Success in the pool has been a long time coming for the Auburn boys water polo team. In fact it’s been four years, according to senior captain Bryan Diebag.
In 2006 Diebag, along with seniors Jeremy Call, Blake Morgan and Christian Wort first took to the water as freshman under the guidance of coach Brandon Schreib.
The team struggled initially, going winless that first season, before finally finding a measure of success last year when the team finished sixth at the state tournament.
This year, however, it didn’t take long for Schreib, Diebag and the rest of the team to realize they had a ton of potential.
“The first time I saw them at practice, they all seemed to click,” Schreib said. “They all seemed fast, and I just told them we have a lot to work on. But my prediction is that we’re going to win a lot of games. And we did.”
This season the Trojans finished with a 10-2 record, winning the state’s Eastern Division title. The team’s only two losses came at the hands of Enumclaw and perennial powerhouse Wilson.
Now the team swings into the state tourney with the No. 1 seed, starting things off with a Thursday match at Rogers High School against West No. 4 seed Puyallup (results unavailable at press time).
According to Diebag, the key to this year’s success has been experience.
“It was four years in the making, so we have a lot of experienced people on the team,” Diebag said. “And we’re good as a team. We don’t have one individual star.”
In addition to the team’s four-year starters, the Trojans have gathered a strong core of starters, including seniors Jahmar Isbelle, Fred Strojan and Sam Golan, as well as juniors Ben Nordlie and Kendall Ray and freshmen Ben Nordlie.
“Kendall Ray is our goalie,” Schreib said. “And he may be the best goalie in the division.”
With the 6-foot-8, 220-pound Ray between the pipes, Auburn’s hallmark has been its defensive play this year.
“I think we have the fewest goals scored against in the league,” Schreib said.
In fact, the team’s strong defense was key to its winning a tiebreaker for the division title. The Trojans finished the season tied with Wilson at 10-2 each. Both teams had victories against the other, which forced the title to go to the team with the fewest goals scored against it. Since Wilson had 89 to Auburn’s 87, the Trojans earned the title and the No. 1 seed.
With a win against Wilson – one of the team’s goals this season – and a division title already under its belt, all that is left for the Trojans is a high finish at state.
“We need to go out there and play our game,” Diebag said. “We’re very good defensively. We have some very fast swimmers on the team, so we can get down there quick. We want to finish higher than sixth place.”
