San Marcos aquatics standout Bethany King was given the school’s Phil Womble Ethics in Sports Award and local spring sports teams provided updates on their league seasons at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Press Luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.
SBART also celebrated National Athletic Trainers Month at the luncheon, welcoming the athletic trainers from the local high schools and colleges.
Bethany King Wins San Marcos’ Phil Womble Award
King has been a key member of the Royals’ water polo and swim squads throughout her high school years and was rewarded as a Phil Womble Ethics in Sports Award recipient.
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.”
“Bethany is an amazing person, an amazing student-athlete,” San Marcos head coach Chuckie Roth said. “She is infectious with her charisma, her work ethic, her approach to life and everything that she does.”
The junior is coming off a First Team All-Channel League selection, has won three league titles in water polo, captured two league championships in swim and is a two-time Junior Olympic Champion.
This past season, King played the majority of the season as the team’s goalie despite never playing the position. She was asked to fill the void when the team was left without a true goalie.
“She’s a phenomenal student-athlete but what she did this last season went above and beyond anything I’ve ever seen,” Roth said. “Bethany took this on… I talked to so many college coaches throughout the year and they all said ‘That kid’s amazing, I don’t think there’s another kid out there that would sacrifice everything that they have going on just for the betterment of the team.’
“She didn’t just play in the goal, she owned it and was all about it. She was out there to be the very best goalie she could be… She made a better season for everybody.”
In the classroom, King holds an impressive 4.67 GPA and is a member of the National Honors Society.
She has also accumulated over 200 hours of community service while volunteering for East Beach Junior Lifeguards.
“She’s a kid that thanks every referee after the game, thanks every coach and she’s the kid at the pool deck at 6 a.m. to make sure all the equipment is out so that no time is wasted and we can have the most efficient practice possible,” Roth said.
“She does a lot of stuff without being asked to do it and rises above and beyond. In all of my years of coaching, I can’t think of a better recipient of this award on behalf of Phil Womble.”
King is the sixth of eight Phil Womble Ethics in Sports award winners for this school year, joining Dos Pueblos’ Anastasia Brunner, Cate’s Josh Butler, Laguna Blanca’s Carter Plowman, Providence’s Amber Petraitis Regan and Carpinteria’s Charlotte Cooney.
The award is sponsored by Dave Pintard of the Pintard Group.
“I’d like to thank my parents, my siblings, my teachers and my coaches for pushing me athletically and academically and to have the best sportsmanship I can have,” King said. “They’ve been such great role models and I know every single day what I want to do because of them.
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