Hancock Student-Athletes Recognized among County's Best and Brightest
Six Allan Hancock College student-athletes were honored Wednesday evening along with some of the other best and brightest athletes representing schools in Northern Santa Barbara County. They gathered during the annual Northern Santa Barbara County Athletic Round Table (NSBCART) Awards Banquet.
Hancock men's basketball player Marcellus Garrick and women's basketball player Syenna Ramirez were recognized as the college's Athletes of the Year. Garrick became the first Hancock men's basketball player to sign a national letter of intent with Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo since the Mustangs turned Division I in 1994. The sophomore guard led the Bulldogs in scoring at 16 points per game and earned All-Conference First Team honors. Ramirez, an All-Conference First Team selection, averaged nearly 10 points, four rebounds and four assists per game for the women's basketball team. The St. Joseph High School graduate was instrumental in helping the Bulldogs earn the program's first postseason berth in more than a decade. Ramirez will transfer to CSU San Jose in the fall.
Baseball's Walker Armstrong and swimmer Dria Kwong received the annual Jim Glines Scholarship award. Armstrong, the Western State Conference Pitcher of the Year, will sign a scholarship with CSU Northridge later this week. The St. Joseph High School graduate went 8-5 with a 2.15 ERA with 81 strikeouts for the Bulldogs. He also hit .310 at the plate. Kwong finished her Hancock swimming career with six individual conference titles, one conference record, and two appearances at the State Championships. The Orcutt Academy graduate finished fourth in the 100-yard butterfly final at the state finals this year.
Two-sport athlete Rachel Naugle and football's Malik Pope received the college's Scholar Athlete of the Year awards. Naugle, who played women's soccer and ran track at Hancock, has a 4.0 cumulative grade point average. She will transfer to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in the fall. Naugle will run at the State Championships in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase this weekend. The Righetti High School graduate played cornerback for the Hancock football team. He will graduate from Hancock with honors and an associate degree this month. He will transfer to CSU Sacramento in the fall and major in kinesiology.
NSBCART named Cheyenne Marmolejo and Isaac Acosta, both Lompoc High School students, Female and Male Athlete of the Year. Mary Kavaloski and Blake Hadley, both Santa Ynez High School athletes, were named the Female and Male Scholar Athlete of the Year.
During the ceremony, former Hancock men's basketball head coach and math instructor Bobby White was inducted into the NSBCART's Hall of Fame. His 292 career wins are the most in the history of Hancock men's basketball. He guided the Bulldogs to 11 state playoff apperances. He also coached basketball at Righetti High School. White's father, Joe White, is also a member of the NSBCART's Hall of Fame. Joe White was a legendary head coach and athletic director at Hancock.
