High school roundup: Impressive run for Clovis West girls water polo; boys win, too
The Clovis West High girls water polo team capped a dominating year with an overtime victory against Clovis for the Central Section Division I championship.
The Golden Eagles went 10-0 in the Tri-River Athletic Conference including two wins against Clovis, which finished second in the TRAC.
Top-seeded Clovis West and the No. 2 Cougars met again in Saturday’s section final and the Golden Eagles scored three goals in overtime for a 7-5 victory over Clovis for back-to-back section titles.
The Cougars had won three straight section titles before the Golden Eagles ended that last season.
In fact, no other school has won the section girls water polo title since 2007.
Clovis West had the upper hand on Clovis this season, winning 5 of 6 matchups.
Sidney Strickland, Stella Martin and Julianne Snyder scored goals in overtime for the Golden Eagles.
Both teams advanced to the NorCal D-I Regionals, receiving the seventh and eighth seeds, and were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Clovis West roster: Mayezie Loggins, Jenna Martin, Allison Taylor, Madi Silva,. Ellory Morrow, Makayla Chavarria, Stella Martin, Lauren Ivy, Brooke Williams, Kennedy Morrow, Ashley Strickland, Sidney Strickland, Julianne Snyder, Sofia Oka-Fedder, Peyton Darling,. Abby Nova.
Division II: Top-seed Garces defeated No. 2 Morro Bay 14-10. It’s the Rams’ first title since 2019.
Division III: No. 14 Porterville won its second straight section title defeating No. 16 San Joaquin Memorial 10-6. Porterville. Porterville roster: Addy Merritt, Emmele Moreno, Hannah McCoy, Aubrey Cardoza, Mackenzie Hyder, Emmelle, Kately Hixon, Mary Strizic, Jayle Roberts, Cailin Moody, Abby Riley, Pearl Bravo, Channelle Milan, Victoria Moreno, Amelia Legveth, Greenly Wilson, Amalie Entiman.
Boys water polo
Clovis North’s bid for back-to-back section titles fell short in a 12-7 loss to top-seed Arroyo Grande.
The second-seeded Broncos were outscored 6-1 in the second quarter.
Three TRAC teams advanced to the NorCal D-II Regionals, No. 4 Clovis North, No. Clovis and No. 8 Buchanan, and all three were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Division II: Aiden Botterill scored two goals, including the winner with about a minute remaining to give Clovis West a 10-9 win at Garces. The game was close throughout, but Clovis West secured its first section title since 2011 when the Golden Eagles won in Division I.
Clovis West put on an impressive postseason run after a fourth-place finish in the TRAC.
Scoring for the Golden Eagles were Caden Cabrera (4), Jake Salcedo, Christiano Sandino, Sean Lane and Adam Fitt. Connor Carr recorded 16 blocks for Clovis West.
Golden Eagles roster: Connor Carr, Cason Farley, Noah Hawkins, Sean Lane, Colton Boynton, Mike Cavitt, Adam Fitt, Luke Cavitt, Caden Cabrera, Troy Willbanks, Aiden Botterill, Nate Hardcastle , Christiano Sandino, Grady McCoy, Jake Salcedo, Isaac Morehead, Luca Varanini.
Clovis West was seeded third in the NorCal D-III Regionals. The Golden Eagles (16-16) opened with a 14-9 win over Ripon.
Division III: Top-seed Madera fell short of a section title after losing to No. 2 Cabrillo 5-4 in overtime.
Girls tennis
Division I: Garces defeated Clovis North 6-0 for the title.
Division II: Clovis East beat San Joaquin Memorial 5-3 in the final. The Timberwolves’ roster consists of Jaden Patalinghug, Clare Castillo, Rylie Sisterson, Ellie Gerth, Simran Rai, Katherine Weishaar, Kaiya Tripp, Kim Bamber, Avreet Singh, Mehar Dhami, Victoria Versnadi, Corrina De La Cruz, Maria Haynes.
Division III: Lompoc won the section title 5-4 over top-seeded Kerman.
Division IV: Caruthers beat Firebaugh 5-4 for its first section title. The Blue Raiders’ roster: Mia Morales, Maria Garcia, Ximena Hernandez, Kayla Carpenter, Kayleah Cervantes, Kaeli Obel-Jorgensen, Camila Hernandez, Valerie Botello, Veronica Alejandre, Karina Guardado, Lily Magana.
Division V: Golden Valley won the section title, defeating Chavez 6-3.
Volleyball
Regional top seeds Clovis North (NorCal D-II) and Central Valley Christian (SoCal D-IV) have reached state finals after four straight wins.
Both play Saturday at Santiago Canyon College in Orange: CVC (26-14) vs. Ripon Christian (34-6), 11 a.m.; Clovis North (28-10) vs. Chaminade (39-3), 4 p.m.
Girls golf
Mia Solano of Clovis East finished in 34th place at the CIF Southern California Regionals at the Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena. She shot a round of 78.
Immanuel’s Karis Haltom finished tied for 52nd (81), as well as Buchanan’s Sydney Dick.
Clovis West finished in ninth place (454). Santa Margarita won the team title (369).
This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 4:47 PM.
