On Monday evening, athletes, parents, and coaches alike gathered to celebrate another stellar year for M-A Athletics with their annual awards ceremony. However, this year’s ceremony was slightly different; there were multiple new awards and a special ceremony for the retirement of long-time teacher, former coach, and athletic director Pamela Wimberly.
The night began with Athletic Director Paul Snow listing M-A’s stunning 16 Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) championships and Central Coast Section (CCS) titles this year. The varsity titles included girls volleyball, girls tennis, boys water polo, boys basketball, and girls softball. In particular, Snow gave a special shout-out to the girls softball team, noting that, “They’ve come a long way. A couple years ago they were in the bottom third of the league, and this year they won the Ocean division title. Hopefully they can move up to the Bay league next year.”
After Snow finished, M-A Athletics Boosters co-president Brian Roberts took the stage. Roberts announced that M-A had won its 14th Consecutive Commissioner’s Cup, which is awarded to the school with the best aggregate performance across all sports.
Then, Co-Athletic Director Steven Kryger and P.E. teacher Eric Wilmurt honored the retirement of PE teacher Pamela Wimberly. Since joining M-A in 1968, 55 years ago, Wimberly has also had the roles of girls basketball coach, athletic director, and much more. Additionally, she’s been with M-A since times of race riots and many other conflicts. Wilmurt gave a special tribute to Wimberly, stating that she has been “an amazing influence, and a great colleague.” Wimberly received a standing ovation from the nearly three quarters full PAC.
Snow proudly gave out the remaining awards. Girls cross country and boys baseball won the new male and female team of the year award due to their unprecedented level of success this year. Girls cross country went undefeated in PAL league play for the second straight year and had the first, second, third, fifth, and eighth ranked runners in the CCS Cross Country meet. The boys baseball team won the PAL for the first time since 1964, and played in the CCS Division I playoffs. After this, Jason Luce, the girls varsity soccer coach, won the coach of the year. The girls soccer team had their best season in program history, going undefeated in league play, and making the CCS Open division final and the semifinals of the NorCal tournament.
To close, there were five more awards. Seniors Amelia Porier (girls lacrosse) and Ntsika Mtwa (boys soccer) won Scholar Athletes of the Year. This award was presented to student-athletes who exemplified strong commitment to academics and were also exceptional athletes. Additionally, seniors Kiely Tabaldo and Sherrod Smith won the Overall Athlete of the Year awards. Over the past four years, Tabaldo has won three CCS Individual Wrestling Championships and one state title. In addition, she also runs track. Smith, on the other hand, was one of the best running-backs in the Peninsula Athletic League this past season and also ran track in the Spring. Lastly, Kryger brought all of the M-A athletes who will be playing sports next year on stage to announce them one last time. It’s undeniable that they’ll all make great contributions to their new collegiate teams.
