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Water Polo Squads Ready To Dive Into Playoffs
GWP
From left, Natalie Thompson, Maya Guerrero and Whitney Lee made up the seniors on the varsity girls water polo team and were recognized before their regular season finale against Sonora. Photo Courtesy Of Jolene Thompson

The 2017 regular water polo season came to a close this past week. On Tuesday, Oct. 24 both the boys and girls Oakdale water polo teams hosted their Senior Night festivities. The night came with mixed results as the boys rallied for a 9-8 victory and the girls fell to visiting Sonora 8-2.

For the boys, Oakdale fell behind 5-0 early but settled in with goals by Aron Cameron, Caden Nord, and Dakota McNeil. Senior goalkeeper Logan Cary struggled early in the contest but gathered his composure and settled in.

“Once we got our first goal, I relaxed and built off my teammates’ momentum,” Cary said.

The keeper is one of a dozen senior boys on the team. After giving up the five quick goals, Cary made over a dozen saves to help the Mustangs to the win. Oakdale finished second in the Valley Oak League this year and earned the fourth seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section D III Championships. Oakdale will host fifth seeded Dixon on Friday night, Nov. 3 at 5:30 p.m. If successful the Mustangs will then take on the winner of top seeded Christian Brothers and eighth seeded Pacheco on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at Tokay High School.

Oakdale’s girls team has had a rough few weeks to end the season. Coming off their first league loss in nearly a decade, the girls dropped their second one to Sonora on Senior Night. Oakdale’s three seniors Natalie Thompson, Whitney Lee and Maya Guerrero were all honored before their Valley Oak League showdown.

With the loss, Oakdale finished second in league and drew an eight seed in the 2017 Sac-Joaquin Section DI Championship. The girls hosted ninth seed Gregori on Halloween in the opening round of the playoffs.

The playoff game was held following The Leader’s press time. If successful Oakdale would travel to play top seeded Davis Sr. on Thursday, Nov. 2 with a 3:30 p.m. start time.