In not-so-breaking news, Laguna wins another league title
The 2012 Orange Coast League championship in boys’ water polo was decided in a showdown Wednesday in Costa Mesa. After four quarters, the reigning champ continued its hold on the title.
Laguna Beach turned in another undefeated run through OCL play after defeating host Costa Mesa, 22-5. Both teams entered the league finale with 4-0 records.
A tight first quarter saw Laguna — 14-7 and ranked third in CIF Southern Section Division 2 — take a 4-2 lead. From there, it was all Breakers. They went on a 7-0 scoring spree in the second quarter to build the lead to 11-2 at halftime and extended their advantage to 16-6 after three quarters.
Camron Hauer led the scoring with four goals, to go with two assists. Jakob Colladay scored three goals and Riley Thomas, Caleb Scott, Nolan Del Toro, Aki Andersen and Connor Hauer all scored twice. Maxx McCarter and Garret Hartley combined for nine saves and Cade Baldridge had a team-high five steals.
“Costa Mesa played hard and really well from the start, and I was happy with the way our guys responded and took control of the game,” Laguna Coach Ethan Damato said.
The Laguna boys’ water polo program hasn’t lost in OCL play since the league’s inception seven years ago, going 35-0.
“We are excited with how we are doing this year,” Damato said. “The Costa Mesa game is a great way to end league play. Being a league champion hopefully gives us a good seeding going into the playoffs. I’m pleased with the progression our teams continues to make.”
The win allowed Laguna to bounce back from a 6-4 nonleague loss to Damien on Oct. 19 at Pomona Pitzer College.
Laguna had defeated Damien in CIF championship games the past two years.
“We didn’t play very well, and Damien did,” Damato said. “I thought our defense played well, though, but our offense wasn’t sharp and we weren’t putting our shots away. The game was a good lesson for us.”
The Breakers play Friday and Saturday at the Steve Pal Memorial Tournament. They are the tourney’s No. 1-seed and open play in the 32-team event at 4:10 p.m. against Rio Mesa of Oxnard at Beckman High. The Spartans are ranked ninth in Division 6. Laguna will play three tourney games Saturday at Santa Margarita High.
Laguna ends regular-season play next week with a Tuesday game at El Toro, and a home game Wednesday against Aliso Niguel. Both games start at 4 p.m.
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Cross-Country
The Laguna boys’ team came up with a fifth-place finish in the Division 4 race at the Mt. SAC Invitational Oct. 19 in Walnut. Senior Jack Crawford led the Laguna group with a 13th-place finish (16 minutes, 13 seconds) and sophomore Grant Barton turned in what Coach Scott Wittkop said was an impressive race with a time of 16:22. The other Laguna times were: Mitch Kimball (16:51, Sr.); Casey Koprowski (16:55, Jr.); Veda Rebollar (17:13, Jr.); Stone Riff (17:38, Sr.); Cameron Zuziak (17:39, Soph.).
The Orange Coast League Cross-Country finals are Wednesday at Centennial Park in Santa Ana.
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Girls’ Volleyball
The second-ranked Breakers improved to 9-0 in Orange Coast League play and 15-5 overall Tuesday by sweeping host Godinez, 25-17, 25-12, 25-15. Alyse Ford had 12 kills, Sabrina Stillwell 11 kills, Amanda Kimball eight kills and Sami Harting six kills. Ford had 12 digs, Brianna Boyd eight digs and 36 assists, and Francie Holte seven digs.
The Breakers conclude regular-season play Tuesday with a 6 p.m. match at Dana Hills. The Dolphins are ranked 10th in CIF-SS Division 1-AA.
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Girls’ Golf
The Breakers played their final match Oct. 17, a quad match held at Aliso Creek Golf Course (par 32). Team scores were: Estancia (220), Calvary Chapel (244), Laguna Beach (246), Costa Mesa (292).
Laguna closed out its season with a 6-10 record, 6-6 in league.
Mary Kate Quellmalz (45), Hailey Quigley (54) and Audrey Curtis (55) all shot their lowest scores of the season for Laguna. Jackie McMahon also shot 45 and Jamie Hendrickson shot 59. The team score of 246 was the top score of the season for the Breakers at Aliso Creek.
Twitter: @MikeSciacca