3C2A Men's Water Polo Championship tournament set for Merced beginning Thursday
MERCED - This is the ninth consecutive year, seven teams will meet at the 3C2A Men's Water Polo State Championships with one goal: preventing the eighth team, Golden West, from winning another title. Once again, the state's top squads, including four-time state runner-up West Valley, will try to keep the Rustlers from winning their ninth in a row and 33rd in program history.
Let's take a look at the eight teams descending upon Merced this weekend:
South No. 1 Golden West: 34-2, Orange Empire Conference champions
State championships: 32, winners of eight straight
To paraphrase our 2024 preview: the "all-gas-no-brakes" Rustlers, the 3C2A's best men's water polo team ever, are positioned to capture their 9th-consecutive state title. They've prevailed against arguably the 2nd-best 3C2A team ever, West Valley, in the last four state title battles. The 2025 Rustlers feature six players with 40-or-more goals, led by Lucca Van Der Woude (57 goals, 18 assists, 39 steals), 2024 All-Tourney selection Michael Rodgers (57 G, 18 A, 15 ST), Gavin Abbott (54 G, 29 ST) and 2024 All-Tourney player Joao Goncalves (40 G, 52 A). Boston Frost (26-2, 58.0 save %) is one of the state's top netminders. Forget the stats, Golden West will bring the crowd and the swagger. It will be hard for whomever they play in each round to beat them.
South No. 2 Orange Coast: 25-10, Orange Empire Conference runner-up
State championships: two, last one in 1972
The Pirates are solid on both sides of the ball. For the 2nd straight year, OCC advanced to the SoCal title game with an epic 8-6 semifinal win over Long Beach before falling in a tight 14-8 loss to Golden West in the regional final. Cade Zeilinger returns as one of the state's top scorers with 77 goals, along with 23 assists and 14 steals, entering the tournament. He's followed by Jack McCann's 60 goals and Sawyer McCormick's 45. Ben Hecht leads the Pirates with 54 assists. Keeper Gage Fojtasek is 13-6 coming into the tournament.
South No. 3 Long Beach City: 24-7, South Coast Conference champions
State championships: nine, last one in 2015
The perennially-powerful Vikings are, again, the region's No. 3 seed. They've outscored opponents 515-244 so far. Freshman Frederico Gulisano quickly established himself as one of the 3C2A's top two-way players, leading LBCC with 93 goals, 28 assists and 53 steals. Ivan Cubelic has also lit up the stat sheet with 77 goals, 18 assists and 26 steals. Goalkeeper Griffin Lagsdin is 16-6, with a 50% save percentage, heading into the tournament.
South No. 4 San Diego Mesa: 25-10, Pacific Coast Conference champions
State championships: looking for their first state title
The Olympians took the Pacific Coast by two games and earned a state berth with a thrilling 13-12 regional victory over Mt. San Antonio Nov. 14. They've outscored opponents 523-360 so far and are paced by Santiago Gonzalez (89 G, 54 A, 70 ST, 18 FB), one of the state's top two-way players. Kyle Fox, however, led the Olympians with 120 goals, while Trevor Kula (49 G, and a state-leading 89 assists) and Sean Fegan (40 G, 25 A, 32 A) were both stat-sheet fillers. Keeper Riser Lundeberg is 20-7 and has stopped 45.5% of shots against him.
North No. 1 West Valley: 30-3, Coast Conference champions
State championships: 8, last one 2010
The Vikings won their seventh NorCal title in eight years and are looking for their fifth consecutive championship game appearance. Once again, they're an offensive juggernaut, leading the 3C2A with 19.55 goals per game - outscoring opponents 645-295 - and feature six players with 40-or-more goals. Freshmen Ali Cinar Nuray and Makar Salnikov lead the way with 80 and 76 goals, respectively. Also breaking the 40-goal threshold are Peter Kohari (63), Yonatan Yoffenbratel Nadler (54), Jacob Rogers (44) and Pa'Kalani Saxton Vaka (42). Lucas Rocha Gentil (28-2, 49.8 save %) is one of the state's top keepers.
North No. 2 American River: 16-13, Big 8 Conference champions
State championships: looking for their first title
The Beavers return to the state tournament again as the north's No. 2 seed. For the 2nd straight year, they battled West Valley in the NorCal championship, before falling 10-8 to the Vikings in a rain-battered, steam-shrouded final. And, like last year, they are an experienced, physical team. Two-way stalwart Rowan Taggatz leads the Beavers with 55 goals and 30 steals, while McKeane Beier (36), Renzo Archer (31) and Andrew Donlin (30) have all broken the 30-goal barrier. Keeper Patrick Bratset is 13-5 and had stopped 47.9% of shots aimed at him.
North No. 3 Sierra: 17-12, 2nd (tie) in the Big 8 Conference
State championships: looking for their first state championship
The Wolverines held off Big 8 rival Modesto 13-11 in the NorCal 3rd place game to earn the north's No. 3 seed. Sierra is led for the 2nd straight year by Rhett Wildenradt (84 G, 34 A, 27 ST). He teams with freshman Damon Winton (70 G, 32 A, 42 ST) to form a tenacious offensive/defensive tandem. Peter Poirier (48), Carter Stephan (39), Marco Escateol (34) and JJ Skeehan (33) have all found the back of the cage at least 30 times. Jack Kimmel (15-11) minds the net for the Wolverines and has recorded 252 saves (57.7 %) on the year.
North No. 4 Modesto: 21-11, 2nd (tie) in the Big 8 Conference
State championships: looking for their first title
The Pirates knocked out Big 8 mate Diablo Valley 13-8 in the NorCal quarterfinals to earn a state finals berth. They ran into West Valley in the semis, but almost took 3rd with a narrow 13-11 loss to Sierra. Modesto has six players with 40-or-more goals on the year, topped by Alex Castillo's 64, to go along with 41 assists and 42 steals. Keanu Laolago (60 G, 52 A, 42 ST), Ben Svoboda (49 G, 50 A, 49 ST), Holden Puccinelli (45 G), Cooper Harris (45 G) and Cohen Harris (41 G) all topped the 40-goal threshold. Netminder Jack Fisher, head coach Eric Fisher's son, comes into the tournament at 20-10 with a 48.2 save %.
(Matt Folsom, CCCWPCA)