It’s believed to be a defining moment, at least during the regular season, for Eastlake High School’s boys water polo team after the Titans won this year’s San Diego Open tournament championship title.
Indeed, Eastlake (16-5) defeated Lake Oswego, 8-7, in overtime on Saturday at Granite Hills High School to reign supreme over the 22-team field.
EHS coach Edgard Espinosa said it may be a first for the program. The long-standing tournament is regarded as an advance preview of the San Diego Section playoffs and a seedings fixture.
The Titans advanced to the San Diego Section Division II championship game in 2019 while recording a runner-up finish to Patrick Henry.
Could Eastlake be on its way again?
The section playoffs are Nov. 4-16, followed by state regional playoffs Nov. 20-23.
Junior Juan Castillo and senior Hugh Juden each scored two goals in the championship game while junior Kaeden Hill, junior Alexander Gascon, sophomore Alejandro Tsubaki and senior Ian Cortes each scored single goals.
Tsubaki notched the OT winner.
Tsubaki and Juden keyed the Titans with two assists each while senior Lawson Soukup, sophomore Denny Hirzel and Gascon each collected one assist.
Soukup finished the game with nine goalie blocks.
Castillo earned four exclusions while Cortes earned two exclusions. Gascon earned on exclusion.
Eastlake defeated Classical Academy, 8-6, in the semifinals. Prior to that the Titans defeated Del Norte, 13-7, and Kennedy, 12-9, to jump start the tournament.
Classical defeated San Marino, 13-11, to place third while Valhalla edged Pt. Loma, 9-7, to place fifth.
Eastlake improved to 2-0 in Metro-Mesa League play after defeating Bonita Vista, 20-12, on Oct. 16. Gascon led the way with seven points on five goals and two assists while Juden notched six points on three goals and three assists. Castillo scored four goals and Tsubaki contributed three goals and one assist.
Soukup made 10 saves while sophomore Robert Buell had two saves.
The Titans opened league play with a9-6 victory against Castle Park on Sept. 10. Castillo logged three goals and one assist while Soukup and Gascon each scored two goals.
Soukup and Castillo each made six saves.
San Diego Section Power Rankings
Boys Water Polo
Division I: 1. La Jolla 17-5, 2. Cathedral Catholic 18-6, 3. Santana 21-4, 4. Bishop’s 13-9, 5. Carlsbad 18-6, 6. Torrey Pines 17-7, 7. Canyon Crest Academy 17-6, 8. Poway 17-7, 9. Eastlake 19-5, 10. Valhalla 14-7, 11. Pt. Loma 15-9, 12. Classical Academy 11-8, 13. Patrick Henry 11-9, 14. Helix 12-11, 15. Coronado 6-9, 16. Clairemont 9-13, 17. Mt. Carmel 9-10, 18. Vista 7-15, 19. Rancho Bernardo 6-18, 20. San Dieguito Academy 13-8
Division II: 1. Granite Hills 16-9, 2. La Costa Canyon 16-8, 3. Westview 9-11, 4. Steele Canyon 15-4, 5. Oceanside 13-11, 6. Francis Parker 10-10, 7. High Tech High San Diego 14-8, 8. Mission Bay 10-10, 9. El Capitan 13-10, 10. La Jolla Country Day 9-12, 11. San Marcos 7-11, 12. Grossmont 4-17, 13. Ramona 9-12, 14. Bonita Vista 8-9, 15. Del Norte 8-16, 16. El Camino 6-8, 17. Pacific Ridge 4-7, 18. Olympian 5-12, 19. Mar Vista 6-8, 20. Mira Mesa 5-10, 21. Castle Park 0-3
Division III: 1. San Pasqual 11-3, 2. University City 14-8, 3. Hilltop 11-4, 4. Rancho Buena Vista 10-4, 5. Scripps Ranch 10-6, 6. Mission Hills 10-6, 7. Army-Navy Academy 6-3, 8. West Hills 9-11, 9. Otay Ranch 7-6, 10. Montgomery 4-3, 11. Southwest 7-4, 12. Sweetwater 2-2, 13. Fallbrook 9-15, 14. Mater Dei Catholic 7-11, 15. Monte Vista 8-14, 16. Valley Center 5-8, 17. Santa Fe Christian 3-8, 18. CVLCC 5-9. 19. Canyon Hills 3-11, 20. Escondido 4-14, 21. Mt. Miguel 2-16, 22. Chula Vista 0-9, 23. San Ysidro 1-11
