West Valley, Golden West Headline Men’s Water Polo State Championship Bracket

NOVATO - The 3C2A Men's Water Polo State Championship bracket is set and is ready to kick off on Thursday, November 16 with a champion to be named the following Saturday, November 18 at the College of the Marin's Indian Valley Campus in Novato, CA. 

Tournament Central (Scores, Recaps, Photos, Watch)

GAME ONE

The opening game features the North's top-seeded West Valley College Vikings (28-3) and the South's fourth-seeded Cerrtios College Falcons (22-11) at 8 a.m.

Both teams have met once this season with West Valley cruising to a 19-7 victory in the Cerritos Mini Tournament in mid-October. The game began with a four-all tie after the opening period, but a 6-0 second period in the Viking's favor put a nail in Cerritos' coffin leading to the victory.

West Valley is led by freshman attacker Berkecan Yalcin who has scored a whopping 121 goals and has amassed 63 assists. Both lead the team. He has also pocketed 26 steals and drawn 27 ejections. Backing him is freshman attacker Phil Portisch who has hummed home 85 goals and leads the squad with a massive 77 steals. Freshman Ethan Ivey has manned the posts in 25 games while corralling 177 saves leading to 21 wins.

Cerritos, who upset Mt. SAC in the second round of the 3C2A Regional Championships after falling to them in the South Coast Conference (SCC) Championship game, displays a plethora of weapons featuring six players who have scored more than 40 goals. Freshman utility Joshua Lamberton leads the team with 79 goals, while freshman attacker Timothy Robles follows with 64 netters. Sophomore driver Silvestre Chavez paces the Falcons with 68 assists.

GAME TWO

The second game features the South's second-seeded Long Beach City College Vikings (15-16) and the North's third-seeded American River College Beavers (16-8) at 9:15 a.m.

Long Beach is the lone sub-.500 team to reach the state dance, but they accomplished this by upsetting second-seeded Saddleback and sixth-seeded Cuesta in the Southern Regionals. They placed third in the SCC and are led by sophomore attacker Michael Minera who has scored a team-high 75 goals. He has chipped in 29 assists and swiped 21 steals. Freshman duo Colley Ochoa and Sandro Pueyo back him with 63 goals each.

American River, who were tabbed the Big 8 champions after defeating Sierra, 13-8, in the finals are led by freshman attacker Caden Rutan. He has netted 54 goals to go along with 26 steals. Both marks lead his team. Sophomore goalkeeper Cole Kerksieck has earned 10 wins on the season leading to 169 saves and a 57.1 save percentage.

GAME THREE

The South's top-seeded Golden West College Rustlers (28-3) will battle against the North's fourth-seeded Modesto Junior College Pirates (17-16) at 1 p.m.

Golden West will look to defend its 2022 3C2A State Championship title and earn their seventh-consecutive title, 30th overall title in program history and ninth in the last 10 years. Leading the juggernaut is a two-headed offensive monster in freshman attacker Tomas De Luca and sophomore attacker Itay Roth. De Luca holds a slight edge by scoring a team-high 57 goals this season, while Roth backs him with 52 netters. Roth has pocketed a team-high 63 steals and recorded a team-high 46 assists. Freshman goalkeeper Pablo Souza has earned 17 wins on the season and sucked in 143 saves.

Modesto is a two-man band with freshman Cohen Harris and sophomore Seth Fisher leading the way. Both nearly touched the century mark in goals with Harris scoring 95 goals and Fisher finding the back of the net 94 times. Fisher is a monster on the defensive end leading to 102 steals while also dishing out 66 assists.

GAME FOUR

The North's second-seeded Sierra College Wolverines (15-13) will play the South's third-seeded Cuesta College Cougars (21-12) at 2:15 p.m.

Sierra has three potent options in their arsenal lead by sophomore attacker Chris Nihart. He has score 62 goals in 25 games played to go along with 14 assists and 18 steals. Freshman Petar Markovic follows with 48 goals and 24 drawn ejections, backed by sophomore attacker Hank Wildenradt's 45 goals and, 12 assists and 13 steals. Freshman Samuel Cortez and sophomore Brendan Craft has split time between the pipes with Craft bagging 73 saves and seven wins. Cortez has hauled in 68 saves.

The Cougars feature an anchor in the middle in the form of sophomore center Dante Ianora. He has netted over a bill in goals with 102 to date. He has drawn 69 ejection and pocketed 20 steals as well. Sophomore Jake Burns is one goal away from an even 70 netters, while freshman Austin Majus has hummed home 61 goals and leads his team with 51 assists. Freshman goalkeeper Yvano Voigt may be the one of the strongest walls between the pipes as seen in 320 saves and 21 wins.

(Release by Nicho DellaValle, 3CWPCA SID)