San Benito High School senior Josh Corrigan, a two-sport athlete who has earned seven varsity letters while being named to the Baler All-Academic Team three times, was selected as the 2017-18 Central Coast Section Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
“Joshua is what being a high school student-athlete is all about,” said San Benito High Athletic Director Tod Thatcher. Corrigan will receive a $1,500 scholarship as well. “He works extremely hard at both water polo and swimming, however, athletics are only part of Josh’s story.”
Corrigan, whose 4.24 grade point average ranks him 20th out of 699 students in his graduating class, has taken 11 Advanced Placement classes, had an internship with NASA-Ames and has made the honor roll each semester during high school. He was first-team all-league in swimming as a junior and in water polo as a senior for the Monterey Bay League champions this fall.
Corrigan is the co-president of the campus Outdoor Club, he gives swim lessons and is a lifeguard during the summer, and is an Eagle Scout. In the fall, he will attend Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo to study aerospace engineering.
“Josh has managed to give his best effort in all of these endeavors and still remains a very focused high school kid,” Thatcher added.
In his application for the award, Corrigan said his community service has included participating in food drives for local food pantries and organizing clean-up efforts on campus, in the county historical park and during work days at Pinnacles National Park.
All of this work “has left me with a desire to do more,” he added. “Helping people is such a joy and has driven my growth as a person for my entire life.”
Corrigan, whose father John serves as a San Benito High School District Trustee, added that balancing athletics and academics “is just an intuitive thing for me now,” but he realizes there is more to life than school and sports.
“I do make sure to find some time for myself almost every day, though, as I think a lot of people get so caught up with school, athletics, work, or what you have to do, that they forget to make sure they’re at least enjoying one — and to me that is very important,” he noted.
San Benito Supt. Shawn Tennenbaum, in a letter of recommendation to the CCS on Corrigan’s behalf, said the senior “epitomizes the type of student, student-athlete, and future leader our great nation strongly needs to continue moving forward to meet the needs of all.”
