Laguna Sports Update: Week of May 17

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The 23rd NCAA Women’s Water Polo Championship was held last weekend at California with a field of 10 schools The kick-off reception gave an opportunity for a number of former Laguna players to reconnect. Back row: Charlotte Riches (Princeton), Grace Houlahan (Princeton, Ava Houlahan (Princeton) Molly Renner (UCLA) CiCi Stewart (Princeton) Front row: Hannah Carver (USC), Jessie Rose (Cal), Nicole Struss (UCLA), Rachael Carver (Princeton). Photo courtesy of Kevin Struss and Steve Riches
UCLA Wins NCAA Women’s Water Polo Title Nichole Struss and Molly Renner hold the championship trophy after their 7-4 win over Cal for the title last Sunday. Laguna resident Genoa Rossi (Mater Dei) was also a key part of the Bruin victory. All three athletes started their polo careers at the local Laguna Beach Water Polo program at the community high school pool. Photo courtesy of Kevin Struss

SWIMMING

Shipp 7th at State

Chase Shipp finished 7th this year at the State Diving Championships with a 525.10 score this year on May 9th at Clovis West High School. Last year he was 6th with a 566.95 score and his school record mark of 592.55 was set at the Sunset League finals this season. 

TRACK & FIELD

Kollock and Sydney are CIF Champions

Jackson Kollock tossed the shot 50-06.5 to capture the D4 SSCIF Shot title, while Sydney Sydney bounced back from a disappointing second in the 1600 Meter Run to capture the Girls D4 3200 Meter Run with a 11:26.15 mark. Hayden Joseph was 9th in that race with an 11:57.51 time. The Southern Section Championships were held on May 11 at Moorpark High School in Ventura County.

Track and field, along with cross country, are still organized into divisions based on school size. In track, there are four divisions, with Laguna in D4 for schools 1,000 or fewer students. From 2017 to 2023, the Breakers competed in D3 (1001-1789 enrollments). The two individual titles won by the Breakers this year in track were the 28th and 29th individual crowns won by a Laguna athlete in six sports (track, swimming, diving, cross country, badminton, and tennis) Laguna has also won three doubles titles and nine relay titles in the 90 seasons of competition. Overall, 11 event winners have been the top titles for that sport in the Southern Section.

Season WRAP UP

This wraps the sports season for 2023-24 for the Breakers and the final run as a six-season member of the Sunset League. Next year, Laguna returns to the Pacific Coast League (now a conference), which will be an 8-team league for Boys and 9-teams for girls. Laguna was a charter member of the league from 1986 through 2006. Football will be part of the Orange County Conference, which is organized into 11 leagues and administered separately from the traditional high school sports leagues.

2024-25 Pacific Coast Conference with enrollments)

Portola (2519)

Northwood (2341)

University (2310)

Woodbridge (2218)

Irvine (1863)

Laguna Beach (930)

Sage Hill (559)

Margaret’s (472)

Rosary Academy (444 – Girls only)

Next week, we will review the six-year Sunset run, detail the 2024 football schedule and examine the upcoming fall sports league setup. Spring honors and team awards will also be published over the next few weeks as they become available.

Have a note/question on Laguna Beach sports/correction/update? E-mail Frank at fa1949@cox.net. Looking for the 2023-24 high school schedules and scores? Check Laguna Beach High School on the Max Preps website. 

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