The Santa Barbara Premier Water Polo Club’s 12U boys team, led by coaches Olympian Wolf Wigo and Chad Yonker, completed a sweep of the Platinum Division with an upset 16-12 over La Jolla United at the prestigious KAP7 Cup in Irvine, the third largest tournament in the country with more than 300 teams.
The 12U squad started off strong with a 17-9 win over a tough Pegasus team from Dallas, Texas. Next, they rolled over the Orange County Water Polo Club. The semifinal was a hard-fought 16-14 win over perennial powerhouse San Diego Shores.
La Jolla United was the tournament favorite but Santa Barbara Premier used a strong fourth quarter to pull away.
Coach Wolf Wigo said after the match: “Our conditioning was a strong factor in the win today. Olympian Mark Warkentin has really been pushing the kids during the swim portion of our training and that showed in the fourth quarter, when La Jolla started to tire out. We were as fresh as the first quarter.
“Christian Yonker and Channing Wigo really led us throughout the tournament. But in the final, Skyler Carroll and Chase Farrar both were amazing. The team is really starting to come together after losing a lot of momentum due to COVID. Austin Martinez and Paolo DelNagro really provided strong play throughout the tournament as well.”
The 12u gold medalists were: Christian Yonker, Channing Wigo, Max Gelman, Mateo Muslera, Skyler Carroll, Austin Martinez, Paolo DelNagro, Chase Farrar, Wyatt Warkentin, and Gabby Lazar.
While not earning a medal, four other Premier teams had a strong showing, with the 16U placing fourth and the 14U placing seventh in the Platinum Division. The 12U Yellow finished top 10 in the Gold Division and the 10U Coed placed top 10 in the silver division.
Santa Barbara Premier is always looking for new girls and boys ages 6 and up who are interested in working hard and having a lot of fun while building aquatic skills. Visit us at SBPremierwaterpolo.com