SBART Press Luncheon: Jaden Moore Receives Dos Pueblos Scholar Athlete of the Year Award

Elena Thomas of San Marcos High girls’ volleyball and Kaleb Williams of Dos Pueblos football were named athletes of the week on Monday at the weekly SBART press luncheon.

Thomas led the Royals to a 3-1 win over Santa Barbara and a near-upset of first place Ventura that came down to a nail biting fifth set. Against the Dons, Thomas finished with a team high 15 kills. In the match against Ventura Thomas racked up 19 kills.

Williams has been coming on strong in his sophomore season and in a 55-0 victory over Channel Islands broke out for 148 yards on seven carries and three touchdowns. Dos Pueblos improved to 3-3 overall this season with the victory.

Dos Pueblos Scholar Athlete of the Year

Due to his outstanding exploits in the classroom and in the pool, Jaden Moore of Dos Pueblos water polo received the Scholar Athlete of the Year award  for Dos Pueblos at Monday’s press luncheon. The award is sponsored by Marc Gamberdella. 

Moore maintains the highest GPA of any male athlete at Dos Pueblos at 4.97. He was MVP of the water polo team as a junior and was named First-Team All-CIF Division 2. 

“I want to thank all of my coaches, teachers and teammates for supporting me on both fronts, athletically and academically. They have really pushed me to do my best,” Jones said. “I would also like to thank my parents for supporting me in all my hobbies and endeavors. It has really shaped my dream to become an engineer.” 

Dos Pueblos water polo coach Chris Parrish praised Moore for prioritizing academics, despite his rare athletic ability and the example it sets for younger players in the program.

“Jaden is obviously an incredible athlete and certainly could go to a division 1 program. I was really hoping he was leaning towards going to an Ivy League school, but what is more incredible about him is that he is an old soul. He is turning a little bit away from athletics so he can focus on his future,” Parrish said. “He is potentially just focusing on engineering and robotics and applying to Cornell’s school of engineering rather than pursuing sports. It is a really good lesson for the rest of the team.”

San Marcos Girls Tennis

The San Marcos girls tennis team is unbeaten so far this season at 10-0 overall behind a balanced lineup. Head coach Sarah Ashton brough two of her players Campbell Thayer and Riley O’Brien to the press luncheon. 

“Campbell has improved tremendously between last season and this season,” San Marcos coach Sarah Ashton. “She has dropped quite a few strokes off her average, which has come into play during key matches.”

O’Brien is San Marcos’ top golfer and as a senior leads by example. She has garnered medalist honors multiple times this season.

“Riley is the heart of our team. She is almost always our lowest scorer whether it is the medalist for the whole match or for our team,” Ashton said. “I really look to Riley for that competitive spirit and willingness to compete.”

The Royals will take on undefeated Buena for the league title next Tuesday.