Santa Ynez inducts Swanson, Dadigian, McCandlish and Young into its Wall of Honor
Jan. 27—Four new members of the Santa Ynez High School athletics Wall of Honor were added during the Pirates' varsity basketball game against Dunn on Monday night.
Tyler Swanson, Travis Dadigian, Mike Young and Tanner McCandlish were honored during a halftime ceremony inside the Pirates' gym.
Swanson was a football standout at Santa Ynez, earning First Team All-Los Padres League at running back in his senior season in 2002. He also earned All-League honors in track and field.
Dadigian graduated from Santa Ynez in 2007 after playing three seasons of varsity baseball. He went on to play baseball at Cal Lutheran.
Young was a baseball standout with the Pirates who went on to play at Hancock College and Cal Lutheran after graduating from high school in 1993.
McCandlish was a top soccer player before graduating from Santa Ynez in 2009. She spent all four years on the varsity level and earned All-League honors from 2005-2008.
Here's a look at the four inductees and their career accomplishments.
Tyler Swanson, Class of 2003
Swanson was named First Team All-Los Padres League in football his senior year as a running back. He's also ranked in the top four for longest punt return and interception returned for a touchdown in school history.
As a junior, he was First Team All-Los Padres League in track and field when he came in first in the 100-meter dash in 2002. He continued his football career at Allan Hancock College where he played cornerback for the Bulldogs. He finished his college career at Cal Lutheran as a defensive back where he helped the Kingsman finish with a school best 8-1 record in 2005.
He earned his Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine from CLU in 2008 and has brought his passion for sports with him as athletic director at Four Rivers Community School, a K-12 dual-language public Charter School in Ontario, Oregon. Swanson lives in Ontario with his wife Hanna and two daughters. Tyler Swanson joined his older brother Brennen Swanson on the Wall of Honor.
Travis Dadigian, Class of 2007
Dadigian played four years of baseball, including three seasons on varsity, where he pitched and played shortstop. He was a team captain during his senior year and the recipient of the Christine Meeks award. In the final regular season game of his junior year, Dadigian out-dueled future MLB pitcher Danny Duffy of rival Cabrillo, propelling the Pirates into the CIF playoffs. In the extra-inning affair, Dadigian pitched eight innings and scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth for a walk-off win.
Dadigian also attended Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks where he graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He played four years of baseball with the Kingsmen, all as a middle infielder. Known for his defensive prowess, he batted .354 in his junior year as the primary starter at second base. He was a captain during his senior year. He was also a three-year member of the CLU Scholar-Athlete Society.
Dadigian returned to CLU to complete his Masters in Business Administration, graduating in 2015.
Tanner McCandlish, Class of 2009
McCandlish was a four-year varsity letter-winner for the girls soccer team at Santa Ynez and was named Second Team All-League from 2005-2007. She was a team captain and Los Padres League Defensive MVP in her senior year.
McCandlish attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco where she was on scholarship for soccer all four years. She was team captain her senior year and the program's first NSCAA Scholar All-American. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Motion Picture and Television with an emphasis in Editing.
After college, she jumped into a career of editing trailers for film and television at Create Advertising Group and has continued working for them since. She lives in Los Angeles but frequently visits the Santa Ynez Valley still to spend time with her parents, Athena and Russell.
Mike Young, Class of 1993
Young moved from Mission Viejo to Santa Ynez during his sophomore year and played varsity baseball through his senior year, receiving All-League honors all three years.
Young continued his baseball career at Hancock where he played for two seasons. He received All-Conference honors his first year. After Hancock, Mike continued playing baseball at CLU. Playing third base, Mike and his team made it to the College World Series in 1996 where he earned a spot on the World Series All-Tournament Team. He continued to play adult league baseball up until two years ago.
During his time at CLU, Mike went on to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Kinesiology. From there, he moved on to Chapman University to get his teaching credential. From 2000-2004, Mike taught PE at Solvang Elementary School and coached football and baseball at Santa Ynez High School. Young is currently a captain with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and lives in Buellton with his wife and two kids.
