Senior Night for Boys and Girls Track and Field happened this past Thursday, an event that honors senior student athletes commitment and dedication to a Channel Island High School’s athletic program. Out of the 23 boys and girls senior student athletes honored, one in particular stood out amongst the crowd.
Mathew Anthony, senior, was captain this year for the Boys Cross Country team and is a four-year Varsity runner for the Boys Distance team. Anthony celebrated the moment with his family and friends, as well as his coach- sister Magen Anthony.
“She (coach Anthony)has meant a lot to my development,” said Anthony. “At the beginning of my freshman year I would’ve never thought that I would become one of the captains for the cross country team.”
Athletic Director Phyra Prum coached both Magen, class of 2014, and her sister Muriel, class of 2020 in Track and Field. Both Magen and Muriel are now teachers, notably Magen here at CI in the Science department. Prum noted that though they are different, Matthew shares a positive attitude that he inhabited from his sisters.
“They’re great people with a great attitude,” said Prum. “They want to be at practice and they make sure that they get better every day.”
Prum praised coach Anthony for her dedication and exceptional organizational skills, advising that she is, “highly organized, she was like that as a student.”
“She was an exceptional student, juggling a lot of different things including sports,” said Prum.
Coach Anthony admitted that she was emotional when asked to reflect on the last four years coaching her brother Mathew. In those four years, coach Anthony helped guide the Boys Cross Country team to three Citrus Coast league championships. She has been named Coach of the Year three times out of the four years she has coached Cross Country, and has been the Distance coach for track the last five.
“The last four years have probably been the best four years of coaching I’ve ever had,” said Coach Anthony.
Coach Anthony noted that the start of her brother’s freshmen year was not ideal, as his dedication to the sport took time to develop. “It started off with Mathew not wanting to be on the team, and last year ended with us going all the way to CIF finals,” she said.
Matthew emphasized that the reasoning for him coming back to athletics was solely on coach Anthony’s constant support and encouragement.
“When I was at my lowest, I felt that all the other coaches gave up on me,” said Anthony. “She (coach Anthony) was still out there giving me advice on how to be the best athlete I could possibly be.”
Reflecting on the end of her brother’s senior season, coach Anthony summarized how thankful she felt to be able to coach her brother his last year of high school.
“I get that he’s my brother, but because there’s such a large age gap, I feel like he is my firstborn son and coaching him has been just the best thing in my life,” said coach Anthony.
Mathew will graduate this year and plans to attend either Cal Lutheran or Cal-Poly Pomona. He shared his gratitude for his older sister and her guidance the past four years.
“Even though I don’t say it that much, I love her,” said Anthony. “Not just as my sister, but also as my coach.”
