Newport Beach Water Polo sent two squads of young men – 18 and under, and 14 and under – to the 43rd Annual National Junior Olympics at Stanford University.
More than 500 boys and girls teams comprising some 8,000 athletes from all over t the US participated.
The Newport Boys 14 & under team had a roster of 10 athletes made up of middle school students in the Gold Division and brought home the gold medal.
The Newport Beach Boys 18 and under team had a roster of 14 athletes, made up primarily of Newport Harbor High School students along with two Long Beach Wilson athletes who joined the squad prior to the qualification tournament. That squad entered the tournament as the 9th seed overall in the Platinum Bracket and finished with the bronze medal.
Together, it was the best finish for Newport Beach Water Polo at the National Junior Olympics in a decade.
Coach Pavle Filipovic filled in as head coach while Robert Lynn was at the London Olympics. The entire coaching staff at Newport Beach Water Polo was hand picked by Lynn and is considered one of the best in the country.
Members of the 14 & under Blue Team included: Joseph Ferraro (goalie), Presley Boyd, Barron Banta, Cole Brosnan, Hannes Daube, Ethan Clayton, Oscar Goodell, Gavin Kunkle, Robert McCracken, Benjamin Morrison, Nicolas Rimlinger, Nakua Olotoa, Ryan Hurst, Patrick McNamara. Top scorers were Kunkle and Daube.
The 18 & under boys team included Wyatt Mueller (goalie), Dan Stevens, Andrew Silvers, Curtis Fink, Preston Lee, Ryan Ward, Max Irving, Long Beach Wilson High School, Kevin Kelley, Jackson Kimble, Mitchell Mendoza, Joey Hopf, Blake Grove and Henry McNamara. Top scorers were Silvers and Fink.
