Youth Scene: Young Anteaters take third

Two Corona del Mar-based teams from the Anteater Water Polo Club earned third-place finishes at the Winterfest 2011 Water Polo Tournament that ended Feb. 13.

Both the U14 boys and the coed U10 teams ended the weekend with third-place medals.

Winterfest is one of the largest age-group water polo tournaments, starting with under-10 divisions and going through U18. This year, teams competed in close to two dozen locations throughout Los Angeles and Orange County.

The U14 boys’ Anteater squad had the shortest commute of all teams from the club, as they were lucky to compete in the Corona del Mar High pool. The road to the third-place medals included a 14-4 win over Los Angeles Water Polo Club, a 16-4 victory over Riverside Water Polo, a 13-3 win against La Morinda Blue and a solid 18-6 win in the third-place game over the 680 Drivers from Walnut Creek. Their only loss in the tournament was to the eventual winner, SOCAL Water Polo Club in the semifinals.

The Anteater coed U10 team competing in the Northwood pool, started with an 8-0 win over pool-host Northwood, and added a 10-1 victory over ELITE, a 10-3 win against Capo Valley and ended the tournament with a strong 11-2 win over Laguna Beach. Their two losses included a shootout loss to CdM and an 8-7 overtime loss against tournament winner Commerce Water Polo.

— Reader submission

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Newport-Mesa NJB

Wildcats 42 Spartans 40

In a hard-fought battle, Ford Secrist led the Wildcats to victory over the Spartans, pouring in 16 points. Teammate Jordan Hauser added 12, with Kormos contributing eight and Luke Sanchez scoring four. Wildcats big man Corbin Thompson contributed four points of his own, and several rebounds.

The game was close all the way from start to finish, with Hagen Truniger of the Spartans leading all scorers with 17 points. Jake Whelan added eight for the Spartans, and Taylor Cortens hit big three-point shots at the end of the game.

— Reader submission