A sizable contingent of nine age-group teams representing club water polo programs from South County competed in last weekend’s California State Games tournament.
It was a hectic non-stop three days of water polo at the Helix and Coronado high school pools, but a rewarding one for the six local teams that broke through the surface to earn medals.
The Southern Water Polo Club hit for the cycle with a gold medal in the 16U boys division, a silver medal in the 18U boys division and a bronze medal in the 18U girls division.
The Costa del Sur program entered six teams and brought back silver medals in the 14U boys, 16U boys and 16U girls divisions.
The 16U boys gold medal game showcased an all-South County matchup, with Southern’s tense 6-5 victory against rival Costa del Sur clearly providing the highlight of the tournament.
In other medal-round games:
Costa del Sur defeated Poway Valley, 10-9, to secure the silver medal in the 14U boys division while coming up shy by one goal, 6-5, in a narrow setback to San Diego Shores in the 16U girls final.
The 18U boys championship game delivered fireworks in the pool as Southern roared to an early 8-2 lead before running into penalty problems en route to eventually succumbing, 15-11, to South Coast Red from Thousand Oaks.
Southern defeated the Midcity Waves by a score of 16-4 to capture third place in the 18U girls division.
Additionally, Costa del Sur’s 18U boys and girls team both finished fifth in their respective divisions while its 14U coed team finished sixth. The 18U boys team finished 4-2 in its six games.
“This is our third year competing in the State Games,” Costa del Sur program director Ernie Medina said. “We had two champions two years ago and two champions last year. We have 180 kids in our program and six coaches. We’re taking two teams to the Junior Olympics this coming weekend – that’s a first for us.”
Sweet 16
Both the Costa del Sur and Southern 16U boys teams feature a healthy smattering of players from local high schools on their rosters, as well as coaches.
The teams won their semifinal matches on Saturday — with Southern defeating Ohana, 11-3, and Costa del Sur defeating South Coast White 9-4 — to set up Sunday afternoon’s championship game.
The match-up of area rivals did not disappoint.
The teams ended the first quarter tied 1-1 and exchanged goals throughout the remainder of the game until Wyatt Eckholt scored on a five-meter shot with 1:39 to play to give Southern a 6-5 advantage.
Costa had two excellent scoring chances go awry in the final seconds. The first shot hit the post; Southern goalie Omar Mendiburo blocked the second shot on a five-meter attempt by Costa’s Eli Stewart with 20 seconds left.
When Eckholt hit the post on a backhander with six seconds left, it gave Costa one last chance to send the game into overtime but time ran out following a critical defensive play.
Ironically, Mendiburo and Stewart are teammates at Eastlake.
“I was very nervous but I was really focused,” Mendiburo said. “To block the shot felt great. I couldn’t believe I could block a shot like that, especially from Eli.”
Stewart and Ethan Hastings led Costa with two goals apiece.
Respective coaches lauded the effort by both teams.
“First of all, a great job by both teams,” Southern coach Edgard Espinosa said. “They came out gunning. We expected that. We expected them to come out and give us their best, and we wanted to give our best. We have a lot of respect for their coaches.
“We’re focused on the Junior Olympics right now and want to have a winning mindset. These kids were not going to lose. This was a big game for South Bay water polo.”
The championship matchup proved to be a preseason scouting opportunity for Costa del Sur coach Stuart Sokil, who serves as Eastlake High School’s boys coach, as he was able to gauge the level of play and competitive fire between high school teammates on both club teams.
“It was fun to play them,” Sokil said. “We hadn’t played them all summer. It was fun to see the high school guys play since the fall semester. It was good competition. Both teams played hard. We had opportunities; we just didn’t capitalize.”
Golden girl
San Ysidro High School’s Kelly Villanueva earned a gold medal as a member of Coronado’s 18U girls team. Coronado finished the tournament undefeated at 6-0, capping the weekend with a 10-6 victory Long Beach Millikan.
“I’ve never played club, it feels great,” she said.
Villanueva was a member of San Ysidro’s South Bay League champion girls water polo and swim teams during the 2018-19 school term as well as the league’s water polo player of the year.
Silver linings
Costa del Sur’s 14U A team finished 4-1 to place second in the round-robin standings, losing only to bracket champion Sons of Odin.
The level of play in the division was outstanding and showcased the growth of the game at younger age levels.
Medina was ecstatic at the improvement shown by the group since the start of the club season.
“In the Cal Cup we went 3-3, now we’re at the point where we’re in championships,” Medina said. “Some of the guys have played since they were 8 and 9 year olds; now they’re 13 and 14.”
The 16U girls championship game went down to the final horn in determining a winner.
Costa held a pair of early one-goal leads while the game was tied twice after that.
“The girls worked really hard and never gave up,” Medina said.
Girl power
Southern finished 4-2 in 18U girls play over the weekend, losing only to Coronado and Desert Valley Aquatics.
Southern, which topped Costa del Sur, 9-3, in an all-South County match, entered the tournament as defending champions.
“Coming back as a returning champion, we were expecting first but any medal is good,” Southern’s Karyed Espinosa said. “The competition in the tournament was good and there were teams from L.A. It was harder competition than last year.”
“It was definitely at a higher level,” Southern coach Beto Vasquez added. “It was a great tune-up for the Junior Olympics.”
Alicia Thompson and Summer Camporesi each had four goals in a 16-4 win over the Midcity Waves in the bronze medal game.
Not for prime time
The 18U boys championship game closed out the weekend. It expected to be a showstopper between Southern and South Coast Red after the teams had met on Saturday, resulting in a 12-11 victory for the Thousand Oaks team.
However, multiple exclusions and brutality ejections given for excessive physical misconduct marred the gold medal game, which featured a major disconnect in the run of play.
South Coast roared back in the game with six unanswered goals to tie the game 8-8 and reeled off five unanswered goals to end the game after Southern had regrouped to take an 11-10 lead at the end of three quarters.
Jake Rose led Southern with five goals — three on five-meter shots.
Southern did secure local bragging rights by opening the tournament with a 9-3 win over Costa del Sur in pool play last Friday.
Southern defeated San Diego Shores twice in the tournament, winning by scores of 12-0 and 18-6. Southern also defeated the California Republic team from Sacramento, 12-5, to finish with an overall 4-2 record.
Costa del Sur finished 1-1 in pool play following the loss to Southern and a 13-5 win over California Republic. However, a 10-9 loss to Poway Valley stalled Costa del Sur’s bid to advance to the medal rounds. As a consolation, Costa del Sur defeated Sons of Odin, Valhalla’s club team, by a score of 10-3.
Costa del Sur closed out the final day of the tournament with wins over California Republic (8-1) and Midcity Waves (18-7).
Photo Gallery by Phillip Brents
16U Boys Championship Game:
Southern Water Polo Club 6, Costa del Sur 5
18U Boys Championship Game:
South Coast Red 15, Southern Water Polo Club 11
Girls 16U Championship Game:
San Diego Shores 6, Costa del Sur 5
Girls 18U Bronze Medal Game:
Southern Water Polo Club 16, Midcity Waves 4
Boys 14U Silver Medal Game:
Costa del Sur 10, Poway Valley 9
East County Report:
Valhalla’s Houston staying young by coaching water polo
Kent Houston is entering his 35th year of coaching water polo at Valhalla High School. Highlights along the way include winning 10 San Diego Section championships and producing one Olympian and two USA national team players.
It’s been an illustrious coaching career, and one that’s not quite finished.
“I want to coach two more years,” Houston, 65, said during a break in a summer tournament with his offseason Sons of Odin club. “We graduated 14 of 15 last season and I could have retired with that group. But I really liked the freshmen and sophomore class we had and I want to see them through. It’s a good group to be around.”
Valhalla finished 20-11 in 2018, advancing to the San Diego Section Open Division playoff bracket as the No. 7 seed. The Norsemen concluded the season with losses to second-seeded Bishop’s (18-9) and third-seeded La Jolla (9-7) in the double-elimination bracket.
“We did well,” Houston reflected on last season’s showing. “The final game we played against La Jolla, we were in the game until the last two minutes.”
Valhalla has regularly been counted among the section’s top teams. The Norsemen finished 24-5 in 2017, 17-10 in 2016, 25-8 in 2015 (as Division I runners-up), 20-12 in 2014 and 20-11 in 2013.
While under Houston’s direction as a head coach, Valhalla has won six CIF boys water polo championships: four in Division I from 1994-96 and 2000, plus two Class 2A titles from 1990-91.
He’s won two more section titles with the Norsemen as an assistant coach and collected a pair of Division II swim titles in 2003 and 2005.
In an amazing run, Houston coached Norsemen squads to the Division I finals eight consecutive seasons from 1994 to 2001, recording runner-up finishes in 1997-99 and 2001 besides winning four section titles.
He said there’s no comparison to winning a CIF championship.
“Just getting to the CIF championship game is enjoyable but winning CIF is the best feeling in the world,” he said.
Brett Ormsby competed in the 2004 Athens Summer Games while Mike Allen and Doug Sutherland, both 1987 VHS grads, both made the U.S. national team in 1988.
Both Allen and Sutherland were two-time CIF champions with the Norsemen (1985-86) and two-time high school All-Americans.
Ormsby returned home to guide Cathedral Catholic to four CIF championships from 2012-15 as a coach.
Houston said coaching is what keeps him coming back.
“The kids keep me young, they keep me enthused,” he said. “It’s so much fun to watch them progress, and not just as players but as people.”
The Sons of Odin club program (formerly Norse Polo) fields teams in the 14U, 16U and 18U boys divisions, drawing players primarily from Valhalla High School.
This summer’s group has started to connect the dots after qualifying for the upcoming USA Water Polo National Junior Olympics in the 14U and 16U divisions and winning the 14U division at last weekend’s California State Games.
The 16U team placed runner-up in its division at the Coronado Summer Classic held July 6-7 at Coronado High School.
Houston said the offseason program is worthwhile, especially for new players in terms of helping to establish fundamentals and strategy.
“When the high school season starts I don’t have to teach them how to egg-beat or body positions,” Houston said. “They already know what it’s about.”
Houston said that offseason tournament place-finishes are not the focus of the club program. “It’s not about winning or losing but getting better at what we do,” he said succinctly.
The upcoming high school season will hinge heavily on that philosophy.
“We’re going to be very, very young,” Houston admitted. “We’ll have one senior, 10 juniors, two sophomores and maybe a freshman goalie on the roster. “My first goal is to always win league but Steele Canyon (CIF champions in 2017-18) graduated nobody, so they’re going to be strong. Our goal might be to compete for second place.
“Our second goal is to qualify for the CIF playoffs. We may not qualify for the Open Division this year but I think we have a good shot at being champions in Division I.”
Houston serves as tournament director for the annual San Diego Open, the section’s largest regular season high school tournament. This year’s event is scheduled Oct. 17-19 at various pools around the county, including Valhalla.
Making a splash
Sons of Odin finished 5-0 to win the 14U bracket at last weekend’s State Games, capping the three-day tourney (July 12-14 at Coronado High School) with a 13-3 victory against Pacific Polo.
Age-group coach Gerardo Arellano was obviously pleased by the team’s performance.
“We beat everybody there,” Arellano said. “It was a good tune-up for the Junior Olympics. I’m proud of them.”
Arellano noted the group has improved noticeably since the start of the current club season.
“They key has been working hard four days a week, trying to implement character in these boys,” Arellano explained. “Last year we were like the 20th seed in San Diego; this year we moved up to ninth in Junior Olympic qualifying.
“Our eventual goal is to be top four in San Diego in the next two years.”
State Games
The Helix-infused Waterdogs finished fourth in the 16U girls division while the San Diego East County Aquatics placed fifth in the 14U boys division
Sons of Odin finished 2-1 in 16U boys pool play but were seeded third out of the division on a tiebreaker. The East County-based team won all three of its playoff matches to finish in fifth place despite posting a 5-1 overall record.
Sons of Odin’s 18U boys team finished 2-3 in the State Games tournament, defeating Desert Valley Aquatics, 15-6, in its final game on Sunday.
This year’s State Games division champions included Sons of Odin (14U boys), Southern (16U boys), South Coast Red (18U boys), San Diego Shores (16U girls) and Coronado (18U girls).
The Junior Olympics are the largest age-group water polo tournament in the nation. This year’s 50th annual event is scheduled July 20-23 for 12U-18U boys teams and July 25-28 for Girls 10U-18U and coed 10U and 12U teams.
Waterdogs 16U girls:
