Maybe there’s a winning formula in the pool at Segerstrom. Or maybe it’s the combination of hard-working players and strong coaching.
But this much is certain: Segerstrom is getting major results in water polo.
The Jaguars delivered a breakthrough regular-season on the heels of the school’s first CIF championship boys season in the fall.
The Jaguars (20-8) earned the No. 1 seed for the CIF-SS Division 7 playoffs and claimed their first league title.
They captured the Golden West League crown by going 10-0, including their first two victories against Ocean View.
And like the boys program, the Segerstrom girls accomplished it all in only their third season of varsity competition.
“These girls have jumped over some big milestones this year,” said Segerstrom coach Tim Fredericksen, who also coaches the boys team.
“These kids work harder than anyone I’ve coached.”
Segerstrom’s girls are led offensively by junior Justine Mills, who has 67 goals.
The Jaguars count on a trio of seniors to anchor the defense. Fredericksen said Melissa Osorio is an improving goalie while Michelle Gonzalez has emerged as a strong 2-meter defender. Gillian Robles is among the team’s best perimeter defenders, Fredericksen said.
The squad also has depth, another characteristic of the boys team in the fall. Sophomore Aurora Oceguera scored the go-ahead goal in overtime in the Jaguars’ 9-7 victory against Ocean View in the second round of league.
Senior Nathania Cuevas paced the attack with five goals. Juniors Margie Vera and Rebecca Gutierrez are two other starters.
The Jaguars also have the experience of watching the Segerstrom boys capture the Division 7 title in November – as the No. 1 seed.
“The girls did the stats for all the boys games,” said Fredericksen, the Register’s boys coach of the year in 2013. “They learned a ton.”
Ocean View (14-9) is seeded second in Division 7. The Seahawks finished as the division’s runner-up last season to Hemet but have reloaded despite having only one senior, Raquel Zorich.
If Segerstrom wins its first-round game against Carter of Rialto (13-10) on Thursday, it plays the winner of the Hemet-San Dimas game in the quarterfinals Saturday.
DAN ALBANO
WRESTLING
The six CIF-SS Individual championships for boys wrestling take place this weekend.
The county schools are spread out across the Southern Section. Two of the locations are in the county: Santiago Canyon College (Southern Division) and Westminster High (Coastal Division).
Wrestling begins at 11 a.m. both days. The finals will be at 5 p.m. Saturday.
The top five in each weight class at each division advance to the CIF-SS Masters Meet, Feb. 28-March 1 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario.
DAMIAN CALHOUN
GIRLS WRESTLING
Godinez led all county schools with four medalists Saturday at the girls CIF-SS Individual Championships at Eleanor Roosevelt High of Eastvale.
Those four medalists – Diana Hernandez (116), Diana Castaneda (126), Brenda Hernandez (131) and Alejanda Colin (189) – advance to the girls state tournament, Feb. 28-March 1 in Visalia.
Coach Cesar Justo said the Grizzlies are not about to become complacent.
“We had some bad losses, but we did pretty well considering all of our bad luck that we’ve been having this year, with injuries,” he said. “We came back and rallied pretty well.”
Godinez finished fourth in the team standings.
“It is kind of bittersweet because, I think we could have gone for second if we had all of our squad,” Justo said.
With two weeks off from competition, Justo and his coaches will be busy fine-tuning some key areas.
“Lately, what we have been doing is recording a lot of our matches,” Justo said. “That way we will know exactly what we need to work on. That’s our homework. We have two weeks to prepare and we’ll be good to go.
“I think all four girls should be able to place (in the top eight at state).”
DAMIAN CALHOUN
