The efforts of Veselich, Rane Colvin, Alan Dearman, Matt Peters and Co. weren't enough to stop the Spartans from pulling away after a tight first half to get some revenge in a 10-6 win, but the team still finished the season 20-9 and landed six players on the all-league team and five players on the All-CIF team.
"This was the deepest team I think I've ever had in my career," Sakonju said. "That balance is what made it such a strong team."
5 Glendale boys' water polo — The Nitros emerged as the biggest challenge to Crescenta Valley's dominance in the Pacific League this year and came seconds away from going farther in the Division VI playoffs than the defending-champion Falcons.
"All together, we put in a good effort," said first-year Coach Forest Holbrook, whose team led eventual champion Webb by a goal with 11 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter before falling, 18-14, in overtime in the semifinal match at William Woollett Aquatic Center on Nov. 18. "I couldn't be more proud of them."
Led by Gor Asryan and goalkeeper Haik Chatalyan, Glendale put together a 20-7 season, going 6-2 in league for second place and posting playoff wins over Cajon and Walnut, the latter coming in a gritty 11-9 win that put the team in the semifinals for the first time since 2000.
6 Renaissance Academy basketball — The Wildcats missed the playoffs in 2009 after a string of deep postseason runs, but came back with a vengeance this season.
Ranked atop the Division 5-A rankings nearly from wire to wire, Renaissance went 20-9 and reached the semifinals of the playoffs with an average margin of victory of 20.3 points per game in playoff wins over Arrowhead Christian, Chadwick and Holy Martyrs.
