Established in 2023, Central Valley’s water polo program has nowhere to go but up.

Hawk players gained valuable experience during their first official season last fall.

“As a third-year program,  we are building and working on promoting the aquatics culture here at Central Valley,” Hawks’ girls head coach Cristina Rocha said. “I am proud of the hard work my girls put in. They are in one of the most physically demanding and competitive sports out there, and building a successful team from the ground up takes dedication and will.”

“This year’s expectations are to ideally pick up where we left off last season,” said Tyler Bolton, leader of Central Valley’s boys team. “That double overtime victory over Ceres High was an incredible end to our first season. I hope we can build off that and keep progressing.”

Central Valley’s girls squad has an 11-person roster: Natalie Southavongsa (Sr.), Kadynce Piceno (Sr.), Dulce Renteria (Sr.), Mikayla Young (Sr.), Lilyanna Madrigal (Jr.), Joellene Roton (Jr.), Audrey Rhinehart (So.), Anna Aulakh (Fr.), Yailene Cardenas (Fr.), Isabella Madrigal (Fr.) and Emberlynn Payne (Fr.).

“I have some very hard workers on my team and they make the not-so-fun parts of starting a program most definitely worth it,” Rocha said.  

Southavongsa, Renteria, Young, Roton, Rhinehart and Lilyanna Madrigal are returners.

Piceno, Aulakh, Cardenas, Payne and Isabella Madrigal are newcomers.

Lilyanna Madrigal is a third-year player.

She garnered honorable-mention Western Athletic Conference recognition as a sophomore.

She led Central Valley in scoring while starring at hole set.

The Hawks will compete against Ceres High, Beyer, Grace Davis, Johansen, Livingston, Pacheco and Lathrop during the WAC season.

Central Valley finished in last place with an 0-12 mark in 2024.

“I expect to see the CV team continue to grow throughout this season,” Rocha stated.

Central Valley’s boys squad has a 10-person roster: Salvador Almazan Valdovinos (Sr.), Caleb Beckhart (Sr.), Nick DeLeon (Sr.), Noe Lomeli Gutierrez (Sr.), Isaiah Shirley (Sr.), Sean Vernon (Sr.), Sunny Breshears (Jr.), Ari Luman (So.), Ezekiel Castorena Manzo (So.) and Adolfo Diaz (So.).

“This season we didn’t have a lot of new players that came out, and two out of the three that did, are seniors,” Bolton said. “We had zero freshmen join the team this season, which is very worrying. With all of that in mind, a successful season for us would be building where we left off and expand the awareness of this sport at our site in hopes we can keep it going for years to come.”

Beckhart, DeLeon, Shirley, Vernon, Breshears, Luman and Castorena Manzo are returners.

Almazan Valdovinos, Diaz and Lomeli Gutierrez are newcomers.

DeLeon and Luman have been named co-captains.

“Both of my captains are returning players,” Bolton said. “Last season, Nick played a crucial part in our defense and is a player that the rest of the team naturally looks up to. I usually don’t select underclassmen as a team captain, but there is something special about Ari. He has natural talent and ability. He works really hard and puts in 100 percent effort every day.”

Central Valley and crosstown-rival Ceres High tied for fifth place in the 2024 WAC standings with identical 3-11 records.

Beyer (14-0), Grace Davis (12-2), Pacheco (10-4) placed first, second and third, respectively.

Livingston (7-7) and Johansen (7-7) tied for fourth.

Lathrop (0-14) finished last.

“Realistically, I am hoping to finish this season more in the middle of our conference,” Bolton said. “This would be a huge improvement from last year.”