Daily Pilot Boys’ Water Polo Dream Team: Osborne led Oilers
Even before he started at Huntington Beach High, Quinten Osborne was making waves in water polo.
In club, Osborne helped the Vanguard 14-and-under team win gold at the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics in the summer of 2013. Osborne earned tournament MVP honors as Vanguard won the title at UC Irvine.
Sasa Branisavljevic was an assistant coach on that team. Fast forward to Osborne’s senior year and Branisavljevic was the Oilers’ head coach, pushing Osborne, now a center bound for UCLA, to do his best.
Not that Osborne needed a lot of outside motivation. He stepped into a leadership role, big-time, as a senior, and led the Oilers to places they’d never been before.
His high school water polo career over, Osborne now earns another MVP honor. He is the 2016 Daily Pilot Dream Team Boys’ Water Polo Player of the Year.
A load at two meters at 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, Osborne dominated. Not only did he draw dozens of exclusions but he also put the ball away, leading the Oilers in goals with 62.
Osborne helped Huntington Beach win its third straight Sunset League title. Seeded third in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs, the Oilers beat private school powerhouses Mater Dei and Harvard-Westlake to make their first CIF boys’ water polo title game in program history, before falling to Orange Lutheran.
“We shut down a couple of dynasties from making the finals,” Osborne said. “I’m very proud of my teammates and what we’ve been able to accomplish. We came up short, but [we put up a] hell of a fight.”
Huntington Beach (24-4) indeed had a special season, and Osborne played a key role. He earned Sunset League MVP honors, and first-team All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 accolades as well. He helped the Oilers win the North-South Challenge tournament, including a championship game win over Mater Dei that was the Oilers’ first win against the Monarchs in recent memory.
“Quinten stepped up this year,” said Branisavljevic, who has been coaching Osborne since he was 12. “The one thing that Quinten lacked in the past, I would say, is consistency, and he had that. He matured a lot this season, and his performance was a mirror of that. He plowed through teams. Everybody had to drop. He attracted a lot of attention. As long as we were able to move the ball around on the perimeter and get it to him, something good happened for us.”
Osborne proved to be quite a force, part of a great one-two punch with Huntington Beach junior Garrett Zaan at two meters. In terms of other dominant centers in CIF, Osborne said he always tried to compare himself to other players and use that as motivation. That’s why he was disappointed, he said, when Harvard-Westlake senior Felix Broznya-Vilim, a youth national team player, missed most of the season with a knee injury.
In previous years, Osborne said he would compare himself to another Harvard-Westlake guy, Ben Hallock, who was an Olympian this past summer and now plays at Stanford.
“We’re arguably, I’d say equal,” Osborne said of himself and Broznya-Vilim. “But with his injury ... it’s really tough trying to compete against yourself. I’ve always tried to focus on being the best I could be, but having a figure like Ben Hallock to strive to be like these past years, I’ve always tried to be like him. He’s a great player. I hope I won’t ever be in a position where I’ll be complacent and say I’m the best and I can’t learn from anybody. I’m always trying to learn. Every center has an aspect about them which I hold in high regard, but being well-rounded and having all of those attributes is what I strive to have.”
It’s that kind of attitude that should help Osborne in college as well. Branisavljevic said he expects the center to continue to shine at UCLA.
“He had a monster season,” Branisavljevic said. “He played, on a consistent basis, the best out of the entire team. He was a leader. Last year, he followed the seniors really well. This year, he was in a position to step forward and lead the team and he did just that.
“I think he’s going to be a powerhouse [in college]. I’m looking forward to attending his games.”
Here’s a look at the Dream Team Coach of the Year and the rest of the year’s team:
Coach of the Year
Ross Sinclair
Newport Harbor
When Sinclair took over at his alma mater in April of 2015, the Sailors were coming off a 10-17 season. Sinclair didn’t use the word rebuilding, saying, “It’s such a rich program and tradition. One year doesn’t define a dynasty.”
Newport Harbor is clearly back on the right track after a season when the team went 20-9 and 4-1 in the Sunset League for second place. The Sailors were a goal away from the semifinals of the Division 1 playoffs, falling to top-seeded Los Angeles Loyola, 12-11, in a hotly contested quarterfinal match. Credit Sinclair’s patience but also his determination as key reasons why the Sailors, who have won 12 CIF Southern Section titles but just one since 2000, have returned to relevancy in Division 1.
FIRST TEAM
Ethan Wojciechowski
Huntington Beach, Senior
The Oilers’ team captain was a leader in and out of the water. He stepped up in the Division 1 semifinals against Harvard-Westlake, scoring three goals in Huntington Beach’s 7-6 victory. Branisavljevic credited the work ethic and motivation of “Wojo” as inspiring for the Oilers. Wojciechowski, bound for Cal, was a second-team All-Sunset League selection and first-team All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 pick after scoring 41 goals and dishing out 22 assists.
Will Rodosky
Corona del Mar, Senior
A team co-captain, Rodosky was known for his versatility. He definitely did a bit of everything for CdM (21-8), as he was second on the Sea Kings with 50 goals and also had a team-best 62 assists. Rodosky helped CdM win another Pacific Coast League title and was the league MVP, also earning first-team All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 honors. Rodosky is a repeat Dream Team selection.
Cole Brosnan
Newport Harbor, Senior
Brosnan was in his second year as the Sailors’ co-captain with fellow senior Nic Rimlinger, and he remained a big part of Newport Harbor’s growth. The lefty not only led out of the water but had a big year in it, with 55 goals, 26 assists and 29 steals. He was a first-team All-Sunset League and first-team All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 selection. A dangerous outside shooter, Brosnan also is a repeat Dream Team selection.
Gordon Pike
Laguna Beach, Senior
The Breakers’ goalkeeper was also arguably their most consistent player. He had 296 saves, which was tops in the Orange Coast League and sixth in Orange County. Pike shared the league MVP award with Laguna sophomore Colton Gregory and earned first-team All-CIF Division 2 accolades after helping the Breakers (21-10) stay ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division 2 for the entire season. Laguna made it to the Division 2 title game before falling to Santa Margarita, 6-4.
Patrick Saunders
Huntington Beach, Senior
Saunders, the Oilers’ goalie, turned in a big performance in his senior year and was another key part of Huntington’s run to the Division 1 title game. Reserved out of the water, he made a statement with his play, as the UCLA commit led the Sunset League with 277 saves and had some of his biggest games in the postseason, making a season-high 14 saves in both the quarterfinal win over Mater Dei and the semifinal victory against Harvard-Westlake. Saunders was a first-team All-Sunset League and first-team All-CIF selection.
Tamir Avital
Corona del Mar, Senior
The CdM center shared time last year with 2015 Newport-Mesa Player of the Year Brendan Hack, who graduated and went to USC. Avital stepped up and became more of a force at two meters for the Sea Kings as a senior. Physically imposing, the CdM co-captain led the team with 70 goals and always worked hard for the team at center. He was a first-team All-Pacific Coast League selection and also earned first-team All-CIF accolades.
Ryan Hurst
Huntington Beach, Senior
Hurst had to sit out the start of the season after transferring from Newport Harbor as a junior, but he quickly made a difference once he became eligible. Hurst, bound for Cal, was arguably the top two-meter defender in CIF. Branisavljevic complimented his ability to push the centers out of two meters, which created more outside shots for Saunders to stop. Hurst was a second-team All-Sunset League selection.
SECOND TEAM
Leo Yuno
Marina, Senior
Curtis Jarvis
Huntington Beach, Junior
Matt Moran-Flores
Corona del Mar, Senior
Connor Turnbow-Lindenstadt
Newport Harbor, Senior
Colton Gregory
Laguna Beach, Sophomore
Austin Cozza
Edison, Senior
Caedmon Fisher
Costa Mesa, Sophomore
