Champs! SP girls water polo wins Valley title

The Sierra Pacific girls water polo team made waves in this unforgettable season, winning the first Central Section title in school history.

On Nov. 15, top-seeded Sierra Pacific defeated Centennial 13-8 in the Div. III championship game in its home pool to bring home the title.

Sierra Pacific finished the season 25-10 overall after finishing 6-2 in Tri-Country Sequoia League play. The team also advanced to the SoCal Regionals, where it lost to Div. II champion Garces 19-5.

But that result didn’t change the fact that the Golden Bears earned their first title on a day that would be special for the team, coaches and fans.

Opening the match, Sierra Pacific pulled out to a 5-2 lead by the break in a game they never trailed in. The Bears led 9-4 after three quarter then held on for the win.

Seniors Avery Silvester and Kelsee Hanson helped lead the offense, ultimately giving them the strength to wrap up the exhilarating match. Silvester scored four goals while Hanson added three.

Silvester said there were plenty of emotions before and after the game.

“I was really nervous going into the game because as a team we had never gotten that far,” she said. “So I felt like we just had to win. After we did win the game I felt a ton of relief because we had finally done it.”

After the alarm had sounded indicating that the game was over, the players and coaches immediately went into a celebrating frenzy hugging and screaming with each other in joy. Silvester and Hanson weren’t the only star athletes of the night, underclassmen helped pave the way for this victory as well.

Energetic sophomore Emma Calvillo put up a show with three goals and two steals to help Sierra Pacific seal the win. 

Siblings Mia DeLaTorre, a sophomore, and freshman Zoe DeLaTorre also combined for nine steals. Zoe DeLaTorre also had 10 saves in goal for the Golden Bears. Mia ended the season with a team-high 78 goals while Silvester had 72 goals.

Calvillo was excited about the idea of winning a championship ring.

“It feels great to win a ring after all the work we put in during the season and in the preseason,” Calvillo said. “All the times I felt like I was going to die in the early summer practices were all worth it.”