El Capitan, Buhach Colony, Merced boys water polo teams all open playoffs with victories
The Central California Conference boys water polo teams opened the playoffs in impressive fashion on Wednesday as El Capitan, Buhach Colony and Merced all recorded lopsided victories.
All three teams advanced in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs.
The No. 2 seeded Gauchos crushed No. 15 McNair 23-1 as Kenry Pareira led the way with seven goals. Ryan Smith added four goals and Kaden Duyette added six saves.
El Capitan will host No. 7 Oakdale on Friday in the quarterfinals at 5:30 p.m.. The Mustangs defeated No. 10 Christian Brothers 15 to 8 on Wednesday.
The No. 6 seeded Buhach Colony defeated No. 11 Sierra 18-5. The Thunder were led by Drew Palumbo’s six goals and Andrew Wendel’s five goals.
Goalie Grayson Groth finished with 14 saves.
The Thunder will travel to No. 3 Woodcreek on Friday for a quarterfinal game. The Timberwolves defeated No. 14 Rodriguez 23-3 on Tuesday.
Merced went on the road as the No. 9 seed and clobbered No. 8 Grace Davis 14-5. Sophomore Blake Slocum led the Bears with four goals and freshman Reid McCAll added three goals, three assists and four steals.
Merced sophomore Cash Hermosillo added three goals.
The Bears will face No. 1 seed Del Oro on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
