Last weekend, after defeating the undefeated school across town, Granada’s Varsity Boys Water polo successfully made Division 2 in California’s North Coast Section Championships. 

On Saturday, November 5, Granada played their first game against Alhambra, who lost 12-8, continuing Granada’s winning streak and entering them into the Quarterfinals, held on November 8. 

“We started watching more film which is helpful because we get to figure out how teams play before we play them,” said field player Lucas Peart (11) when discussing how the team was conditioning for NCS. 

This never before seen NCS qualification by Granada can be attributed to a new Varsity Boys head coach, Danush.

“I think the boys have been very motivated and very dedicated to the approach that we’re taking…coming from last years season, I wanted to get the boys a winning record, and now coming into NCS knowing we are a higher team, we strategized and made sure that we kept on working towards skills we needed, and that’s what’s been our success,” said Coach Danush. 

On November 8, the boys met again in the pool, this time playing the previously defeated Bishop O’Dowd.

Similar to last month’s game, Granada Boys once again beat Bishop O’Dowd with a score of 15-12, truly proving how far the boys have come since previous years, and showing a promising future for Water polo at Granada High School. 

The team plays again this Wednesday on November 12 against San Marin, who have proven to be a worthy opponent and are definitely on par with Granada.

“I feel like if we play up to our potential and not play down to the other team, and also not play down to the refs if we have bad refs, we’ll win,” said Samuel Nicholson (11).

This upcoming game against San Marin marks the Semifinals for NCS Division 2, meaning that if Granada comes out successful, they will qualify for finals and hopefully then qualify for states. 

This promising future for Granada has changed the reputation of Granada Water polo and will hopefully serve as a turning point for years to come within the Waterpolo community.