The playoffs have arrived, and this week’s Santa Barbara Athletic Roundtable (SBART) press luncheon served as a preview of the exciting matchups that will determine which teams survive and advance.
Three student-athletes received Athlete of the Week awards as a result of their stellar performances on the field of play, including Santa Barbara High’s Levi Oakes. He was honored for his excellence from January 26 through February 1, during which he led his team to victories over Dos Pueblos, Oxnard, and Ventura while averaging 23 points per game to clinch the Channel League championship for the Dons.
The current SBART Athletes of the Week are Kamil Abdul Nafeo of Cate boys’ soccer and Evelyn Lara of Carpinteria High girls’ soccer.
Lara notched two goals in a 2-0 win over Santa Paula that clinched the Channel League title. The Warriors finished the regular season with a 14-1-2 overall record and a 10-1-1 mark in the Citrus Coast League. They will travel to Burbank High on Thursday for a CIF-SS Division 5 first-round matchup.
Abdul-Nafeo scored two goals in a 4-2 win over Thacher as the Cate boys’ soccer team finished undefeated in league. The Rams will travel to Colton for the first round of the CIF-SS Division 6 playoffs on Wednesday.
San Marcos Scholar-Athlete of the Year
As a rare three-sport standout, Rio Chesluk has excelled across several athletic programs at San Marcos and was honored as San Marcos Scholar-Athlete of the Year at Monday’s SBART press luncheon. She is considered one of the top high school flag football players in Southern California, earning Channel League Two-Way Player of the Year honors as a junior and being named the league’s Most Valuable Player this past fall.
Chesluk has also earned All-Channel League recognition in girls’ soccer and served as a team captain for the San Marcos beach volleyball team.
In the classroom, Chesluk maintains a 4.9 GPA and has taken a rigorous schedule of Advanced Placement and honors courses. She is an AP Scholar with Distinction, has earned the California State Seal of Biliteracy, and founded “Tutoring to You,” a program that provides individualized academic support to elementary school students.
During her remarks, Chesluk thanked school administrators, coaches, teachers, her parents, and her teammates for their support.
“I just wanted to thank everyone who made getting this award possible, including Mr. Gamberdella, Mr. Dare Holdren, Mr. Solis, all my coaches—Jaylon Letendre, Tim Loomer, Miguel Vences, and Coach Bazylewicz,” Chesluk said.
“Thanks to my teachers as well, my parents for always supporting me, driving me everywhere, and coming to my games. Of course, thank you to my teammates who support me every day.”
Chesluk is the fifth of 11 Scholar-Athletes of the Year to be honored during the current school year. Other recipients include Elliot McGuire of Dos Pueblos, Bennett Sullivan of Laguna Blanca, Annika Haugen of Providence, Jaymi Coronado of Bishop Diego, and Vivian Huskins of Carpinteria High School.
The Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is sponsored by Marc Gamberdella of the Gamberdella-Spruill Group of Merrill Lynch.
Computer Rankings and Playoff Brackets
With the release of the winter sports playoff brackets has come increased scrutiny of the computer rankings that inform each bracket and determine which division each qualifier competes in.
Locally, the Santa Barbara High boys’ basketball team jumped 17 spots in the final CIF-SS computer rankings, earning the No. 32 seed in Division 1. The Dons will travel to Newport Beach to match up with top-seeded Crean Lutheran.
The Dons were in a virtual tie with Bishop Amat, the top-seeded team in CIF-SS Division 2, and CIF had to go to ten decimal points in the power rankings to determine which team would compete in Division 1 and which would be placed in Division 2.
“We did it last year. We were the 27th seed (in Division 1), and we upset the six seed, the three seed, and the ten seed,” said Santa Barbara High coach Greg Zuffelato. “We just have to get ready to do that again. We don’t have any seniors, so this is a great experience no matter what happens.”
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