The Garibaldi Rebels took home the bronze medal in the Tier 2 division at the B.C. high school water polo championships Sunday in Surrey.
The team of nine used three elementary aged students who play for Haney Neptunes club team to help fill out its roster. In all, six of the nine on the team play for the Neptunes, an advantage Garibaldi assistant coach Antony Cowie said the Rebels had because the sport doesn’t traditionally have the number of players to draw from compared to other high school sports.
Garibaldi fought back from 4-0 deficit after the first quarter against Delta to win 9-7 and take home the bronze medal.
Cowie said his team’s strong defence throughout the tournament was the key to its success.
“Because we don’t see these teams throughout the year, it takes some time to figure out their strengths and weaknesses,” said Cowie. “But we were able to adjust after the first quarter and played a strong game the rest of the way.”
The Rebels on their first game 18-17 over W.J. Mount of Abbotsford.
The Rebels then downed Abbotsford secondary 17-8, but fell next 11-7 to Burnaby.
Grade 10 standout Nic Marconato led the Rebels with 16 goals, followed by Andy Cowie with 10, Yuri Cowie with eight and Katarina Preocanin, six. Kayla Preocanin, Ethan Benoit, Cheyenne Cote-Rolvink, Ramon Melser, and Alex Micsoniu also played key roles.