The562’s coverage of aquatic sports in Long Beach in 2025-26 is sponsored by Watersafe Swim School.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
The past, present, and future of Wilson Aquatics was on display at the school’s brand new pool on Saturday afternoon, celebrating one of the nation’s premier high school sports programs.
While the current Bruins have already started racking up wins in their sparkling new aquatics center, Saturday’s event was a celebration of their new digs, bringing together generations of Bruins for the annual boys’ water polo alumni game.
Alumni from the Class of ‘81 all the way through 2025 broke out their speedos to compete against the current Wilson squad. After a close game back and forth, the alumni emerged with a 16-10 victory over the current Bruins, led by a hat trick from 2020 alumnus Ian Escoto.
“It’s nice to see our family all together in our new facility,” said former Wilson water polo head coach Tony Martinho, who coached the alumni on Saturday. “We’re really proud of the kids that have been playing here and all the generations. So to see them all get together in our new facility just makes me feel good.”
Saturday’s festivities were about more than just the friendly competition. The event featured a raffle, silent auction, and welcomed some notable dignitaries onto the brand new pool deck, including city councilmember Kristina Duggan.
Wilson coaching legends like Ricardo Azevedo and Chi Kredell were back home, and there were countless coaching victories either on the bench or in the water. Multiple generations of Bergs and Gruneisens teamed up for the alumni squad, showcasing the rich tradition of Wilson Aquatics.
The current varsity squad was coming off an impressive win over Harvard-Westlake the night before, and held their own against their veteran counterparts for most of the day. The alumni led 4-3 after the opening quarter before the younger Bruins stormed back for a 7-4 lead thanks to goals from Kai Bramble, Gabriel Robles, Nolan Kerry, and Evin VanderWal.
After the alumni tied things up 7-7 at halftime, they won the third quarter behind goals from Escoto, Joe Sherrin, and Jack Berg. The vets then pulled away in the fourth quarter, with Sherrin’s spinning backhand from 5 meters serving as the cherry on top of the alumni win.
The celebration of the new Wilson pool comes at a good time for the aquatics program overall as it seems the Bruins are on an upswing. This year’s boys’ water polo squad is ranked No. 7 in the CIF-SS and appears to be headed for the Open Division playoffs later this month.
“Give a lot of credit for that to Zach Polmanteer and Brendan D’Sa,” said Martinho of the state of the Wilson program, crediting the current boys’ water polo and boys’ swim coaches, respectively. “They’re alumni, and they are carrying on the tradition that they watched happen. So it’s not surprising.”
