Historic Run

Coach Ryan Ackerson stood poolside after his teams swept the FHSAA Regional Water Polo Finals, but admitted the accomplishment had not fully sunk in.

The girls defeated Lake Mary 17-6 to win their fourth consecutive regional title, while the boys topped Oviedo 12-5 for their third straight regional championship. In doing so, Seminole became the first school in FHSAA history to have both water polo teams advance to the state Final Four three years in a row.

“It felt good,” Ackerson said. “But I think it hasn’t sunk in, really, I’ll probably think about it once the season is over.

“Right now we’re thinking about next week, but it’s cool for sure.”

Next week, the boys will play in the FHSAA state semifinal, with the opponent and game time still to be determined.

For the second game in a row, senior Darian West played a key role in the boys’ victory. West scored the first two goals of the regional final, and Seminole never looked back.

“He kind of dominated them physically. They didn’t have an answer for him,” Ackerson said. “There were some things we worked on in practice, and he bought into it. Without the presence in the middle, we could get a lot of things going.”

Also contributing for Seminole were Ethan Pierson with one assist, three steals and 13 saves; Adam Walker with two assists and two steals; Becton Suber with two assists and one steal; Brayden Tarkowski and Timmy Samples with one assist and one steal each; and Darian West with two steals.

With the win, the boys improved to 26-4 on the season.

The girls improved to 29-0 on the year. As they have much of the season, the Seminoles relied on a total team effort, with several players contributing to the victory.

“I felt like everyone was involved tonight in the (Girls) game. Ackerson said.