Menlo boys water polo won a NorCal championship for the first time in program history on Nov. 23. In a 12-6 game against Clovis High School, the Knights claimed the NorCal Division II title down the street at Sacred Heart Prep.
Before the team had even stepped near the Dunlevie Aquatics Center, boys water polo head coach Jack Bowen had prepared the team by visiting the Menlo gym to look at past banners, lined with the years the team has won league and Central Coast Section titles, and to recognize the absence of a NorCal banner.
However, by the end of the trip, a different mission had been set: to try their best in the championship game. “It’s not about getting a trophy or a banner. Your goal is to be your best,” Bowen said, recalling what he told the team. He told them, “If you play the way you have been playing lately and lose, you have still accomplished your goal.”
Not only did the team win, they won in a fashion they didn’t think they would against a strong opponent; the Clovis Cougars were semifinalists in the Central Section DI playoffs. “That’s one of the best games Menlo [boys] water polo has played in my 25 years,” Bowen said. Bowen usually does game predictions, and for this one, he thought the game would end 11-9. “I predicted a really close game. I watched three to six hours of game film.”
Junior goalkeeper Connor Burks, who had 13 saves for the Knights, echoed Bowen’s sentiment of how well the team played. “We played incredibly today. There wasn’t much time in the game where I was worried,” Burks said. Specifically, Burks believed the defense played phenomenally, which made his job much easier.
Freshman Hunter Coleman, who scored five goals in the game, attributed the team’s success to their chemistry in the pool. “[Clovis] is really physical, really aggressive, really quick, but I think we played as a team, and we were all working our absolute hardest,” Coleman said.
Before facing Clovis in the finals, Menlo defeated Righetti High School 17-9 and Rocklin High School 11-10. “I wanted it for these guys. It’s such an awesome experience to fight through a tournament. […] and to have an official NorCal win,” Bowen said.
For Coleman, he was very happy to have won the title alongside his older brother, senior Jackson Coleman. “It’s been a really special year. I’ve gotten to play with my brother and this was his last game and all the seniors’ [last game]. I wanted their careers to go out with a win,” Coleman said. “I knew today I had to give it my all and make sure that I didn’t let them down.”
Coleman believes the team exceeded expectations from the beginning of the season, especially since half the team’s starters are freshmen, but has his eyes set higher for the future. “We’re going for DI champs.”
