The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table is hosting its annual awards banquet on Monday night, recognizing a number of local athletes and sports figures important to Santa Barbara’s athletic community. Here’s some background on this year’s Hall of Fame inductees and special award winners.
HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2010
ALAN EVEREST, Outstanding Athlete
Everest was a standout football, baseball and basketball player at San Marcos High School. A top-ten academic graduate in 1968, Everest was the MVP in both football and baseball and highest-scholar award in all three sports. An All-Channel League recipient, he also played in the first Round Table All-Star football game after the 1967 season.
Everest went on to play football at Southern Methodist University where he earned his B.A. in Education and History in 1972. He also holds an M.A. in Education from North Texas State University and a EdD in Educational Administration from United States International University.
After coaching in the United States and internationally from 1972 to 1995, Everest landed in the National Football League with the Arizona Cardinals from 1996-99, the New Orleans Saints from 2000-05, the San Francisco 49ers from 2007-09 and is currently the Special Teams Coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was named the NFL Special Teams Coach of the Year in both 2002 and 2007.
Everest’s proudest moment was in 1988-89 serving as the Defensive Coordinator with his father, Andy Everest, as Offensive Coordinator and winning back-to-back Italian Super Bowls with the Legano Frogs.
Everest and his wife Mischelle have two daughters – Michelle and Kaycee.
ANN LATHAM, Outstanding Athlete
Ann Latham attended Carpinteria High School from 1978-82, excelling in basketball, volleyball and softball. The leading career-scorer in CHS history with 1,287, Latham was the Tri-Valley League Co-MVP in 1981 and 1982, a first-team All-Tri-Valley League selection three years in a row (1980-82) and an All-CIF selection in 1982. She also holds the career rebounding mark with 1,037. Latham was the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Athlete of the Year in 1982.
Latham lead the Warriors to their first-ever Tri-Valley League title in volleyball in 1981 and was named League Co-MVP that year as well as an all-league selection in 1980 and 1981. She was a second-team All-Tri-Valley League selection in softball in 1982.
Latham attended Stanford University earning a B.S. in Industrial Engineering in 1987. A standout rugby player, she earned Norcal All-League honors four years in a row (1984-87) and played for the Pacific Coast Grizzlies from 1985-87. After college, Latham was a member of the USA Women’s National Rugby Team.
Latham is proud that the teams she played on at Carpinteria High School significantly advanced the standards of girls’ athletics at the school, gaining the respect of the boys teams and representing themselves well as young women.
A director of marketing, Latham lives in San Jose, Calif., with her spouse Rossana Monzon.
KEVIN MARSH, Outstanding Athlete
A 1991 Dos Pueblos High School graduate, Kevin Marsh was the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Golfer of the Year in both 1990 and 1991 and the recipient of the Russ Morrison Scholarship in 1991.
Marsh attended Pepperdine University and graduated in 1996 with a degree in Business Administration. He was a Third Team All-American golfer in 1994 and notched four Division 1 College Tournament wins.
Marsh went on to play three years of professional golf but reinstated his amateur status in 2002. He won the 2005 USGA Mid-Amateur Championship in 2005, qualifying him for the 2006 Masters. Marsh was named the 2008 SCGA “Player of the Year” after winning the SCGA Amateur Championship that year – he also won it in 1996. The 2004 and 2005 Santa Barbara City Champion, Marsh also won the Stocker Cup in Carmel Valley, the Carlton Woods Invitational in Houston and the Champions Cup in Houston all in 2009. Marsh teamed up with George Downing of Santa Barbara to win both the 2008 and 2009 SCGA Fourball Championship.
A real estate developer, Marsh lives in Henderson, Nev., with his wife, Yanira, and son, Brian.
KIERAN O’LEARY ROBLEE, Outstanding Athlete
A volleyball standout at Dos Pueblos High School, Kieran (O’Leary) Roblee graduated in 1986, the year she was named the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table High School Girls’ Volleyball Player of the year. She also notched two Channel League MVPs in 1984 and 1985 and the Volleyball MVP at the Los Angeles Summer Games in 1985.
Playing her freshman year at Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo, Roblee transferred to Santa Barbara City College and finished out her impressive collegiate career at Fresno State University, earning her B.A. in Physical Education in 1990.
A member of the SBCC Athletic Hall of Fame, Roblee was an All-State selection in 1988 and the Western State Athletic Conference MVP that same year. In 1989 the SBART named her the College Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year.
At Fresno State, she was the all-time single season assist leader and the career leader in assists in only two seasons.
Roblee currently serves as the head girls’ volleyball coach at Bullard High School in Fresno and the head coach for the Central Cal Volleyball Club 18 Travel Team. As a high school coach her teams have won six league championships in nine years and have advanced to the CIF Central and Central Coast Sections Semi-Finals five times. Nine of her club teams have qualified for the volleyball Junior Olympics and they won the bronze medal in 2006. Roblee has helped over 70 athletes go on to play volleyball at the four-year college level.
Also the Athletic Director at St. Anthony’s School, Roblee lives in Fresno, Calif., with her husband of 15 years, Mike.
THOR SCHMIDT, OUTSTANDING ATHLETE
A 1994 graduate of Bishop High School, Thor Schmidt was a standout football and baseball player – garnering All-Tri Valley League honors in both sports – and a contributor to the best baseball and football seasons in the history of Bishop High athletics.
A defensive end and wide receiver, Schmidt notes one of his greatest high school accomplishments as catching two touchdown passes in a 26-6 win over Carpinteria in his senior year. A fierce hitter and pitcher on the diamond, Schmidt had a hitting streak on the run to the CIF finals where he was batting in the .700s at one point.
Schmidt received a full athletic scholarship for football to Northwestern University where he graduated in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree. He was a part of two Big-Ten Championship teams that went to the Rose Bowl and the Citrus Bowl. He earned Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors in his senior year while playing in only the first 8 of 12 games due to illness.
Schmidt currently manages Allied Waste Services, a Santa Barbara hauling Company. He is married to Brianne Schmidt and has two daughters, Shelby and Lucy, and a son, Gunnar Dane.
RYAN SPILBORGHS, OUTSTANDING ATHLETE
Ryan Spilborghs dominated local high school baseball as a Santa Barbara High standout from 1995-98. Named the Channel League MVP in 1997 and 1998, he was the school MVP three years running (1996-98).
Spilborghs attended UCSB and graduated in 2002 with a degree in Sociology. A Baseball America First-Team All-Region selection in 2001, he was also an All-Big West selection in 2001 and 2002.
The Colorado Rockies picked Spilborghs in the 7th round of the 2002 draft, and he was named a Texas League All-Star in 2005.
Currently a Colorado Rockies outfielder, Spilborghs’ proudest athletic achievement was clinching the 2007 National League Pennant with his team and making it to the World Series.
Spilborghs is married to Stacey Burg and they have an eight-month-old daughter, Kierra Esperanza.
DANIEL CERDA, SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT
Daniel Cerda has dedicated 30 years to local high school and community college football as a distinguished official. A member of the Channel Coast Officials Association for 30 years, Cerda received the Dick Olmstead Perpetual Football award from the Channel Coast Football Association for his outstanding dedication and service.
Cerda officiated in six CIF Southern Section Final games and countless CIF playoff contests. He was selected as an official in the prestigious 1994 California Shriner’s North/South All-Star Football game, as well. Cerda also has 10 years experience as a local basketball referee.
A prominent athlete himself, Cerda played football and baseball for Carpinteria High School from 1959-1963. He was the football team captain in 1962 and an All-Tri Valley League catcher, baseball team captain and MVP in 1963.
Cerda attended Santa Barbara City College and is retired from Southern California Edison after more than four decades with the company. He currently lives in Carpinteria and has four children – Christina, Marc, Michele and Elizabeth.
JIM RANTA, COACH
Jim Ranta has been an aquatics coaching institution at Dos Pueblos High School since 1985 when he took the helm of both the boys’ and girls’ programs. Ranta, a math teacher, is proud to see his former athletes excel as athletes, coaches and parents – he taught or coached all three current Athletic Directors at the local high schools.
Ranta has been instrumental in advancing aquatics at Dos Pueblos and in the community. He guided the first girls’ water polo team in 1994 and is a member of the CIF Water Polo Advisory Committee, Santa Barbara Water Polo Foundation Board, Central Coast Water Polo Officials Board (past president) and the Dos Pueblos Pool Committee Board. Since passing the coaching baton in 2002, Ranta has remained active in boards and with Dos Pueblos aquatics and athletics.
Before taking over the aquatics program at Dos Pueblos, Ranta had stints with the UCSB frosh swim team (1969), Santa Barbara High School swim and first-ever water polo teams (1970 and 1984).
As an athlete, Ranta was a standout swimmer for Riverside City College where he earned Junior College All-American Swim Team honors in 1965 and 1966; and UCSB where he was also named as an All-American swimmer in 1967 and 1968 and helped UCSB to its first-every NCAA Division II Swim Team Championship in 1967. Ranta played in the first NCAA Water Polo Championship Tournament with the Gauchos in 1968.
Named the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Coach of the Year in 1991, Ranta is also a member of the UCSB Hall of Fame.
Ranta lives in Goleta and is married to Nancy and has two children, Jeff and Heather.
KEVIN BROWN, COMMUNITY LEADER
Kevin Brown’s illustrious career in physical therapy and athletic training saw him helping athletes of all levels – from elite professionals to high school students. A 1977 graduate from Dos Pueblos High School, Brown went on to Santa Barbara City College and from there to Fresno State University where he graduated in 1983 with a B.A. in physical education and athletic training.
Fittingly, Brown’s professional career started and came full circle in his hometown of Santa Barbara. From 1983 to 1989 he instituted the first athletic training program at Westmont College. From there he went on to partner in physical therapy groups in the Bay Area, working with the San Francisco 49ers, Stanford and Santa Clara University Athletics, the Men’s ATP Pro Tour, the San Francisco IHL Hockey Team as well as numerous private clients. Brown also had stints as the athletic trainer for USA Diving (1992) and USA Raquetball (1997-2000) – which included two World Championships.
From 1998-2002, Brown was a consultant to privately owned physical therapy clinics and several university athletic programs.
In 2002 he co-founded Elite Performance and Rehabilitation Center in Santa Barbara, serving the athletic departments of SBCC, Bishop Diego High School, Laguna Blanca and UCSB as well as the Santa Barbara Foresters and top collegiate, junior and professional golfers – including traveling on the PGA tour as a private consultant to top players like Fred Couples.
Brown left Elite in 2008 to found Redpoint Training Center.
Named the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Sportsperson of the Month in November 2009 for his generous donation of time and expertise to local sports teams, Brown passed away shortly after at the age of 50 from an aggressive battle with cancer.
SPECIAL AWARDS
LLOYD BIGGS, RUSS HARGREAVES MEMORIAL AWARD
Since 2005 Lloyd Biggs has worked diligently as the Coaching Director of the Santa Barbara Soccer Club to pass on his experience and expertise in youth development and coaching. Biggs has played a key role in recruiting an excellent coaching staff as well as forming a strong board of directors who work hard behind the scenes on a daily basis.
In just five years the club has evolved into a well respected club that develops players to their highest potential. The club has almost tripled its fundraising efforts and currently gives over $50,000 every year in scholarships to local youth.
Biggs developed as a coach in England. In 2005 he and a friend developed on of the most highly respected summer soccer schools in America, “One Soccer” Schools.
Biggs and his wife, Heidi, currently live in Santa Barbara.
CLYDE BENNETT, R.F. MACFARLAND MEMORIAL TROPHY
Clyde Bennett has spent more than four decades as a player, coach, umpire and organizer in both the slow-pitch and fast-pitch arenas. He currently serves as the Softball Director and Umpire in Chief for Elings Park.
Bennett has managed numerous teams in the Santa Barbara City Leagues and has taken 45 squads to national tournaments. Of those, 17 finished in the top five, and he won national championships in 2006 and in 2008.
He’s probably best known in city softball circles as an umpire. He’s been officiating games – both adult and high school – since he first arrived in Santa Barbara in 1967, and he served as the city’s umpire in chief from 1972 to 2005. He’s umpired more than 100 CIF playoff games and four CIF championship contests.
Bennett has also been an NCAA Division 1 umpire for the last 21 years. A 1999 Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Master Athlete, Bennett was also inducted into the Santa Barbara Softball Club Hall of Fame in 2002.
Brown is survived by his wife, Lori, and children Rachel and Ryan, as well as his parents, siblings and extended family.
