By Mark Dorfman
The Pat Lovell Award was established in 2019 to honor the legacy of Santa Cruz County Athletic League Commissioner Pat Lovell, who helmed the league for 30 years. The award is given each year to the school that earns the most points in SCCAL varsity competitions.
In 1989, Pat was hired as the commissioner of the SCCAL, a post he held for the next 30 years.
The importance and impact of Pat’s leadership as the SCCAL Commissioner cannot be overstated.
He grew the SCCAL from a tiny regional league into a CCS powerhouse. He pushed for the expansion of women’s sports. He mentored hundreds of local coaches and athletic directors.
He modeled professionalism, selflessness, and respect at all times.
In addition to serving as the SCCAL commissioner for 30 years, Pat was an Olympic wrestler, a collegiate all-conference football player, a football and wrestling official, and a teacher and coach.
Pat is a member of the Aptos High School Sports Hall of Fame, the Sequoia High School Sports Hall of Fame, the San Mateo County Sports Hall of Fame, the Cabrillo College Sports Hall of Fame, and the California Wrestling Hall of Fame.
He passed away in November of 2018.
To determine the Pat Lovell Award winner each year, points are awarded for 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place, and so on, in the final varsity league standings for every SCCAL sport, and points are also awarded for winning an SCCAL End-of-Season Championship Tournament. The school with the highest point total at the end of each school year is awarded the Pat Lovell trophy.
The winner for 2022-23 is Aptos High School.
Aptos High accrued 106 points, just edging out Santa Cruz HS (98.5 pts). Here is the order of finish for 2022-23:
- Aptos – 106
- Santa Cruz – 98.5
- Soquel – 78
- Scotts Valley – 71
- Harbor – 59
- SLV – 50.5
- Mt. Madonna – 6
Past winners
- 2018-19 – Aptos High School
- 2019-20 – Aptos High School
- 2020-21 & 2021-22 – no award given due to the Covid pandemic