The CIF-SS Division 2 champion Dos Pueblos boys cross country team headlined a busy Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Press Luncheon on Monday at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.
While the Chargers’ championship squad brought the fall season to a close last weekend, the local winter sports teams are just getting started and provided early-season updates on Monday.
Dos Pueblos Boys Cross Country Honored
The Chargers shined on the brightest of stages this season, ending their year with first-place finishes at the Santa Barbara County, Channel League, CIF-SS D2 Prelim and CIF-SS D2 Title meets.
“The opportunity to be here is years in the making,” Dos Pueblos head coach David Jackson said. “Without Harry’s and the Round Table, stuff like this might just not get the recognition that it deserves. So thank you to Harry’s, thank you to the Round Table and all of our sponsors.
“I like seeing all the faces of our friendly rival coaches in the room. We’re proud to have such a friendly rival running community… I’d like to thank Santa Barbara High School for proving that this could be done two years ago when they won the state championship. I’ve been lovingly brainwashing these boys to believe they were going to do the same thing.”
While the Chargers came up short of that goal with an eighth-place finish in the CIF D2 State Meet, they still enjoyed one of the best seasons in the program’s history.
“This is far beyond me and my program and our school,” Jackson said. “The school set out this year with the priority of community, growth and excellence, and this plaque is the example of excellence.”
The team was mainly made up of seniors, with Owen Abbott, Ashton Smedley, Linus Martin, Cullen Gully, Phil Contakes, Oliver Saleh, Ian McMurtry and Quentin Holland representing the team at Monday’s luncheon.
The Dos Pueblos boys are coached by Michael Smedley, who is a two-time Olympic alternate in the triathlon for Team USA.
“What we ended up with at the end of the season was a team of guys who I’ve been able to coach for four years that really put together some really huge improvements over the years,” Michael Smedley said. “They’ve been dedicated every day to getting better and better. They’ve just been fun to coach. It’s been fun to be a part of this community and watch them grow up to be such fast runners.
“Keep your eye on them because they’ll be getting out for track this year too.”
Winter Sports Take Over
The fall sports season has officially come and gone, with the local cross country teams and Cate 8-man football capping off their campaigns last Saturday.
With that, the high school basketball, soccer, wrestling and girls water polo teams have stepped up to the plate and will be in full swing beginning this week.
The local high school teams that have started their seasons are off to strong starts in non-league play ahead of their league openers next week.
On the court, Dos Pueblos boys basketball is off to a 2-0 start while San Marcos currently sits at 2-1. Santa Barbara High is 0-2 on the young campaign with losses against some of the top programs in the nation, including No. 3-ranked Sierra Canyon.
At Bishop Diego, both the boys and girls basketball teams are off to strong 4-1 starts. The girls team dominated the Bird Cage Classic, while the boys team began the Caleb Richey era on a high note.
At the college level, Westmont basketball is set to tip off PacWest action this week with road matchups against Concordia on Wednesday.
The Warrior men’s team is 3-3 coming off two victories in Alaska in the Sprite Tundra Tip-Off, and the women’s squad is 4-2 and also riding the high of back-to-back wins last week.
Student-Athletes in Attendance
Santa Barbara High Girls Soccer: Sofia Lopez, Gwyneth Blumer
San Marcos Boys Soccer: Luis Campos, Julian Santana
Santa Barbara High Girls Water Polo: Kana Wolf, Rose Nelley
Bishop Diego Girls Basketball: Jaymi Coronado, Luz Castro, Alyssa Chrestenson
Bishop Diego Boys Basketball: Shane Kwizera, Shammah Kwizera
Santa Barbara High Girls Basketball: Amelia Lopez, Rosie Dionicio
Dos Pueblos Boys Basketball: Evan Pinsker, Coulter Jay, Wyatt Gardiner
Santa Barbara High Boys Basketball: Cayleb Miller, Blake Lee
San Marcos Girls Soccer: Sofia Turenchalk, Azucena Leon
San Marcos Boys Basketball: Aidan Conlan, Lincoln Gengo
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