Santa Maria sweeps awards at athletic round table
ORCUTT, Calif. -- Santa Maria High School swept top honors at Monday's gathering of the Northern Santa Barbara County Athletic Round Table.
An historic week for the Saints last week earned a pair of Saints the Athlete of the Week award.
For the girls, the award was given to Mariana Tello.
"It feels very exciting," said Tello. "I feel giddy inside and for my coaches, they're really happy. They've accomplished so much and the hard work finally paid off."
The senior wrestler helped lead the Saints to the CIF-Central Section Masters championship.
It's the first girls team championship for Santa Maria High School since 1975.
The victory continued a stellar season for Tello. She previously won a league championship, as well as CIF-Central Section individual title.
After finishing third place at Masters in the individual 189 pound weight class, she advanced to the the state tournament.
"I'm nervous because (other wrestlers) are a lot stronger," said Tello. "They're stronger so it's going to be tough, but I hope I do well. It's a three-day tournament, so I hope I can make it to the third day."
The 2020 CIF State Wrestling Championships will be held in Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield beginning Thursday.
Soccer standout Edgar Garces was named the male athlete of the week.
"It's a good way to start the week off," said Garces. "Winning this award means a lot because I put my heart and soul into the game and to get this award, I feel like this award goes to my teammates because they help me a lot."
The senior helped the Saints earn a spot in last Friday's CIF-Central Section Division 1 championship game.
Playing for the program's first CIF title since 2005, Santa Maria came up short, losing to Fresno Central 1-0.
Two days earlier, Garces scored two goals in the team's 3-2 semifinal victory over Clovis North.
Despite the loss on Friday, Santa Maria has earned an invitation to the upcoming CIF state playoffs.
"I want to go all the way and win the state finals," said Garces. "Our team is all motivated. We're all still little bummed about what happened last week, but life goes on and we have to look to the future. Hopefully, we win the state and end the year on a good note."
This is the first time Tello and Garces have won the athlete of the week award.
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