Santa Barbara High junior Sydney Burgoyne received the school’s Phil Womble Ethics in Sports award on Monday at the weekly Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Press Luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.
While Burgoyne’s honor headlined a light luncheon, the local high school football teams, a cross country team and two winter sports provided updates on their seasons.
The SBART Press Luncheon is sponsored by Cottage Health, Fidelity National Title Group, Investec Real Estate and Knight Real Estate Group.
Sydney Burgoyne Named SBHS Phil Womble Award Winner
Burgoyne has made her impact felt at Santa Barbara High since the moment she stepped on campus, from her contributions on the race course to in the classroom. As a result, she was named the fourth straight Dons’ track & field athlete to earn the Phil Womble Ethics in Sports Award.
“[Her being the fourth in a row] says a lot about the culture of the program and the way these kids conduct themselves and take care of each other,” Santa Barbara High cross country and track & field head coach Olivia Perdices said. “Sydney is really coming into her own as a competitor this year, but really Sydney, from minute one, has just been an outstanding human being and just a great piece of our team.
“She’s one of those people who knows what her teammates need… I just can’t say enough good things about her.”
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.”
“I’d first like to recognize Phil Womble, and thank him for the everlasting effect that he’s had on the Santa Barbara athletic community,” Burgoyne said. “I’m incredibly thankful to receive this award… It means so much to know that I’ve had a positive impact on the people around me.”
Burgoyne has quite the athletic resume, including winning the Pacific View League cross country championship meet last week to earn All-League First Team honors and qualify for the CIF-SS playoffs.
As for her track & field success, Burgoyne was a member of the Channel League runner-up 4×800-meter relay team that earned a spot in the postseason.
“Any cross country or track athlete knows that running is a very individual sport, and that comes with its own challenges, but I hope that, like Phil, I can show my teammates that I’m always cheering them on,” Burgoyne said.
“I’d like to thank my team for cheering me on. I’d also like to thank my coach, Coach P, for always seeing more in me and expecting more from me. From you, I’ve learned more than just how to run a race. I’ve learned the difference between motivation and discipline. I’ve learned that sometimes it’s not about wanting to take the next step, but doing it anyway.”
In the classroom, he boasts an impressive 4.5 GPA and has accumulated a whopping 325 hours of community service.
She is the Athletics Commissioner in ASB, interns at Summit Studios, works with the Santa Barbara Junior Lifeguard Program and participates in 805 Action, a youth-led environmental advocacy organization.
“I especially want to thank my dad for always being there and believing in me. He’s there when I need him the most, encouraging me through the hard days because he knows that there are bigger and better ones to come,” Burgoyne said.
“I would like to thank the SBART community for continuing to recognize these student athletes every week. I’m so honored to have this award, and I hope that I can continue to make a positive impact on others, because so many people have made this positive impact on me.”
Burgoyne is one of eight Phil Womble Ethics in Sports Award winners for this school year, joining Bishop Diego’s Karina Urzua so far. The award is sponsored by Dave Pintard of the Pintard Group.
Santa Barbara, Dos Pueblos Football Advance to Quarterfinals
The Santa Barbara High Golden Tornado and Dos Pueblos Chargers opened their CIF-SS playoff runs with victories last week to punch their tickets to the quarterfinals.
The Golden Tornado, as the Dons are referred to during the postseason, cruised to a 45-7 win over Fullerton and will now head south to take on Baldwin Park this Friday.
“Baldwin Park has a lot of good athletes and a lot of good players; they knocked off Ventura,” Santa Barbara High head coach Nate Mendoza said. “We’re excited.”
Meanwhile, the Chargers pulled out a 14-7 road win over Brentwood School and will return home to take on Granite Hills in the quarterfinals on Friday.
“Winning in the playoffs is incredibly challenging and hard. I think you’ve heard over the last few weeks, matchups matter a whole lot. We get to host Granite Hills of Apple Valley… We’re really excited about that opportunity, so that’s where our focus is this week,” Dos Pueblos head coach AJ Pateras said.
UCSB Men’s Soccer to Host Big West Championship
The Gaucho men’s soccer team will roll out the welcome mats for CSU Bakersfield on Friday at 7 p.m. at Harder Stadium for the Big West Championship match.
The title matchup comes after UCSB pulled out a dramatic penalty-kick victory over UC Irvine in the semifinals on Saturday, as the Gauchos outshot the Anteaters 4-2 in penalties after finishing the match at 0-0.
UCSB enters the Big West title matchup with a trio of All-Big West First Team selections in Steinar Bjornsson, Kaden Standish and Peleg Brown.
Bjornsson and Standish have paced the Gaucho offense throughout the season with 10 and six goals, respectively. Meanwhile, Brown has made his impact felt on both ends of the pitch.
Friday’s matchup will be the third consecutive Big West Championship match at Harder Stadium, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this week.
Student-Athletes in Attendance
San Marcos Girls Water Polo: Shea Estabrook, Scarlet Akin
Santa Barbara High Cross Country: Sydney Burgoyne, Ethan Walp, Kik Van Engelen
San Marcos Wrestling: Angelique Silva, Alex Visueta, Ingrid Vargas
Santa Barbara High Football: Fin Congdon, Hayden Reid, Dylan Murphy
Dos Pueblos Football: Kai Hicks, Holden Brey
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