Phil Womble Ethics in Sports 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.”

The junior has found plenty of success in athletics, earning All-Frontier League First Team honors for the Laguna Blanca football team.

He also gets the job done in the classroom, holding a 3.98 GPA. He also volunteers his time for the Civil Air Patrol, an organization within the U.S. Air Force. He is a two-time Laguna Blanca Scholar-Athlete award recipient.

“Carter is the choice for this award, frankly, because when you look at the characteristics that define this award, each of them individually are the things that he possesses so amazingly,” Laguna Blanca athletic director Matt Steinhaus said. “I’ve been an AD for 13 years and been at Laguna for four, I’ve never really come across a guy like this.

“He inspires his teammates to be better, he never hangs his head, he never says why me… He’s an amazing young man and he’s a great part of the Laguna community.”

Plowman is the third of eight Phil Womble Ethics in Sports award winners for this school year, joining Dos Pueblos’ Anastasia Brunner and Cate’s Josh Butler. The award is sponsored by Dave Pintard of the Pintard Group.

In his message at the luncheon, Plowman thanked Steinhaus, football coach Matt Escobar and his parents.

Fiona Garwood Named Special Olympics Athlete of October

Softball player Fiona Garwood was awarded the Special Olympics Athlete of the Month award for October thanks to her contributions to the team in all facets of the game.

Originally planning to play soccer, Garwood switched to playing softball and has hit the ground running ever since, according to coach Jim Callahan.

Special Olympics Athlete of the Month Fiona Garwood (middle) poses with coach Jim Callahan (left) and Carp Physio owner Omar Flores, the sponsor of the award. (SBART / Courtesy Photo)

“She joined the team with such enthusiasm for the sport and for the team,” Callahan said. “She’s very vocal on the field and she’s so positive… She has a positive mindset that she brings to practice and to the games and it’s infectious

“It helps create that awesome team culture that builds everybody up… She’s always a positive force.”

After accepting her award, Garwood made an impassioned speech about why she participates in the Special Olympics.

“These sports that we all play, they’re no easy task… I care about having fun and about making friends out there,” Garwood said. “I’ve made some special friends that will be friends with me for the rest of my life.

“I like to have fun, I don’t care about winning medals, I just care about cheering on my team and having fun.”

Fall Sports Playoffs Roll On

While the page slowly turns to the winter sports season, there are still a few fall teams still in action as a part of the CIF-SS playoffs this week.

Bishop Diego volleyball headlines the group and will head down to Cerritos College on Saturday at 3 p.m. for a matchup with Long Beach Poly in the CIF-SS Div. 3 Finals. More on this matchup can be found here.

Dos Pueblos boys water polo is set to host a CIF-SS Div. 2 Quarterfinal matchup against Santiago High on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Elings Aquatic Center.

This week also kicks off the CIF-SS football playoffs, and three local 11-man teams made the cut while a pair of 8-man squads will begin their quest for a CIF-SS title.

Santa Barbara High will open the local teams in action when the Golden Tornado heads down to El Modena High on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the CIF-SS Div. 4 opener.

San Marcos and Dos Pueblos both play on Friday, with the Royals hosting Chino High at Warkentin Stadium in Div. 10 while the Chargers hit the road to take on Crescenta Valley in Div. 12.

As for 8-man football, Cate will host Chadwick on Saturday in its CIF-SS Div. 1 opener while Laguna Blanca will take on Coast Union on the road on Saturday.

Rounding out the local playoff action is girls tennis as Cate, San Marcos, Santa Barbara High and Providence will begin their runs on Wednesday while Dos Pueblos, Carpinteria High and Laguna Blanca begin on Friday.