Reyburn water polo claims TRAC title

The Reyburn Intermediate 8th grade boys’ water polo team made history last week when it claimed its first ever championship title in the Tri River Athletic Conference.

The team when undefeated in league play, losing just one scrimmage game for a record of 18-1, said coach Dino Valtierra.

That was a big turnaround from last year’s season, when the boys lost all of their scrimmage games, Valtierra said.

“The key this season was the commitment form the kids and parents,” he said. “It’s very difficult to go undefeated in conference with the level of play from these schools — Kastner, Alta Sierra, Clark, Granite Ridge. Reyburn is a great school too and these kids are great kids. They really have the team concept.”

One of the team’s most popular cheers was “family” throughout the season, and coach Valtierra didn’t single out one athlete as the team’s star.

“Theyre all star players,” he said. “When one player wasn’t on top of the game, his teammates stepped up and contributed to the win.”

The athletes knew they had each other’s backs.

“They had that positive attitude even when we were behind in goals,” Valtierra said. “They never panicked or showed any emotion other than to keep fighting and play the best game they could play.”

This story was originally published October 28, 2016 at 10:57 AM with the headline "Reyburn water polo claims TRAC title."