The562’s coverage of aquatic sports in Long Beach in 2026-27 is sponsored by Watersafe Swim School.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
The562’s coverage of Millikan Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
The reality of the Moore League boys’ water polo scene is that most of Wilson’s matchups against its fellow leaguemates serve as measuring sticks for either team, which was the case on Tuesday afternoon.
Wilson cruised to a 16-6 win over Millikan, but the 10-goal victory produced two very different postgame reactions. Millikan coach Luke Garrison praised his team’s performance, while Wilson coach Zac Polmanteer had his squad swimming laps after a game he felt didn’t match the current standard of his program.
“We’re just in search of the finer details. The whole theme of this year is finding our line of what our limits are, so my only disappointment from that game is that I feel like we didn’t find our limit,” Polmanteer said. “Millikan played really hard and executed. I’ll be complimentary to my guys because at the end of the day we won by 10 goals, but that’s not good enough.”
Looking at the bigger picture, Wilson is in shape to be one of the top teams in the Open Division and currently sits as the No. 4 team in the CIF Southern Section as of Monday’s rankings, with wins this season over top-20 opponents Westlake, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach and Corona del Mar. While Polmanteer acknowledged that a win over a league opponent is no sure thing, he understands that the level of play needs to remain high in order to achieve the team’s greater goals in the Open Division.
“We’re on trend for the things that we want to do,” he said. “We’re changing our culture and improving our communication and we’re working really hard. We’re swimming after this game because they know what they didn’t do well, but there was no rebuttal and no complaints. They know that the expectation is high here. Frankly, it’s an unfair expectation, but that’s the style here at Wilson to be as great as possible.”
Wilson was able to get some of its younger guys in the game on Tuesday and finished with nine different goal scorers, led by hat tricks from Nolan Kerry and Nico Tramontano. Fernando Rejon, Vaughan Baker and freshman James Spina each had a pair of goals, while Chase Carson, Louis D’Alvia, Ace Dufault and Shane Radaich each had one goal.
Millikan was led by a three-goal performance from Adam Wells, while Lucian Velasco added a pair of scores and Tanner Yockey had one goal. By no means did Garrison treat the result as a victory, but he was certainly pleased with how his team competed against one of the top teams in the Southern Section.
“I’m not big on moral wins, but it’s just about the way they stepped up today,” Garrison said. “That’s a huge measuring stick for our boys. The difference in this game was that when we had the let down, every kid stepped up. I could not be more proud of this group today.”
Wilson set the pace early, opening the first quarter with a 5-0 lead, led by a pair of goals from Baker as one of four goal scorers in the quarter. Millikan was able to keep itself in it thanks to a gutsy afternoon from goalie Kollin Seeds, who had a handful of saves, including numerous on penalty shots, as the Rams battled to make it an 8-3 Wilson lead at halftime.
The Bruins were able to extend their lead in the third quarter after a five-goal period that included two of Kerry’s three goals, giving Wilson a nine-goal lead heading into the fourth quarter. Both teams traded three goals in the fourth quarter, including a pair from the freshman Spina, as Wilson cruised to the 16-6 victory.
The win improves Wilson to 11-5 on the season as the Bruins look ahead to the Bishops Invite next week with tough matchups against Carlsbad and Oaks Christian. Wilson will then return to Moore League play at home against Long Beach Poly on Oct. 13 and will end its season with another tough test on Oct. 21 against Mira Costa.
“The small change that we can make anytime is just improving on our communication and how and when we talk to each other,” Polmanteer said after the game as his team swam laps. “But as you can see right now, they’re holding each other right now in this post-game swim cycle. We’re doing a lot of great things and I’m very proud of them, but their communication needs to change. I can sense the urgency in them, and now they need to channel that into something positive.”
The most recent CIF rankings have Millikan as the No. 67 team in the Southern Section, and the Rams will continue Moore League play at Lakewood next Tuesday.
