Five Titles in a Row for Wilson, Bonita

Long Beach Wilson missed an opportunity Tuesday to become the first boys’ water polo team to win five consecutive Southern Section titles.

That’s because La Verne Bonita beat the Bruins to it about four hours earlier.

But unlike the Bearcats, who lost in three consecutive finals before winning their first, Wilson hasn’t experienced any growing pains.

The top-seeded Bruins ran their winning streak in championship games to 10 -- all in the last 12 seasons -- with a 14-11 victory over third-seeded Newport Harbor in the Division I final at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.

“Each one gets harder,” said Wilson Coach Tony Martinho, who won Wilson’s first title as a player in 1981 and became coach in 1999. “We really feel like these people come after us as hard as they can. I’m just proud of the way the kids respond.”

Wilson tied Newport Harbor for most Division I titles with 11. Corona del Mar holds the section record with 12 titles.

Newport Harbor (25-6) scored on its first two possessions. The teams exchanged leads seven times before Wilson (26-3) scored three consecutive goals to take its first two-goal lead, 11-9, with 1 minute 59 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

“I think that was the difference,” Newport Harbor Coach Jason Lynch said.

The Sailors twice closed to within a goal in the fourth quarter, but Charles Wright scored on consecutive possessions midway through the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. Wright finished with a team-high five goals for the Bruins.

“We knew this was going to be a very difficult game,” Martinho said. “Newport Harbor played so hard tonight.”

Top-seeded Bonita (20-13) won its fifth consecutive Division VI title with its fourth different coach, defeating third-seeded Rowland Heights Rowland, 17-14.

“I think our experience paid off here,” Bonita Coach John Ashby said.

Rowland (25-7) won four consecutive Division VI titles from 1996-99, but its reign ended when Bonita’s began. “It has been awhile for Rowland, so we were happy to steal one from them,” Ashby said.

Riverside Poly continued its domination in Division V, defeating Murrieta Valley, 8-7, to win its fourth title in the last six years.

Jessee Warkentin, a four-year starting goalkeeper for the top-seeded Bears, set the tone by blocking a four-meter penalty shot in the opening minutes of the game. The second-seeded Nighthawks (30-3) scored three consecutive goals early in the third quarter to tie the score, 5-5, but Warkentin made two key saves in the final minute of the game to preserve the victory for the Bears (30-3).

“That four-meter save was the highlight,” Warkentin said.

Dan Arritt

*

Girls’ Volleyball

Rebecca Saraceno had 20 kills and 10 digs to lead the Seahawks to victory at Irvine University in the first round of the state playoffs.

Redondo (30-9), seeded second in the Southern California regionals, broke three ties late in the first game, the last one at 22-22, and went on to win on an illegal-attack call against University. The Seahawks maintained their momentum from there for the sweep.

The performance by Saraceno, who will play at UC Santa Barbara next year, offset 15 kills and 20 digs by University outside hitter Stephanie Brandt, her future teammate with the Gauchos.

Megan Saraceno, Rebecca’s sophomore sister, added eight kills and had 13 digs while sophomore outside hitter Devon Dykstra had four kills and 11 digs for Redondo.

Besides Brandt’s strong effort, seventh-seeded University (21-5) got 11 kills, 16 assists and 12 digs from freshman outside hitter Bojana Todorovic and 16 digs from Carly Rahe.

-- Lauren Peterson