SoCal Club Teams Hit Jackpot

SoCal girls’ water polo club teams hit for the cycle at the recently completed National Junior Olympic Championships.

The 16-under team won gold, the 14-under team earned silver and the 18-under team took bronze at venues throughout Orange County, making SoCal the only girls’ club to win medals in all three age groups. The SoCal 14-under boys also won gold.

“It was an absolutely amazing year for these kids,” said Dave Mikesell, who coaches the teams along with Dan Klatt.

No club in the competition had as many girls affiliated with a single high school. Each of the SoCal players attend or have graduated from Foothill High, with the exception of Jessica Lewis, who lives in Garden Grove and is home-schooled, and Grace Reynolds, 12, who attends a middle school within Foothill’s attendance boundaries.

The 16-under team, the first SoCal girls’ team to win a national championship, clinched the gold with a 10-9 victory over San Diego Shores in overtime. Breana Allison, a junior, scored the game-winning goal. Brittany Hayes, a sophomore, led SoCal with three goals, and goalie Emily Feher, a sophomore, made nine saves.

The medal was especially sweet for Allison, who broke her nose in a scrimmage two days before the championships began and broke it again after being smacked across the face in the fourth quarter of the gold-medal game. But after using cotton to stop the bleeding, Allison returned to score the winning goal on an assist from Jillian Kraus.

“Our team has been working so hard for this, and we knew if we stuck together we could win the gold,” Allison said. “It was incredible to look back and see how much we’ve grown together.”

The 14-under boys’ team won gold with a 15-6 victory over Commerce.

The 14-under girls’ team went undefeated until losing to Northern Illinois, 6-2, in the gold-medal game. Kraus led SoCal with three goals in its 5-4 overtime victory against Long Beach in the semifinals.

The girls’ 18-under team, which is essentially the 16-under team with the addition of three older players, won seven in a row before losing to Navy, 6-5, in the semifinals. SoCal recovered to defeat San Diego Shores, 8-7, in the bronze-medal game. Hayes and Gabrielle Domanic, a sophomore, led the way with two goals apiece. Feher recorded six saves.

The boys’ 16-under and 18-under teams, which did not win any medals, were without a couple of standouts. Goalie Ian Elliott was playing with the men’s national junior team in the Pan American Championships in Venezuela, and utilityman Blake Seymour was touring with the men’s national youth team.

MAN OF MANY HATS

Kevin Kiernan is well-known at Troy for his success coaching the girls’ basketball team, but this fall, he’s embarking on a new adventure: first-time varsity cross-country coach.

“I have a little bit of running background, and I helped out with the track team,” Kiernan said. “I told [Athletic Director John Turek] if he needed someone to step in, I’d step in. He’s done a lot for me, and any chance I can help Troy, I’ll help. I think they wanted someone who would put an effort in, and I’ll do that.”

It will not impact his coaching the basketball team, which reached the Southern Section Division I-A finals last season.

“We have a certain fall regimen already in place,” Kiernan said. “I have a fantastic staff. That worked out really well this summer.”

WAY TO GO

Mater Dei shortstop Sergio Santos and Santiago pitcher Brian Pilkington have been selected to play for the American All-Star team that will face a team of Japanese all-stars in the 15th Epson-Goodwill Series Sept. 2-4 at Blair Field in Long Beach.

An all-star team including players from Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest will also compete.

Games will begin at noon and 3:30 p.m. each day.

Santos and Pilkington were chosen from two all-star teams that played each other following last week’s Area Code Games at Blair Field. Two other Orange County players, Irvine catcher Jonathan deVries and Esperanza outfielder David Nicholson, also had been selected all-stars.

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Staff writer Martin Henderson contributed to this report.

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