The Spartan boys varsity water polo team honed their skills at home last week, then hit the road and made a killing in Kent, bringing back a trophy to Bainbridge, before returning to their home pool to continue their watery winning streak.
The team’s white-knuckle victory over Gig Harbor Monday earned them the first-place seed in the division.
It has been a stellar year for the Spartan squad, led by returning Head Coach Kristin Gellert. These recent wins brought the team’s season record to 12-1, the only loss so far coming from their 10-9 road match against Puyallup High on Oct. 12.
The Spartans remain undefeated in league matches (9-0).
Last Wednesday, the boys made short work of Peninsula High at home, claiming a 17-4 win at the Bainbridge Island Aquatic Center. Goals were scored by Harrison Shinohara (two), Jack Kapel (two), Jared Hummel (one), Mason Ogden (two), Sam Liebling (one), Sam Chapman (one), Zarye Wossene (one), Jem Bullock (two), Evan Lisinski (one), Miles Hogger (two) and Sam Kapel (two).
In the first round of last weekend’s tournament in Kent, the boys from BHS sailed easily through Auburn on Saturday, crushing them 16-2, before taking down Kentridge 8-7 for the title. Goals were scored by Bullock (four), Shinohara (three) and Jack Kapel (one).
James Muir managed an impressive 11 blocks in goal.
In Monday’s slippery showdown against Gig Harbor, which saw BHS come out ahead 10-8, Muir managed another tremendous performance in the net and racked up 14 blocks.
Goals were scored by Shinohara (three), Bullock (three), Sam Kapel (two), Ogden (one) and Hogger (one).
With only a few games left in the regular season, and their postseason placement assured, Gellert said the key to continued success is to maintain focus and intensity going forward.
“I feel so fortunate to get to work with this group of guys and I couldn’t have asked for a better season to start back with,” Gellert said,adding that the first-place seed will definitely put the Spartans in an advantaged position going forward.
“This year our league will cross with the North Division,” she explained, “which has four of the top five or six teams in the state. We have to place top four in that tournament to advance to the state tournament.
“Going in seeded first in our division will match us against the North’s fourth-place team,” she added. “Which is a big jump from having to play their third-place team. Hopefully it will make the road to state slightly more manageable.”
The coming games on the Spartan schedule, the coach said, will only get more competitive as every team gears up for a shot at state and, being so highly ranked, the island team has painted a bit of a target on themselves.
“We have some really good games coming up that’ll be close scores,” Gellert said. “So keeping confidence high and not getting intimidated will be key for us. I think we can hold our own against most teams in this state, we just have to play with that mentality throughout the entire game.”
This squad of skilled Spartans, Gellert said, were a good group both in and out of the pool, a fact which had undoubtedly contributed to the team’s success this season.
“This is an amazing group of guys,” she said. “We play teams with 30-plus kids on their roster and my team of 13 go into these games and play their hearts out every game. It’s rare to have a practice that we don’t have our entire team present, which makes a huge impact on the success of the season.
“They are goofy when it’s time to have fun and they focus and work insanely hard when it’s time to be serious,” she added. “They are a really cohesive group, that seem to be there for each other in and out of the pool. They hold each other to a high standard, both athletically and personally, and it’s definitely paid off for them.”
Bainbridge is slated to have a busy water polo weekend at home, first hosting Newport High Friday, Oct. 23 and then Kentridge Saturday, Oct. 24.
The Spartans will round out the year at home, first against South Kitsap High Wednesday, Oct. 28, with their final match slated to be against Curtis High Thursday, Oct. 29. Visit www.biwaterpolo.com for a complete list of matches and scores.
