Vikings survive NorCal gauntlet to win fifth-straight regional title

MERCED -- After a dominant performance in the Coast Conference Tournament, West Valley men's water polo took down Modesto and American River in the 3C2A NorCal Regional to book their fifth-straight State Championship appearance.

The Vikings (30-3, 7-0 Coast) opened the regional by dominating the Modesto Pirates (21-11, 3-2 Big 8) 24-6, and followed with a tighter performance against the American River Beavers (16-13, 5-0 Big 8), winning 10-8 to punch their ticket.

Coast Conference MVP Makar Salnikov opened the scoring for the Vikings against the Pirates, scoring the games' first two goals and outscoring the Pirates by himself until late in the third quarter when the game was already well out of reach.

Salnikov finished his MVP season with 76 goals, ending with a team-high four against the Pirates.

Joining Salnikov on the Coast Conference First Team were freshman attacker Ali Cinar Nuray, sophomore attacker Bronson Chungson and freshman goalkeeper Lucas Rocha Gentil. Sophomore utilities Tristan Grimett and Peter Kohari flanked freshman center Yonatan Nadler on the conference second team.

All of them were huge in the victory over Modesto. Cinar Nuray knocked in a goal and finished with two steals. Chungson scored on both shots he took. Kohari had a hat trick, the 12th time he's finished with at least three goals this season. Grimett and Nadler combined for three goals and a pair of steals.

Between the posts, Rocha Gentil continued his stellar freshman season as one of the most dominant in the state. His 220 saves and 49.8 save percentage both were second in the Coast Conference, and he finished the night against the Pirates with more saves (eight) than goals allowed (five) in only three quarters. Nicholas Boniface closed it out in the fourth quarter.

The Vikings needed every last ounce of energy they could get from Rocha Gentil against the Beavers. Ten was the fewest the West Valley offense put on the board since their non-conference matchup against reigning-state champion Golden West and the fewest they've had in a victory since last season -- also against ARC.

While Salnikov was dominant with three goals in the games' first quarter-and-a-half, it was the defense and secondary scoring that led the charge. Pa'Kalani Saxton Vaka tallied two huge goals while Csanad Varga did the same.

In the opening round of a three-day state tournament, the Vikings will take on San Diego Mesa. These teams last played in the 2019 Nyquist Invitational, with West Valley falling 12-10.