Auburn Mountainview capped its boys water polo season with a fourth-place finish at the state tournament Saturday at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

The Lions were unable to overcome Curtis, losing 9-7 to the Vikings for third.

Junior Hunter Arnold had three goals with senior John Kim, sophomore Jackson Sulewski, senior Stephen Creed and sophomore Colin Lempert each adding a goal apiece for the Lions. Senior C.J. Chapple and junior Porter Sale each had three goals for Curtis.

“I’m really happy with the way everybody played,” said Creed, the Lions’ co-captain. “We had some wins that nobody expected us to get. We had a rough ending, but it was great getting here and was a lot of fun.”

Auburn Mountainview – which welcomed members of the defunct Auburn High School program this season – came into the tournament as the seventh-seeded Eastern Division champion with a 5-1 league record, 8-3 overall. It posted a 3-2 record in state waters.

In pool play on Thursday, the Lions got off to a good start by defeating Rogers 13-10 and Peninsula 15-11.

On the second day, the Lions defeated Puyallup 8-5 to qualify for the semifinals on Saturday, where they lost to North Puget Sound powerhouse Newport, 10-8.

“This is the best we’ve ever done,” coach Justin Pritchard said.

Last year the squad captured seventh at the state meet.

“It’s been a good finish to the season,” Pritchard said. “Going in we had hopes of winning the whole thing. We all wanted to win for the southend. I think we surprised a lot of people.”

Individually, the Lions were honored with selections to the tournament all-star teams. Junior Drew Sleezer received a first-team nod, Creed was selected to the second team and Arnold earned an honorable mention.

Bellevue snagged the state title with a 15-8 win over Newport.

Elsewhere, Auburn Riverside qualified for the state tournament, but did not place. The Ravens lost to Bellevue 13-5 and Wilson 11-9 in pool play Thursday.