Cuesta Defeats LA Valley En Route to 31st WSC Men's Water Polo Title

GLENDORA, Calif. - The men's water polo team for Cuesta College secured the Western State Conference crown the 31st time in program history after a road trip to Glendora. The top-seeded Cougars were successful against Citrus in the semifinal round on Friday with a final score of 18-6 before beating the hosting Monarchs from LA Valley College, 15-14, in the championship showdown. | ORIGINAL RELEASE

Cuesta Coach Greg Enloe, Cuesta's third men's water polo coach since 1979, has earned titles in each of his first two seasons on the bench and is halfway to the run of four titles enjoyed by previous Cuesta Skippers Terry Bowen and John Marsh, who both opened their tenures with a WSC "Four-Peat".

The championship showdown marked the third matchup between Cuesta and LAVC in less than three weeks. LA Valley claimed the first contest, 17-12, on October 26 at the Golden West Tournament. Four days later while in SLO, they lost a conference game by the same margin, 15-10. 

Last weekend the Cougars, again, beat their rival for the WSC Title, 15-14, thanks to Johnny Starr's game-winning goal with 23 seconds left in regulation. Starr's late-second heroics mirrored last season's dramatic finish when his teammate Oliver Finley also beat LA Valley with a last-second shot.

The Cougars and the Monarchs will face off for the fourth time this season after landing at the fourth and fifth seeds, respectively, in the 2024 CCCAA Southern California Regional Playoffs. To view the full bracket, click here.