Press-Telegram Boys Water Polo Dream Team: Wilson’s Gray Carson is the player of the year

2 years ago 276

BOYS WATER POLO DREAM TEAM

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Gray Carson, Long Beach Wilson

Long Beach Wilson’s quest for its archetypal CIF Southern Section boys h2o polo title successful a decennary fell conscionable short, but the Bruins’ tally to the Division 1 semifinals — the furthest they’d gone since losing to Mater Dei successful the 2012 rubric crippled — was a item for a superb elder class.

Wilson’s pivotal fig was Gray Carson, a 6-foot-3, UCLA-bound inferior subordinate employed wherever helium was astir needed, who scored a team-best 108 goals portion embodying the Bruins’ civilization astatine its best.

The elder is the Press Telegram Dream Team Boys Water Polo Player of the Year.

“Gray has that uncommon operation of talent, humility, he’s a squad player, and that’s a peculiar combination,” said Bruins manager Jeff Nesmith, who resigned aft the play ended. “He’s ever dedicated to the team, has a large attitude, and helium has a batch of endowment and potential.”

Carson’s size, speed, scope and versatility, the velocity of his shot, and his quality to instrumentality bid of games was captious to Wilson’s success. He understands this.

“It’s truly hard to find guys nowadays who tin bash a small spot of everything,” Carson said. “That’s truly what I pridefulness myself connected being capable to do. I emotion playing truthful galore antithetic positions due to the fact that it gives maine much opportunities to assistance my team.”

His changeable is ferocious.

“It’s truly noticeable that he’s got that overmuch of a harder shot,” Nesmith said. “(Coaches and recruiters) announcement it erstwhile we play. They say, ‘Who is that No. 8 guy?’ People halt to instrumentality a look astatine him, and I deliberation that speaks to his potential.”

Carson was astatine his champion successful his last triumph with the Bruins, scoring 7 goals successful a 15-7 quarterfinal triumph implicit Palos Verdes. Loyola, which would triumph the title, ended the Bruins’ play 4 days later, but that couldn’t spoil a fantastic run nor a good four-season tally for him and his elder teammates.

“We didn’t spell arsenic acold arsenic we wanted to,” Carson said, “but we had large seasons, and (the item was) conscionable being with the guys. We’ve been unneurotic a agelong time, and it was large to play with the guys I emotion playing with.

“It wasn’t conscionable astir winning for america (this year). It was winning and having fun. We conscionable wanted to to walk clip with each different 1 past season.”

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COACH OF THE YEAR

Ishmael Pluton, Long Beach Poly

Long Beach Poly was the CIF Southern Section’s archetypal boys h2o polo powerhouse, winning 9 of the archetypal 11 championships and 11 successful each from 1912 done 1929. Since then, nothing. Until now.

The Jackrabbits swept done the Division 4 bracket to assertion their archetypal rubric successful the athletics successful 92 years, rallying for a 14-11 triumph implicit Crespi successful the final. The designer of their occurrence was erstwhile Poly goalkeeper Ishmael Pluton, who is the Press Telegram’s Dream Team Boys Water Polo Coach of the Year.

Pluton, who took complaint of the programme successful 2015, conscionable 4 years aft graduation, guided the Jackrabbits (19-13) to 2nd spot successful the Moore League and forged an 11-game winning streak that took them done the Southern Section title and into the SoCal Regional semifinals, wherever they gave champion Palisades its toughest postseason test.

“It means truthful overmuch (to triumph a CIF title astatine Poly),” said Pluton, the CIF-SS Division 4 Coach of the Year. “I can’t explicit however overmuch emotion and pridefulness I person for Poly h2o polo and however overmuch it means to maine personally. The squad was my family, which is wherefore I came backmost to Poly, and to beryllium capable to manager this squad (to the title) makes it that overmuch much sweet.”

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DREAM TEAMS

FIRST TEAM

Gray Carson, Wilson), Sr. (Player of the Year)

Robert Cooper, Downey, Sr.

Zac Crenshaw, Wilson, Sr.

Caleb Francisco, Los Alamitos, Sr.

Nick Keane, Los Alamitos, Jr.

Carson Krueger, Wilson, Sr.

Charles Lemmis, Long Beach Poly, Sr., GK

Charlie Pruett, Long Beach Poly, Sr.

SECOND TEAM