SCCAL Athletes-of-the-Year
In 1976-77, in the inaugural year of the SCCAL, the SC Sentinel sports writers established the Santa Cruz County Male & Female Athlete-of-the-Year Award. They discontinued the award in 2021. In 2023, the Athletic Directors of the SCCAL brought back the award. Every SCCAL school has unlimited nominations, and then the SCCAL AD’s select the winners. Under the new criteria, the nominees must be from an SCCAL school, and must also be a senior.
Congratulations to the 2024-25 SCCAL Athletes-of-the-Year, Eli Fitchen-Young, Santa Cruz HS, Claire Skinner, Scotts Vally HS, and Izzy Graff, Aptos HS.
Boys Girls
1977 – Dan Bilardello, Marello Prep & Evonne Sandas, Santa Cruz
1978 – Kevin Walters, Aptos & Leslie Bugalski, Aptos
1979 – Rick Ifland, Soquel & Karen Stakkestad, Aptos
1980 – John Scott ,Harbor & Lori Filice, Marello Prep
1981 no award given
1982 no award given
1983 – Jim Hart, Harbor & Karen Cantoni, Aptos
1984 – Johnny Cleveland, Soquel & Jeanne Tinkness, Baymonte Christian
1985 – Bill Miller, Harbor & Judy Scovel, Cabrillo College
1986 – Johnny Johnson, Santa Cruz & Rae Ann Pifferini, Soquel
1987 – Jay Patterson, Harbor & Rae Ann Pifferini, Soquel
1988 – Joey Barsi, Watsonville & Tami King, Santa Cruz
1989 – Jeff Gilbert, SLV & Jenny Beck, Harbor
1990 – Trent Dilfer, Aptos & Dina Moore, Harbor
1991 – Ross Parmenter, SLV & Diane Gergen, Santa Cruz
1992 – Ross Parmenter, SLV & Marla Clayton, Harbor
1993 – Reggie Stevens,Santa Cruz & Kenna Karst, Santa Cruz
1994 – Reggie Stevens and Jermaine Robinson, Santa Cruz & Desarie Knipfer, Soquel
1995 – Noah Hall, Aptos & Kelly Kaiser, Santa Cruz
1996 – Javier Gomez, Watsonville & Megan Work, Monte Vista Christian
1997 – Gary Passanisi, Aptos & Anne-Elyse Smith, Aptos
1998 – Gary Passanisi, Aptos & Amy Walter, Monte Vista Christian
1999 – Ryan Chapatte, Soquel & Alejandra Barrientos, SLV
2000 – Jeff Mercer, SLV & Alejandra Barrientos, SLV
2001 – Jordan Beck, SLV & Alejandra Barrientos, SLV
2002 – Spencer Wright, Harbor & Hayley Durham, SLV
2003 – Waylon Prather, SLV & Gretchen Haussler, Santa Cruz
2004 – Eddie Olson, Aptos & Andrea Woliczko, Santa Cruz
2005 – Junior Russell, Santa Cruz & Julie Dufresne, Harbor
2006 – Matty Kiel, SLV & Lauren Passafuime, Soquel
2007 – Josh Blanton, Monte Vista Christian & Kiersten Sambrailo, Aptos
2008 – Kevin Eichhorn, Aptos & Hannah Passafuime, Soquel
2009 – Zeke Sanders, Santa Cruz & Katherine Brown, St. Francis
2010 – Kyle Todd, SLV & Marissa Ferrante, Aptos
2011 – Colin Gruber, Harbor & Breana Kostreba, Aptos
2012 – Riggs Powell, Aptos & Ragine Graves, Soquel
2013 – Fabiano Hale, Soquel & Anna Maxwell, SLV
2014 – Sam Walters, Soquel & Anna Maxwell, SLV
2015 – Ben Dorfman, Aptos & Dominique Parrish, Scotts Valley
2016 – Christian Rebottaro, Monte Vista Christian & Grace Giguiere, Scotts Valley
2017 – Tanner Murray, SLV & Sam Boyle, Scotts Valley
2018 – Chase Watkins, St. Francis & Mari Friedman, Santa Cruz
2019 – Hunter Matys and Marcos Reyes, Aptos & Camryn Crouch, SLV
2020 – Dillon Danner, Santa Cruz & Natalia Ackerman, Aptos
2021 no award given
2022 no award given
2023 – Dante Aranda-Pacheco, Aptos & Quinn Healy, Soquel
2024 – Braylon Noble, Soquel & Ashlyn Boothby and Danica Kelly, Scotts Valley
2025 – Eli Fitchen-Young, Santa Cruz, Claire Skinner, Scotts Valley & Izzy Graf, Aptos