HONORING SANTA MARGARITA: Senior class helped Eagles win 2019 CIF title

Seniors on the Santa Margarita baseball team gathered for a team picture before the season. (Photo courtesy Santa Margarita baseball)

Santa Margarita Catholic High School baseball coach Chris Malec told OC Sports Zone Friday he was proud of his senior class.

The players helped the Eagles win the CIF Division 2 title last season. The Eagles were 3-7 so far this season.

“Our 2020 class personified what it means to be a student-athlete at Santa Margarita,” Malec said in Email.  “They lived out our school charism, Caritas Christi (the love of Christ) in the classroom, in the community, and on the field.

“They will go down as one of the strongest classes is Eagle baseball history with all their accomplishments, culminating in the 2019 CIF championship, in addition to a school record for wins in a season during the 2019 season. 
All 15 of these graduates played an integral role in shaping the culture at Santa Margarita.

“As it stands today, 10 of those 15 have made commitments to extend their playing careers at the collegiate level.

“While it’s unfortunate this promising season was cut short, these young men built long lasting bonds through four years of discipline in the weight room, hard work on the field and in the classroom, team community service projects with the the Challenger League and NEGU, and team bonding experiences at our retreats and team dinners.

“We are proud of who these young men are, what they built, and how they represented the SMCHS Eagle family.  These are high character young men with bright futures, that I personally, could not have been more proud to coach.”

The seniors on the team:

Caden Connolly, Connor Bane, Roger Thomas, Trevor Clift,  Josh Robinson, Jon Turner, Matthew McClure, Kyle Wadkins, Gunnar Magrann, Chance Ducote, Colin Burke, Conor Burdian, Jonny Giannola,  Milan Tolentino and Michael Mira. 

SEND US YOUR PICTURES!

If you took pictures before the season, we would like to share team pictures of spring teams with our readers. These can be pictures of seniors or the entire team and we will run these throughout the coming months to salute the dedicated athletes of Orange County who have had their seasons cut short. Please email pictures, names of the players and some highlights to timburt@ocsportszone.com so we can share with our readers. Horizontal pictures similar in size to the one above work best. Please do not take pictures now for us.

LOOKING BACK: Eagles win 2019 CIF title: