By Mitch Lehman
San Marino Tribune
San Marino High School’s Kayla Giddings is pulling off an athletic feat that is rare in these days of sports specialization. The sophomore is participating in both track and field and softball this spring. And competing at a very high level.
Giddings is the starting shortstop on the Titans’ softball team, where she leads the squad in batting at a .500 clip. Last season Giddings set the single-season record for stolen bases, with 24.
She is also running track for San Marino, part of a balancing act that had a special moment on March 10 when she played a few innings at shortstop against South Pasadena before jogging over to the track to participate in a few races for the Titan track team in its meet against the Tigers.
Giddings holds the record for the fastest three-mile cross-country time at 18:05. She also has the sixth-fastest time at Lacy Park, a local mecca for the cross-country world.
The athlete has run the seventh-fastest time in the 400-meter dash even though she has only run it once. Similarly, she has recorded the ninth-fastest 800-meter time in school history even though she has entered the race only twice.
Last year she was named the softball team’s rookie of the year.
Parents Dan and Cathy Giddings might take a little credit for all of the Giddings’ athletic success. While a student at SMHS, Dan Giddings lettered in football, basketball and baseball, and Cathy Giddings lettered in varsity tennis and softball at Santa Ana’s Mater Dei High School. Both are still active in the local golf world.
Kayla’s older brother, Tyler, is a senior at SMHS and is leading the Titan baseball team in runs scored. Younger sister Makena, 9, recently won three medals at the annual All-City Track Meet and currently holds team championships in softball, basketball and soccer, so there is much more to look for on the family front.
As for Kayla, she has an affinity for cross-country.
“I love it because it is both an individual and a team sport,” she said. “Although my time is based solely on my own effort, it takes a combined effort of all my teammates to help my team win. I love how I am able to advance through [the California Interscholastic Federation] based on my time as an individual and our overall team time as well. I love it when my teammates run around to cheer me on, and I encourage more girls to join the team. It is one of the best decisions I have ever made, and I encourage everyone to join the team.”
As if she isn’t busy enough with the workload, Giddings is also a starting forward on the SMHS soccer team. Her teammates gave her the award for “Most Likely to Win an Olympic Medal” at the team banquet this year and that forecast could be accurate.
In softball, she also won the Offensive Player of the Year Award and qualified for the CIF finals in cross-country.
Giddings also won the Jack Bradford Award, given annually in honor of the legendary coach, for outstanding effort and dedication.
Head soccer coach Jaime Acuna appreciates the energy that Giddings brings to the pitch.
“Kyla has a nice combination of speed and athleticism to go along with good awareness on the field,” said Acuna. “She is most dangerous going at defenders in one-on-one situations and is a tough player to defend when she is going downhill. Kayla is one of the hardest-working players in our program and we’re excited at what the future holds for her over these next two years.”
Softball coach Scott Edmonds concurred.
“Kayla is a fantastic teammate,” he said.
