Wilson boys’ water polo picked up its first CIF Southern Section playoff win since 2016 on Tuesday at Belmont Outdoor Pool where the Bruins rolled to a dominant 19-5 victory over Malibu in the first round of Division 3.
“It feels good,” Wilson coach Jeff Nesmith said of the postseason success. “I’m excited for these guys. They came out ready to go.”
Wilson (20-10) jumped out to a 7-0 lead after the first quarter, and sophomore Zac Crenshaw scored a hat trick in the first four minutes of the game. He finished with a game-high five goals.
“We had to come out hard like we were going to play a CDM or a Division 1 team,” Crenshaw said. “Establishing dominance is the most important thing in these games.”
The Bruins led 10-1 at halftime thanks to hat trick from Gray Carson in the second quarter.
“This group has been able to hang with the best teams and they’re some of the biggest and strongest guys in water polo right now,” Nesmith said. “We expect them to dominate and control that center position.”
Senior Ian Escoto dished out six of the 13 assists for the Bruins as 10 different players scored goals. Kade Margain and Hank Rivers both scored three times, and Margain also had three assists.
The Bruins got every play into the pool after the starters came out in the fourth quarter.
Wilson will be back at the Belmont Outdoor Pool on Thursday at 5 p.m. when it hosts Ventura in the second round.
