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14u Boys Make Platinum. Northwest Sends 6 Teams to JO's

By NWPC, 08/08/24, 8:00AM PDT

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2024 Junior Olympics Recap

 

Over the course of 10 days (July 20th-July 28th), Northwest Water Polo Club sent a total of 6 teams to the 2024 Junior Olympics hosted in Stanford, CA. During that span, Northwest competed against the best teams in the country highlighted by the 14u Boys team who cracked the Platinum Division of the tournament and placing 24th overall in the country.

 

14u Boys

 

The Northwest 14u Boys started off their tournament strong by displacing the #12 seed Kearns by a score of 9-5. Their next game saw them match-up against a top-ranked LA Premier squad. Although fighting hard in a back-and-forth affair, LA Premier eventually came out on-top with a score of 5-9. In the third game of the day with a place in Platinum on the line, Northwest came up against a tricky San Luis Obispo team. The Northwest 14u Boys took a strong lead and never looked back. In a comfortable 10-7 victory, Northwest earned a spot in the Platinum bracket of the Junior Olympics, a considerable achievement for the boys.

 

In the Platinum bracket of the tournament, Northwest Water Polo Club faced some of the top teams in the nation including San Diego-based ECA Black, SoCal Black A, and Diablo A. Although they fought hard in some close scoring events, Northwest came up just short, earning a 24th overall place in the country. We congratulate the 14u Boys for their achievement and are excited to see what the future holds for this young, promising group of athletes!

 

12u Boys

 

The 12u Boys entered the Junior Olympics with enthusiasm and determination. For most of the athletes, this was their first experience at a major California tournament. Over the course of four days, the Northwest 12u's matched up against such teams as powerhouse Greenwhich Aquatics, Del Mar, and Lamorinda. Their big win came against California-based Arroyo Grande with a score of 13-9. The efforts of the Northwest 12u's earned them a 19th place finish in the Gold Bracket of Junior Olympics. We are excited to have such a eager group of young athletes ready to become the future of Northwest Water Polo Club!

 

18u Boys

 

The 18u Northwest boys started the 2024 Junior Olympics against (now) well-acquainted rivals Kings Elite. Kings proved to be a tough opponent as the game came down to the wire with a close shoot-out loss 10.3-10.4. However, the team rebounded quickly by posting a dominant 12-4 score against Illinois-based NIPC. The third game of the day saw Northwest face an experienced San Francisco team at Stanford's Avery pool. Under Stanford's stadium lights, Northwest and San Francisco battled back-and-forth through the first three quarters with San Francisco eventually breaking away in the fourth. The loss put Northwest in the Gold division of the tournament and things didn't get easier from there. Northwest saw bracket play against San Diego Shores and Big Valley. Northwest picked up a shoot-out win against San Diego Shores and a shoot-out loss against Big Valley. In a unheard-of turn of events, all three teams saw themselves tied on points with each game going into a shootout. Due to the final tie-breaker (goals scored), Northwest found themselves third in group play. Not unfamiliar with the back-road to the finals, the 18u Boys found themselves playing a difficult Barcelona Lions team. The boys showcased their talent by putting away Barcelona with a score of 18-7. In the next two games, Northwest caught a case of “Deja-Vu” by losing a close game to Kings Elite and experiencing a shoot-out loss to Team Vegas. Their final game put them against Alamo, which Northwest easily dispatched with a score of 14-11.

The 18u Northwest Water Polo Club Boys fought through much adversity in their 2024 Junior Olympics campaign. They might be one of the only teams to go into five shoot-outs throughout the course of the tournament. Although experiencing some close-fought losses, they managed to fight through and earn themselves an 11th overall placing in the Gold Bracket of the Junior Olympics.

 

10u CoEd

 

In session two of the Junior Olympics, Northwest Water Polo Club continued its streak of fielding young talent with an enthusiastic 10u CoEd team. The team started off with some challenging games against top-ranked teams Elite and Rose Bowl. Although putting up a brave fight, they eventually fell in both games. In the next round of the tournament, Northwest found themselves up against a Southern California team in Tsunami Black. Northwest's offense exploded putting up 17 goals and handily winning the game 17-5. In their next game Northwest's offense firepower was still on display, replicating their 17 goals from the last game. Unfortunately, their opponents put up one more goal in a tightly contested affair and Northwest eventually lost 18-17. In the final three games of the tournament, Northwest came up against experienced California teams San Luis Obispo, Visalia, and Patriot. All games were closely contested with some nail-biting fourth quarter play. Once the dust settled, Northwest 10u's found themselves in an impressive 16th place finish in the Gold Bracket of the Junior Olympics. A team comprised of fresh faces and players just beginning their water polo journey, the tenaciousness and spirit was a sight to behold. Northwest is excited to have such a promising group of young athletes hold the torch for the future of the program!

 

14u Girls

 

The Northwest 14u Girls started off their tournament against two power-house water polo teams in SoCal Black and CHAWP. A young Northwest team fought hard but eventually came up short in both games. Not to be deterred, the 14u Girls quickly rebounded against Longhorn and NIPC, picking up two massive wins with scores of 13-9 and 12-9 respectively. The next few games saw match-ups against La Jolla, Bulldog, and Cal Republic. Fighting hard through each game, Northwest never lost heart in some tough games. Northwest's final game saw a rematch against Longhorn. Goals and leads were traded through all four quarters but Longhorn saw themselves take the lead at the end of the game, leaving Northwest with a 8-9 loss. While only playing with one sub the entire tournament, the girls made up for the lack of subs with copious amounts of grit, determination, and heart. The young squad impressed with each athlete having to play almost every minute of every game. Finishing 19th in the Gold Bracket, we are excited for the future of our girl's and can't wait to see the progress of this group of athletes.

 

18u Girls

 

Northwest 18u girls combined with other Pacific Northwest teams LOWPO and Eugene City to form an exciting squad for the Junior Olympics. The Northwest girls' first day saw them match up against Rose Bowl, NIPC, and Seaside. Northwest dropped their first game against Rose Bowl but rebounded with a strong performance (and win) against NIPC. In their play-in game to Platinum, the girls battled hard but eventually came up short against an experienced Seaside team. In the Gold bracket group play, the girls found themselves up against SB 805 and Arroyo Grande. Arroyo Grande would go on to take 3rd in the Gold bracket and SB 805 would go on to take 2nd in the Gold bracket. To say this group was difficult would be an understatement. Against Arroyo Grande, the Northwest girls put up some stellar play but Arroyo pulled ahead in the 4th quarter and eventually won 8-6. In a narrowly contested game against SB 805, the Northwest girls fought back-and-forth for four quarters eventually seeing the game end with a tied score. In the ensuing shoot-out, Northwest came up just short losing 7.4-7.5. Recovering quickly, the girls dispatched Blue Crush with a score of 13-11. The next game saw Northwest lose another heart-breaking shoot-out against South Coast. Determined to end on a high-note, Northwest beat Thunder with a score of 13-11 and NorCal with a score of 6-4. The Junior Olympics saw two of our veteran players, Jaeden Baker and Christina Marlow, play their final games for the program. Jaeden Baker is going off the continue her water polo career at Long Beach State while Christian Marlow is going off to Claremon McKenna to continue her water polo career. We wish you the best of luck in your journey!