Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

El Dorado’s girls water polo team declined an automatic bid to the CIF Southern California Regional this week to allow its multi-sport athletes to join their spring sports, Golden Hawks girls water polo coach Karly Carazo said Monday.

The Golden Hawks (17-12) qualified for the regional for the first time by claiming the CIF-SS Division 5 title with a 16-4 win against Santa Paula at Mt. SAC on Saturday. It was El Dorado’s first section title in girls water polo.

“I have a lot of multi-sport athletes who have already missed part of their spring seasons,” said Carazo, who completed her first season as the head coach. “We felt (opting out) was best for the team to focus on CIF being the capstone to our season.”

El Dorado starters Kaleyna Chun, Hayden Sparks and Gisselle Ramirez are multi-sport athletes who compete in spring sports such as lacrosse, softball and track.

Sparks, a sophomore, scored seven goals in the final. Chun, a senior, added five. Ramirez, a sophomore, plays goalie.

Santa Paula (17-13) took El Dorado’s spot in the regional and opens the tournament Tuesday by playing host San Pedro at Rio Mesa High in Division III. Santa Paula is seeded third in the division.

All regional matches start at 5 p.m. unless noted.

Also in Division III on Tuesday, No. 8 and CIF-SS Division 6 champion Anaheim (12-10) plays at Cathedral Catholic at 3:30 p.m. Cathedral Catholic win Division 2 in San Diego.

Five county teams are in Division I, which also begins Tuesday.

Here are the matchups for the top division: No. 8 Carlsbad at No. 1 Oaks Christian, No. 5 The Bishop’s vs. No. 4 Orange Lutheran (23-4) at Santiago Canyon College, No. 6 Laguna Beach (20-11) at No. 3 Mater Dei (23-4) and No. 7 San Clemente (22-9) vs. No. 2 Newport Harbor (24-6) at Corona del Mar High at 6:30 p.m.

The Bishop’s defeated Carlsbad 10-8 for the Open title in San Diego.

The regional semifinals are Thursday with the finals Saturday at Long Beach City College.

Related Articles