Cate Senior Named Scholar-Athlete of the Year

April 5, 2019

April 1st might have been April Fools’ Day, but the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table (SBART) proved that Cate’s Rivers Sheehan ’19 is no joke. The senior track star was awarded the school’s representative for the SBART Scholar Athlete of the Year at the weekly Round Table luncheon at Harry’s Plaza in Santa Barbara.

“I am thrilled to join a number of talented scholar-athletes who have received this award, and I am so thankful to Coach Kyle Mason and Mr. Barton and all the teachers who have helped me balance my education and pursuits on the track. I also have to shout-out to my brother John, who is constantly inspiring me by his joyful and dedicated approach to both his schoolwork and his Special Olympics teams,” said Sheehan ’19 of her accomplishments.

Before she came to the Mesa, Sheehan ’19, was a competitive gymnast and did some cross country. However, early in her Cate career, she found her calling on the track and has since dominated. During her time at Cate, Sheehan ’19 has competed in the high jump, triple jump, and long jump. She also runs on the teams 4 x 100 relay squad. This is hardly Sheehan’s first honor; the Harvard-bound star was the Russell Cup MVP in 2016, and the Frontier League MVP in 2017.  As a student, Sheehan ’19 carries a 4.5 GPA and has won Cate’s Centennial Book Award, which is given out to one or two students a year for “distinctive scholarship and enthusiastic investment in community life.”

The impact Sheehan ’19 has had stretches far beyond her teammates on the track or her peers in the classroom. Cate head track coach Kyle Mason praised Sheehan ’19 for all she has done as a member of the track team. “Coaching, guiding and learning from Rivers Sheehan has been a highlight of my coaching and professional career with young adults. I’ve spent the last 15 years living among the most capable, curious, determined and high-potential student-athletes. Rivers is not only among the most memorable and influential, but she is the one who has taught me the most and made me not only a better coach, but a better man,” Mason said.

Athletic Director Wade Ransom praised the exceptional ability Sheehan ’19 demonstrates in balancing excellence both on the track and in the classroom. “Over four years Rivers has proven that you can be both a record-breaking athlete and an award-winning scholar by possessing dedication, grit and intellectual curiosity. Rivers’ extraordinary achievements in the horizontal jumps has been exceeded only by her academic achievements, truly exemplifying the term student-athlete. I am so proud of Rivers, and I am grateful for her teachers and coaches—including Kyle Mason and Jeff Barton—for helping Rivers on her journey,” he added.