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Will Swart scored four goals and added three assists in helping Sacred Heart Prep to a 16-4 victory over Bellarmine in the title match of the Central Coast Section boys water polo Open Division on Saturday.
“Winning a CCS title never gets old,” Swart said. “It takes a lot of work to get here.”
SHP won its 10th straight CCS title and fourth Open Division title.
Harrison Rohlin, Luke Johnston, Gavin West and Jack Vort each added two goals.
The top-seeded Gators host a NorCal Division I contest Tuesday against Valley Christian at 6:15 p.m. That match will be preceded by the No. 4 SHP girls playing Campolindo at 5 p.m.
“We’re going after the NorCal championship,” SHP coach Brian Kreutzkamp said. “No Sacred Heart team has ever won a NorCal title.”
The Sacred Heart Prep girls lost a heart breaker 8-7 to Soquel in the Open Division.
The Gators (26-3) had a shot blocked with five seconds remaining to play.
Riley Hocker and Ashley Penner each scored twice for SHP. Paedrin Gillett had nine saves.
“We knew Soquel is a good team,” SHP coach Jamie Frank said. “Give them credit for coming out strong. They deserved that one.”
While winning the CCS title is important, the Sacred Heart Prep boys are looking for a bigger accomplishment.
“We set our goals different for the season,” Kreutzkamp said. “We switched our schedule to prepare for the next three games. The seniors have been really focused all season they’re ready.”
Sacred Heart Prep won two of three toughest boys water polo tournaments in the country and placed third in the other one. That has them thinking on a national scale.
The top teams usually come from Southern California and having beaten several of them this season, a NorCal title would validate their claim as one of the top high school teams in the nation.
“The stuff the seniors do in a game speaks for itself,” Swart said. “But what they do behind the scenes is why we’re here now. They are great role models. Spending three years with those guys has allowed me to get better.”
The girls team also advances to the NorCal tournament.
“To play these games against good opponents, it’s always hard to lose,” Frank said. “To have NorCal is great. We’ll go all in to try and do this.”
