OPEN DIVISION

Newport Harbor (26-3) vs. JSERRA (26-0), 6 p.m.

Outlook: It’s the two-time defending Open champion Sailors against the top-seeded Lions, who they beat last season in the section final 10-9. JSerra is 2-0 against No. 2 seeded Newport Harbor this fall, including a 10-9 win in sudden-death overtime. The match pits two of the county’s best players: JSerra attacker Ryder Dodd (USC) and Newport Harbor center Peter Castillo (UCLA). Dodd is sizzling after helping the U.S. national team qualify for the 2024 Olympics by capturing the Pan American Games. The senior remarkably led the tournament in goals but he’s more than just a scorer. Dodd leads the Lions’ swift counterattack with his speed and defense. Castillo drew nine exclusions in a 12-11 victory against Harvard-Westlake in the semifinals. He powers the Sailors’ man-advantage that can be a major weapon. Watch out for 6-foot-5 Newport Harbor sophomore Connor Ohl, who ended the semifinals with a buzzer-beater and looks like the next county standout.

DIVISION 1

Laguna Beach (18-12) vs. Huntington Beach (21-10), 4:30 p.m.

Outlook: The Surf League rivals face off for the fifth time. The Oilers own a 3-1 advantage, including a 15-10 overtime win in a league playoff for second place. The top-seeded Oilers are seeking their first section title. The No. 2 Breakers are aiming for a fourth crown but first in Division 1. Huntington Beach features its own dynamic center in Ethan Spoon.

DIVISION 3

CANYON (26-5) vs. EL SEGUNDO (31-0), 1:40 p.m.

Outlook: The North Hills League champion Comanches surfaced as one of the county’s most surprising teams in reaching their first section final. They’re a well-rounded team with excellent chemistry, coach Celena Photopulos said. No. 2 seeded Canyon is led by three-year starters Aidan Demkiw in goalie and Luke Kornely and Drew Herbel. El Segundo is the No. 1 seed.

DIVISION 4

WOODBRIDGE (26-9) vs. BONITA (18-11), 12:20 p.m.

Outlook: The No. 2 seeded Warriors are the last team standing from the challenging Pacific Coast League. They’ve reached their first final with an intriguing blend of three seniors, five juniors, four sophomores and three freshmen. In the semifinals, freshman Elijah Bolton scored three goals. Bonita is the No. 1 seed.

DIVISION 6

ANAHEIM (11-5) vs. SUMMIT (23-4), 11 a.m.

Outlook: The Colonists advanced to their first section final in only their fourth season since reviving a long-dormant program. The comeback has been so dramatic, Anaheim’s first-round playoff win was its first postseason triumph since 1976. Sophomore left-handed attacker Micah Flude is one of the Colonists’ top players. Summit is the No. 1 seed.

A shooting star across the pool. A dream come true. A once in-a-lifetime high school match.

Those were some of the descriptions from Newport Harbor’s boys water polo team Wednesday night after it edged visiting Harvard-Westlake 12-11 in the CIF-SS Open Division semifinals on a stunning, buzzer-beating goal by Connor Ohl.

The sophomore attacker and transfer from Connecticut narrowly beat the clock at the end of regulation by scoring on the power-play on a shot from the wing.

The goal ignited a wild celebration by the Newport Harbor bench and faithful as the two-time defending Open Division champion kept its hopes of a three-peat alive.

“It was a dream,” Ohl said of the goal, which followed an exclusion drawn by Peter Castillo with 14 seconds left. “It was extremely close. It could have gone either way. The shot came off my hand and the buzzer sounded as it was probably leaving my fingertips.”

Newport Harbor (26-3) faces No. 1 seed and undefeated JSerra (26-0) in the finals Saturday at Mt. SAC in Walnut.

Video replay showed Ohl’s cross-cage shot in the air and headed toward the far corner with 1 second remaining on the shot clock.

“It looked like a shooting star in the sky,” said Castillo, a UCLA commit who drew his ninth and final exclusion coming out a Newport Harbor timeout with 31 seconds left.

Connor Ohl for the win! Newport Harbor edges Harvard-Westlake 12-11 in instant classic ⁦@NewportAquatics⁩ ⁦@nmusd⁩ ⁦@USAWP⁩ pic.twitter.com/kB2qhvjlBk

— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) November 9, 2023

Ohl’s fourth goal — all of which came on the power-play — capped Newport Harbor’s rally from an 8-5 deficit in the middle of the third period. It also provided the most dramatic victory of the Sailors’ resurgence under coach Ross Sinclair at his alma mater.

“I haven’t been part of a game like this in a high school setting,” said Sinclair, who has guided the Sailors to five consecutive appearances in the top-division final. “It was fun to be part of and it was fun to be able to have the opportunity to go run a play, and execute a play, and run a 6-on-5, and execute, and get out that way.”

Newport Harbor called timeout with 31 seconds following a save by goalie Luke Harris on a shot from center.

The Sailors then drove Castillo from the top of the perimeter into center and made four passes before left-handed sophomore Mason Netzer slipped a pin-point entry pass into 2 meters. Castillo took the ball with his right hand and drew the exclusion as he turned toward the Harvard-Westlake cage.

On the winning goal, Netzer faked a shot from his wing before passing cross-pool to Ohl.

Sinclair praised Netzer for the pass. The coach, Ohl and Harvard-Westlake coach Jack Grover also credited Castillo for drawing the exclusion. It was a huge play in the team’s fourth and biggest match of the fall.

“I got to commend Peter on his leadership,” Grover said of Castillo, who scored five goals. “We’ve done a really, really good job of shutting that guy out of games this year. He’s never made it about himself, and he finally got his game.”

Castillo’s play at center helped Newport Harbor go 6 of 13 with the extra attacker and 1 for 1 on penalty shots. Harvard-Westlake went 2 for 5 on the power-play and made its only penalty.

The Wolverines led 4-2 after the first period and netted a buzzer-beater at halftime to push their lead to 7-5.

Castillo scored from center with 41 seconds left in the third period to give Newport Harbor its first lead at 9-8. The score knotted three more times before the dramatic conclusion.

“Top-three high school game I’ve seen,” Hall of Fame El Toro coach Don Stoll said.

Ohl’s stat line also included five steals.

Left-hander Dean Strauster had four goals to lead Harvard-Westlake.

“It was a beautiful game but sometimes certain things don’t go your favor,” Grover said. “It’s tough but I’m really proud of my guys.”

Also in the Open Division:

JSerra 14, Corona del Mar 6: Ryder Dodd returned from helping the U.S. men’s team secure a 2024 Olympic berth at the Pan American Games to net seven goals for the host Lions. JSerra advanced to its second straight Open final.

In Division 2:

San Marcos 13, Portola 6: Center Luke Porter scored three goals and Noam Garibi, Kasra Sowlat and Ryder Tonkovich each added one in the loss for the visiting Bulldogs.

In Division 3:

Canyon 16, Murrieta Valley 14: Goalie Aidan Demkiw and center Adam Hermreck — both seniors — played well to help the visiting Comanches (26-5) reach their first section final. They play undefeated El Segundo (31-0) on Saturday at Mt. SAC.

In Division 4:

Woodbridge 11, San Dimas 7: Ben Chan made 12 saves, including a penalty shot in the first half, to help the Warriors (26-9) reach their first section final. Woodbridge will play Bonita on Saturday at Mt. SAC.

In Division 6:

Anaheim 11, Chaffey 8: The host Colonists, in their fourth season since reviving the program, opened a 9-6 lead in the third period and advanced to their first section final. They will play Summit in the finals Saturday at Mt. SAC.

In fact, the score was tied after regulation and six minutes of overtime were needed to decide the winner.

That’s when the Breakers took control of the contest and came away with a 12-11 victory.

The victory sets up an all-Surf League final on Saturday at Mt. SAC in Walnut between the Breakers (18-12), the No. 2 team in the division, and Huntington Beach, the top-ranked team.

The Oilers defeated Mira Costa, 13-7, in the other Division 1 semifinal Wednesday.

Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach have played four times this season, with the Oilers winning three of those contests.

With the victory over Foothill (7-12), the Breakers got a measure of revenge after being knocked out of the Division 1 semifinals last season by the Knights.

“Ever since last year we’ve been thinking about that, about the game against Foothill,” the Breakers’ Diego Audebert said. “So, we were really excited to get this back and I’m really happy to get this win.”

Audebert and Cade Anderton scored four goals each to lead the Breakers.

Corbin Stanley scored four goals to lead the Knights.

The Knights scored three quick goals in the opening minutes of the match to take a 3-0 lead.

But the Breakers followed with three quick goals to tie the score and one more to take a 4-3 lead.

Foothill scored in the final seconds of the first to make the score 4-4 going into the second and neither team had a decided advantage until overtime.

Maxwell Schlaich scored with under a minute left in the first three-minute overtime period to give the Breakers an 11-10 lead.

Gavin Good then scored a huge goal on a pass from Aderton to give Laguna Beach a 12-10 lead with 1:12 left in the second overtime period.

Stanley scored for the Knights with eight seconds left but the Breakers kept possession to run the final seconds off the clock.

“We’ve always been a really conditioned, fit program, so we swim a lot, and I think that really, really helped,” Laguna Beach coach Cameron Hauer said. “I think we were pretty calm, cool, composed the whole time, and sometimes we get really amped.

“I just don’t think we ever had that moment where my team looked gassed.”

Foothill coach Dean Crow said his team wanted to hold the Breakers to no more than eight goals.

“We could have played a little better on defense,” Crow said. “It wasn’t quite there for us. I told the guys, this far into the tournament, it’s going to come down to the fourth quarter and overtime. The game is going to be won or lost in the last three minutes.”

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  Huntington Beach took on Mira Costa in CIFSS Div. 1 boys water polo Wednesday night at Mira Costa. Costas Grant He takes a shot. (Photo by contributing photographer Chuck Bennett)

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  Huntington Beach took on Mira Costa in CIFSS Div. 1 boys water polo Wednesday night at Mira Costa. Costas Grant He tries to block a shot by Huntingtons Charlie Jones. (Photo by contributing photographer Chuck Bennett)

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  Huntington Beach took on Mira Costa in CIFSS Div. 1 boys water polo Wednesday night at Mira Costa. Huntingtons Logan Garwick takes a shot over Mira Costas Kalani Nelson. (Photo by contributing photographer Chuck Bennett)

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  Huntington Beach took on Mira Costa in CIFSS Div. 1 boys water polo Wednesday night at Mira Costa. Huntingtons Christian Hammonds stiff arms Costas Flynn Guentler. (Photo by contributing photographer Chuck Bennett)

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  Huntington Beach took on Mira Costa in CIFSS Div. 1 boys water polo Wednesday night at Mira Costa. Costas Kalani Nelson passes over Huntingtons Christian Hammonds. (Photo by contributing photographer Chuck Bennett)

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  Huntington Beach took on Mira Costa in CIFSS Div. 1 boys water polo Wednesday night at Mira Costa. Huntingtons Jay Pyle lets a shot on goal get past him. (Photo by contributing photographer Chuck Bennett)

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  Huntington Beach took on Mira Costa in CIFSS Div. 1 boys water polo Wednesday night at Mira Costa. Huntingtons Isaac Squires goes for the ball. (Photo by contributing photographer Chuck Bennett)

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  Huntington Beach took on Mira Costa in CIFSS Div. 1 boys water polo Wednesday night at Mira Costa. Huntingtons Mikey Trujillo takes a shot. (Photo by contributing photographer Chuck Bennett)

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  Huntington Beach took on Mira Costa in CIFSS Div. 1 boys water polo Wednesday night at Mira Costa. Huntingtons Ethan Spoon takes a shot on Costa goalie Hunter Gregory (Photo by contributing photographer Chuck Bennett)

MANHATTAN BEACH — Even as his team was beginning to create separation in the second half, Huntington Beach boys water polo coach Sasa Branisavljevic implored his players to “know where the best shooter is” in the pool for Mira Costa.

However, an eight-goal deficit entering the fourth quarter of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoff semifinal contest was too much for a late Mustangs rally to overcome Wednesday.

Mira Costa watched as Huntington Beach milked the clock late and lost 13-7, sending the Oilers to Saturday’s championship match at Mt. San Antonio College.

Huntington Beach is hoping a third time’s a charm, with Branisavljevic recalling CIF-SS championship losses in 2019 and 2016.

“I think we’re overdue,” he said.

The Mustangs (18-12), who trailed by as many as nine with 4 1/2 minutes left, reeled off four consecutive goals after both team’s starting goalkeepers were pulled to creep within 12-7 — including the last three from Maddox McEwen, who started his late charge by converting a penalty shot.

McEwen finished with a game-high five goals for Mira Costa, which was unable to avenge an 11-6 loss to Huntington Beach (20-10) in late September.

Aside from the playoff setting, Mustangs coach Jon Reichardt said nothing felt too different compared to the first meeting.

“We knew what they were going to do,” Reichardt said. “They did press us a little more than we thought they would, but it just wasn’t our night. Missed some shots we should’ve put in.”

Much like he started the match, Oilers attacker Christian Hammonds put the finishing touches on the victory with his team-high third goal inside the final minute.

“The luck was on our side, especially the early part of the game,” Branisavljevic said. “We hit our shots.”

In the final, Huntington Beach will face Laguna Beach, which narrowly defeated Santa Ana Foothill in the other semifinal 12-11. The Oilers won three of four meetings between the team this season, with the lone loss a 13-12 decision on Oct. 11.

Hammonds had two goals in the opening quarter, including a skip shot off the water with 0.39 seconds left to give Huntington Beach a 2-1 lead.

“It’s little things like that,” Reichart said. “You’ve got to keep pace and we didn’t do a good job of that.”

It was a standout quarter for both starting goalkeepers. The Oilers’ Jay Pyle made five of his 11 saves in the frame, while the Mustangs’ Hunter Gregory had four of his six stops.

“He’s one heckuva goalie. Jay is awesome,” Branisavljevic said.

Huntington Beach’s depth — three players are committed to Division I collegiate programs — was just too much in the middle two quarters. Four different players scored in the second to take a 6-2 lead into the break.

“Once you let the other team have the momentum and they can get rolling, then you lose yours and it’s taking one big step back,” McEwen said.

Mira Costa stopped a 6-0 run on McEwen’s third-quarter goal quickly off an Oilers’ exclusion foul to pull within 8-3.

Huntington Beach answered with three more goals, though, to extend the advantage to 11-3 through three quarters.

Reichardt said he was proud of the fight in a team that swept through the Bay League this season.

“Semifinals (appearance) in Division 1, that’s solid,” Reichardt said.

Name: Ryder Tonkovich

School: Portola

Sport: Water polo

Year: Junior

Noteworthy: He scored 19 goals over three CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoff wins. Tonkovich, an attacker, scored nine goals in the Bulldogs’ 16-11 win over Crean Lutheran in the quarterfinals, five goals with five steals in a second-round win over Burbank and five goals in a first-round victory over Redlands East Valley. Portola plays at San Marcos in the semifinals Wednesday.

Portola’s boys water polo team has its own standout named Ryder, who just like the one who plays for JSerra and the U.S. national team, can be tough to slow down.

Junior Ryder Tonkovich scored three of his nine goals in the pivotal third period as the Bulldogs raced past Crean Lutheran 16-11 in a CIF-SS Division 2 quarterfinal match dripping with sub-plots Saturday night at Portola High.

The swift, 6-foot attacker scored consecutive counterattack goals in the third to cap Portola’s 4-1 period, including one in spectacular fashion. Tonkovich sprinted to narrowly beat the opposing goalie to a long outlet pass, turned and flipped a shot into the open net while submerged between two defenders.

Tonkovich popped up to see his goal give Portola an 11-6 lead and Crean Lutheran call timeout.

“(There’s) no stopping him,” Portola coach Kate Avery said of Tonkovich, the Bulldogs’ version of Ryder Dodd.

Tonkovich received plenty of support. Senior Noam Garibi netted four goals, including one in the second period off a no-look shot on the power-play. Junior center Luke Porter added two goals while junior goalie Asher Wettstein blocked a late penalty shot.

Portola (24-6) advanced to Wednesday’s semifinal at top-seeded San Marcos by winning a clash against a familiar foe. The Bulldogs and Crean Lutheran (18-13) each feature several players with ties to the North Irvine Club.

Saints coach Ed Carrera heads the club, and is a former assistant coach at Portola.

“It was a rivalry game for us,” said Tonkovich, a former North Irvine player now with Orange County Water Polo Club. “(The club connections) definitely made it more fun to play because I knew all of them. They’re all my friends.”

Portola’s main focus is now reaching its second straight section final. The Bulldogs finished as the Division 3 runner-up last season to Damien.

“I think this is finally going to be the year we go all the way,” Tonkovich said. “We just have to keep doing what we’re doing: not let up and keep up the high energy.”

Sophomore Julian Amakasu scored four goals to lead Empire League champion Crean Lutheran, which trailed 7-5 at halftime. Freshman Connor McTaggart added two goals.

The Saints featured only one senior — Jonathan DiPinto — in their first season in Division 2. Last fall, they lost in the Division 4 quarterfinals. In 2021, they won Division 6 title.

“We’ll be back,” Carrera said.

In Division 1:

Foothill 14, Long Beach Wilson 6: William Griswold scored six goals and added three assists to help lead the Knights, who will play host to Laguna Beach in the semifinals Wednesday. Foothill was the runner-up to Orange Lutheran last season.

Laguna Beach 16, Damien 12: Diego Audebert and Cade Adertson scored early goals to help spark the No. 2 seeded Breakers at Sage Hill.

Top-seeded Huntington Beach defeated La Serna 15-7 in another Division 1quarterfinal. The Oilers will play at Mira Costa in the semifinals Wednesday.

In other results, Canyon (Division 3), Woodbridge (Division 4) and Anaheim (Division 6) also reached the semifinals.

ANAHEIM — The blue and gold balloons and array of handmade signs around the pool deck at Anaheim on Saturday hinted of a special occasion. So did the presence of a legendary, ex-Olympic coach sitting in the front row of the shade-covered bleachers with his signature sunglasses and an Anaheim T-shirt.

Jon Urbanchek was again back at Anaheim High to watch his beloved Colonists make history.

Anaheim played its first match in the CIF-SS boys water polo playoffs since 1976, snapping a record drought of almost half of century and harkening back to a golden age when Urbanchek guided the school’s aquatics teams.

The Colonists gave Urbanchek and their faithful plenty to cheer about as they defeated visiting Hillcrest of Riverside 8-2 in the Division 6 quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals next week.

Sophomore left-handed attacker Micah Flude scored four goals, senior Moises Alvarez added two and junior goalie Steven Peregrino made seven saves in three shutout periods as the Anaheim collected its first CIF victory since beating Aviation 12-8 in the first round of the Division 4A playoffs in 1976.

That was so long ago that Aviation closed in 1982.

The Colonists (10-5) walked off the deck to rousing applause.

“It was nice seeing all these people come out to watch our CIF game,” Anaheim co-captain Guillermo Sanchez said. “I’m happy that this year and next year and years after that we’re going to have more people come and hopefully our program gets better and better.”

Anaheim advanced to Wednesday’s semifinal against the winner of the Chaffey-La Mirada quarterfinal, which will be played Monday. The third-seeded Colonists will be the home team regardless of the opponent.

Win or lose, Anaheim has already come a long way.

The school revived its aquatics program from years of dormancy by opening a new pool in December 2019, just a few months before the pandemic.

Anaheim hired Denise Osorio, a former water polo player at Los Altos who played collegiately, for the reboot that began during a pandemic-shortened spring season.

The early lessons included teaching most of the players how to swim, which is common for several O.C. programs where players don’t grow up around the sport.

“Its been a long road,” she said. “From not having a pool for 20-plus years to opening the pool when COVID hit. And starting with our freshmen boys who are now our seniors, who will be able to go to the semifinals in CIF, which is pretty exciting.”

“It’s all credit to them,” the fourth-year coach added. “Our boys who started the program are the ones going in (to the semifinals), so it’s rightfully earned for those boys.”

Sanchez credited the team’s extra practices, assistant coach Daniel Flude and competition with Orange League champion Western as the keys to the program’s rise. Anaheim lost to Division 5 Western 19-5 and 20-4 en route to a second-place finish in league.

“Extra practice and conditioning,” Sanchez said.

Anaheim’s work showed in its defense. The Colonists held Hillcrest to a 0 for 7 on the power-play and didn’t surrender a goal until 38 seconds left.

Senior Aidan Vasquez helped anchor the defense with four steals and a block.

Urbanchek, who after Anaheim become a legendary men’s swimming coach at the University of Michigan and part of several U.S. coaching staff, enjoyed like what he saw.

“I’m having a great time,” he said.

So is Anaheim, back in the playoffs.

The core of Corona del Mar’s boys water polo team stuck together for four years for the opportunity that awaited deep in Los Angeles County on Thursday night.

The Sea Kings seniors claimed a signature moment despite some choppy waters.

Corona del Mar overcame foul trouble, an overturned goal and a higher-seeded foe to claim a 9-8 victory in overtime at Oaks Christian of Westlake Village in a thrilling CIF-SS Open Division first-round match.

Senior Camren Simoncelli scored the winning goal on a backhanded shot from center late in the first, 3-minute extra period to lift the fifth-seeded Sea Kings (23-6), who edged No. 4 Oaks Christian (21-7) for the second time in three competitive matches this fall.

The strike from the UCLA commit came with 46 seconds left in the frame and shortly after senior goalie Chase Campbell blocked a penalty block to preserve an 8-8 tie.

Corona del Mar, a senior-led team, advanced to its first Open Division semifinal in its first appearance in the third-year, elite playoff grouping. It’s the Sea Kings’ first semifinal in a top division since 2014 in Division 1.

“It means a lot,” said Simoncelli, who scored a team-high three goals and drew a penalty shot. “We all play club together. We all hang out with each other. We’re all really good friends. I think the bond is what helps us a lot.”

“We just struck together,” he added. “We’ve been in every situation this year. … I wasn’t really nervous at all.”

Corona del Mar will face No. 1 JSerra, an 8-4 winner against Mater Dei on Thursday, in the semifinals Wednesday.

Campbell, one of the Sea Kings’ clutch performers last season in a Division 1 playoff win against Long Beach Wilson, sealed the victory by blocking a desperation shot at the buzzer. He also blocked a power-play chance moments earlier en route to finishing with 11 saves.

“He’s played really big,” Corona del Mar coach Kareem Captan said. “I’m really proud of him.”

Corona del Mar took an 8-7 lead with 2:59 left in regulation by converting a power-play chance after a goal by Simoncelli was disallowed because of a desk error signaling the excluded player back into play.

The clock was reset and the junior Jackson Harlan converted the extra-man chance.

Corona del Mar overcame starters Luke Zimmerman and Nathan Simoncelli fouling out.

The Sea Kings accomplished the feat by holding Oaks Christian to an 1-for-11 effort on the power play. They received strong play off the bench from defender Vitaliy Laptev, Aiden Anavim, Noah Gerard and Landon Castillo, who scored a power-play goal in the third.

Corona del Mar went 3 for 4 with the extra attacker and 1 for 2 on penalty shots.

The Wave League champion Sea Kings also endured Oaks Christian recovering from a spectacular, buzzer-beating perimeter shot before halftime by Harlan, who gave Corona del Mar a 5-2 lead.

Jackson Harlan y’all … CdM 5-2 at half pic.twitter.com/ctpfBFDknn

— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) November 3, 2023

The Lions answered with five goals in the third period to tie the score 7-7 on their buzzer-beater from junior Saul Biddle, who netted a match-high four goals.

But Corona del Mar, a squad that didn’t beat rival Newport Harbor this season but still made strides, hung tough down the stretch.

“We knew that we had an uphill battle,” Captan said. “Every time things started to kind of go the other direction for us, we regrouped. … We knew that we would have to be resilient. This group has earned that.”

Senior left-hander Charles Warmington, a Pepperdine commit, added two goals for Corona del Mar.

In other matches:

JSerra 8, Mater Dei 4: Goalie Jonas Ransford made 13 saves, including a penalty, to lead the host Lions (25-0), who played without U.S. national team attacker Ryder Dodd, who is competing in the Pan American Games.

Newport Harbor 15, Santa Margarita 8: Connor Ohl scored five goals and Peter Castillo earned five exclusions to lead the host and two-time defending champion Sailors (25-3). Newport Harbor plays Harvard-Westlake in the semifinals on Wednesday.

Name: Peter Castillo

School: Newport Harbor

Sport: Water polo

Year: Senior

Noteworthy: He scored a team-high five goals and drew four exclusions for the Sailors in their 16-6 win over Corona del Mar in their Battle of the Bay game. Catillo, a 6-foot-4 center, has committed to UCLA. Newport Harbor coach Ross Sinclair said Castillo is a force and a consistent player for the Sailors, who host Santa Margarita on Thursday in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs. “He has an incredibly high water polo IQ,” Sinclair said. “He is very difficult to guard one-on-one.”

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The final CIF-SS boys water polo polls for the 2023 season

(Selected by the CIF-SS Boys Water Polo Committee.)

OPEN DIVISION

1. JSerra

2. Newport Harbor

3. Harvard-Westlake

4. Oaks Christian

5. Corona del Mar

6. Loyola

7. Santa Margarita

8. Mater Dei

DIVISION 1

1. Huntington Beach

2. Laguna Beach

3. Foothill/Santa Ana

4. Alta Loma

5. Mira Costa

6. Long Beach Wilson

7. Palos Verdes

8. Westlake

9. Damien

10. La Serna

DIVISION 2

1. San Marco/Santa Barbara

2. Ventura

3. Beckman

4. Camarillo

5. Portola

6. Brea Olinda

7. El Dorado

8. Riverside Poly

9. Capistrano Valley

10. Dos Pueblos

DIVISION 3

1. El Segundo

2. Canyon/Anaheim

3. Murrieta Valley

4. Yucaipa

5. Pasadena Poly

6. Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks

7. Downey

8. Santa Monica

9. University

10. San Marino

DIVISION 4

1 Bonita

2. Woodbridge

3. San Dimas

4. La Habra

5. Temecula Valley

6. Great Oaks

7. Trabuco Hills

8. Hoover/Glendale

9. Buena Park

10. Pacifica/Garden Grove

DIVISION 5

1. Royal

2, Ayala

3. Whittier

4. La Salle

5. Liberty Winchester

6. Long Beach Cabrillo

7. Cate

8. Culver City

9. Paloma Valley

10. La Quinta/La Quinta

DIVISION 6

1. Summit

2. La Mirada

3. Anaheim

4. Cerritos

5. Edgewood

6. Nogales

7. Chaffey

8. Notre Dame/Riverside

9. Hillcrest

10. Patriot