Katie Spieler

Katie Spieler gets after it on the volleyball court and in the classroom.

On the court, the senior libero for the Dos Pueblos girls volleyball team has the mindset she can pass any serve and dig every spike. In academics, it’s also about doing her best and achieving the highest grade.

Dos Pueblos volleyball star Katie Spieler carries a 4.71 grade point average.

Spieler on Monday was honored as the Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Dos Pueblos at the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon.

Spieler’s academic credentials include a 4.71 grade point average with a course load of college-level economics, advanced placement English and AP American Government. She’s a member of the DP’s student government, holding down the responsibilities of the ASB Treasurer for two years.

Her college plans include pursuing a degree accounting and studying to become a Certified Public Accountant and a teacher.

As for volleyball, Spieler is a tiger on the court. Her defense and passing have been instrumental in DP’s success. This past season the Chargers won the Channel League and advanced to the semifinals of the CIF 1-AA playoffs. In her junior year, they won the CIF 1-A title.

She was captain of the 2011 team and was voted the Most Valuable Player.

“She’s just a joy to coach,” said DP coach Todd Garrett. “Katie’s taught me some life lessons and so much about volleyball.”

Spieler, the daughter Kathy and Paul Spieler, was born to play volleyball. Her mom and siblings all played volleyball for Santa Barbara High. Her aunts, Lisa and Kelly Strand, were standout players who went on to play collegiately at Hawaii and Cal Poly, respectively, and later played professionally on the beach. Lisa was an All-American at Hawaii. Her uncle played on the Santa Barbara High team that included legends Karch Kiraly and John Hanley.

“My relatives have always inspired me in their amazing athletic and personal accomplishments, and I am so grateful to be raised in such a volleyball-dedicated family,” Spieler said in her statement to the Round Table Scholar-Athlete committee. “My mom introduced me to beach volleyball probably before I could walk, and she also coached by first indoor team in elementary school.”

Katie earned a beach triple-A rating at the age of 15.

She plans to play college indoor and beach volleyball, with an ultimate goal of playing professionally on the sand.

Santa Barbara High's Bryce Vinion

Bryce Vinion cleans up on the wrestling mat and in mathematics.

The Santa Barbara High senior wrestler was honored Monday as the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the school.

Vinion carries a 4.7 grade point average, is a National Merit Scholar semifinalist and he is a member of the Math Honors Society.

He’s the captain of the wrestling team.

Last year, he went undefeated in the Channel League and won the league championship at 189 pounds. He finished fourth in the CIF division finals and qualified for the CIF Masters Meet.

His goal this season is to get to the State Meet.

Vinion hopes to attend MIT or Stanford. He said he’d like to get a PHd in psychology.

“I like to take things apart and put them back together and the human mind is the greatest of all of those,” he said.

Athletic director Nan Verkaik said Vinion tutors students who are having trouble in math.

“The most amazing thing he’s done academically is he took the SAT in math for the first time and he scored a perfect score,” said Verkaik.

Vinion thanked all the wrestling coaches in town: Tony Becerra at San Marcos, Anthony Califano at Dos Pueblos, Jesse Plowman, the former coach at Santa Barbara, and his father, Jeffrey.

“He’s been in my corner my entire wrestling career and wouldn’t have done it without him,” Vinion said of his father.

Hazarian applies the same drive in everything he does at school: in academics, in tennis, in music and in volunteer work.

The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table recognized Hazarian for his achievements by naming him the Scholar-Athlete of the Year for San Marcos at Monday’s press luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.

Besides being captain of the football and tennis teams, Hazarian carries a 4.51 grade point average, and has taken every Advanced Placement class possible, according to his tennis coach and AP physics teacher Jarrod Bradley.

He’s a member of the school’s Madrigals choral group and he’s actively involved in the volunteer groups Students for Soldiers and Kids Helping Kids.

Hazarian said Students for Soldiers last year raised $9,000 through a benefit concert to help U.S. military veterans and soldiers on duty today.

Kids Helping Kids, he said, is an AP economics, student-run organization that’s been in existence for 10 years. The group raised $160,000 last year for the local community and students around the world in need. It hopes to raise $175,000 to $200,000 this year.

“Garrett shows qualities of great leadership,” Bradley said. “We have a big void in our country right now — we like to blame, we like to grandstand. Garrett understands collaboration. He understands what it takes to get things done effectively.”

As the public address announcer at the Royals football games, Bradley said it’s easy to spot Hazarian, because he’s all over the field.

“I watch No. 56, because I know he’s going to be in the mix,” Bradley said. “He doesn’t gives up. He perseveres. He doesn’t make excuses. He’s extremely positive.”

Bradley noted that Hazarian’s leadership shined after football coach Jeff Hesselmeyer passed away just before the start of fall practice.

“It’s been a very difficult year with what happened to our football program and
Garrett has really been a shining star at our school, not only on our football team.”

Bradley added: “He’s going to make a difference in this world, whether it’s in law or chemistry, or wherever he chooses. The fact he has such a determined path is not by accident. He’s got terrific parents (Jeff and Karen) who have only been supportive of San Marcos.”

Hazarian thanked his parents and the coaches, teachers, mentors and administrators at San Marcos

“There are skills that I’ve learned in sports, such as leadership and determination, that I could not have learned in academics alone,” he said. “It is the same with management that I could not have learned with only sports. It is the combination of the two that have driven me to accomplish the goals I set for myself, both short term and long term.”

Bishop Diego's Nic Mon

Nic Mon is Bishop Diego’s Scholar Athlete of the Year.

The multi-sport athlete (football, soccer, volleyball) has an impressive resume that includes several school and community activities and school, state and national academic honors. He holds a 4.52 grade point average while taking Advanced Placement chemistry and English. As a junior, he scored the highest test marks in AP physics, government, calculus and statistics.

His goal is to attend Stanford.

“If I had seen his resume before coming here, I would have told him to write a speech for me,” joked football Tom Crawford, who had Mon in his AP government class last year. “The character of Nic and the ability of someone like Nic to do what is right on and off the field really serves as a model for everyone at your school.

“Nic is the backbone of any successful program,” Crawford added. “The more Nic Mons you have, the more games you win and the more academic success you see. We’re thrilled for Nic and want to acknowledge this young man and his fine character.”

Carpinteria High School's Scholar-Athlete of the Year Kelsey Drain

Cate School's Kate Montgomery

Kate Montgomery, Cate School – Montgomery was the captain for both the water polo and swim teams and earned All-Frontier League first team honors in both sports. She was the MVP in water polo.

Montgomery, who carries a 4.37 grade-point average and plans to attend New York University, said she carries the drive she has in the classroom to athletics.

“I find it really easy to take the motivation I have in school and put that into the pool, and come out and be really active after a whole day in classes,” she said. “I love the competition and motivation that I take from my classes and take into the pool.”

“She exemplifies all we want in our student athletes,” said Cate water polo coach Nathan Aldridge.

UCSB's Milos Golic

UCSB water polo player Milos Golic became the first two-time scholar-athlete of the year award winner for his school. He also won the award in 2009.

Golic, a three-time first-team All-American, holds a 3.80 GPA in finance. He has been accepted into the master’s program in finance at Bocconi University in Italy.

The Serbian-born Golic holds the UCSB record for goals in a career with 272.

He expressed his gratitude to the Round Table.

“I hope this kind of model will spread all over the place, especially in my country, where athletes aren’t recognized at all.”

SBCC softball was represented by scholar-athletes Joan Cannon, left, and Laura Cannon, right, with head coach Paula Congleton.

SBCC Scholar-Athletes of the year: Twin sisters Joan and Laura Cannon of the Vaqueros softball team won the award. Both carry 3.84 GPAs and plan to major in exercise biology at UC Davis.

Joan Cannon is the team’s center fielder.

“She plays center and will gun you out from 180 feet without a blink of an eye,” said coach Paula Congleton. Joan is batting .310 with nine stolen bases.

Laura Cannon plays shortstop and is batting .367.

“She’s a huge part of our success in the infield,” said Congleton.

The Westmont College senior captained the men’s soccer team for the past two seasons.

He also is the Round Table Scholar-Athlete of Year for Westmont.  Round Table board member Bob Huhn presented the award to Sargent at Monday’s Athlete Round Table Luncheon.

Sargent carries a 3.97 GPA as a history major. He is a three-time Golden Eagle Award recipient and a two-time faculty scholarship winner at Westmont.

Westmont's Dan Sargent

He’s president of the Phi Alpha Theta history honors society and is in the top 10 percent of his class.

Sargent has experienced the highs and lows that come with playing intercollegiate athletics at Westmont.

“On the field, I’ve been challenged and persevered through physical, mental and emotional obstacles,” he said. “Each season has brought its own form of hurdles that pushed me through my limits. Through these experiences and guidance of my coaches I’ve leaned to become a stronger individual,  always aware to confront what’s ahead.”

Sargent studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain and learned how soccer is a way of life.

“In many ways my time on the soccer of field has taught me how to transcend cultural barriers as a tool toward reconciliation, connection and brotherhood.

“Soccer hasn’t been my only classroom,” he added. I gained an appreciate of a wide range of disciplines. As a history major I’ve learned the importance of looking back as a way of moving forward and understanding our current identity and build on it.

“I hope the skills I learned on the soccer field and in the classroom will enrich my life in the future as much as they have in the last four years.”

Laguna Blanca's Elliot Serbin

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Elliot Serbin will be taking his talents from the campus of Laguna Blanca to Stanford next year, and his academic success makes it no surprise that he’s wanted up in Palo Alto. Serbin, a basketball player, carries a 4.5 GPA with four AP classes, and is the school photographer for its award-winning newspaper, The Fourth Estate. He is a member of the Cum Laude Society and is a National Merit Commended Scholar. Last year, he won the PIEA International Photography Contest in the portfolio category.

He’s been a standout on the basketball team, but has had a tough time with injuries over the past two seasons. Last year he broke his nose, and earlier this season he dislocated his shoulder but was back on the court after just a couple of weeks.