Three of San Marino High School’s varsity sports squads earned academic awards from the CIF Southern Section for the 2019-20 athletic seasons.
The Titan girls’ golf team finished third among teams from schools with 1,499 students or fewer by amassing a grade-point average of 3.88. The SMHS girls’ tennis team received an honorable mention with a 3.71 GPA, and the Titan boys’ basketball team also earned an honorable mention, checking in with a 3.41 GPA.
Senior Puja Balaji was chosen as a CIF-SS female student-athlete of the year, and Ethan Deng, also a senior, was named a male student-athlete of the year. Each CIF-SS member school is entitled to nominate two candidates; recipients have maintained a minimum of a 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale for the past three years, in addition to earning a letter in at least one varsity sport and participating in extracurricular activities such as music, drama and service groups. Deng played basketball at SMHS and Pulaji participated in both cross-country and track.
To be considered, teams must have at least five student-athletes with a minimum of a 3.0 GPA in the first semester or first two quarters of the school year. The highest team GPA in each sport category by enrollment determines the winner. Schools are divided into two enrollment categories, 1,500 students and more and 1,499 and fewer. The team with the highest GPA in each enrollment category for each sport receives the award.
“We are very proud to honor and recognize our academic awards champions,” said CIF-SS Commissioner of Athletics Rob Wigod. “Their outstanding achievements in the classroom, while also devoting countless hours to their athletic teams, truly exemplify and represent the concept of the student-athlete at the highest level.”
San Marino High School athletic director David Irie agreed.
“I am very proud of our academic award winners from San Marino,” Irie said. “The interesting part of this year’s nomination was Gabriella (Ella) Chuang. Ella sent me an email encouraging me to complete the form for the girls’ golf team. Having submitted the form, other coaches like Coach Papadopulos and Coach Pereira were also confident their student-athletes had competitive GPA’s. As we know, we have many academic and athletically gifted Titans, and it is always fun to celebrate their accomplishments.”
