Daily Pilot Boys’ Water Polo Dream Team: Trush the Sea Kings’ leader
Jack Trush has the kind of toughness one might expect of a two-meter defender in boys’ water polo.
Corona del Mar High Coach Barry O’Dea moved Trush to the position early in the season, after an 11-7 loss to Loyola in the South Coast Tournament quarterfinals.
When that happened, O’Dea and Trush both knew that individual statistics might be sacrificed. For Trush, a senior team captain who wants to play water polo in college, it was a sacrifice indeed.
“It put him in a position where he’s not going to score a lot of goals, necessarily,” O’Dea said. “It was a big team move on his part.”
Trush was all about the team. He showed it again later in the season. A day after breaking his right ankle in a skateboarding accident, he was back in the water, training with the team in a special waterproof cast.
Trush wanted his senior season to be big, and it was. He helped the Sea Kings win the Pacific Coast League for the 16th straight year and advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinals, where they lost to top-seeded eventual repeat champion Harvard-Westlake.
For his efforts, Trush is the 2014-15 Daily Pilot Newport-Mesa Dream Team Player of the Year.
Despite the move to defense, and despite missing nine games with the broken ankle, Trush earned Pacific Coast League MVP and All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 honors. He was fourth on the Sea Kings (24-6) with 39 goals, adding 16 assists and 17 steals.
“He was a real solid leader for us,” O’Dea said. “Example-wise, practice, games. I mean, he played the last 2 1/2 , three weeks on a broken [ankle]. That says a lot about him.”
In-season, Trush got results for CdM, which was ranked in the top four of Division 1 for nearly the whole season. As O’Dea liked to point out, they were also the top-ranked public school.
Trush helped CdM defeat Newport Harbor in the Battle of the Bay game, 9-7, for the first time since 2010. A week later, he helped the Sea Kings make the championship match of the S&R Sport Cup at Irvine’s Woollett Aquatics Center.
Trush wanted to get back to Woollett in the postseason, which only the top four teams in Division 1 get to do. It was something he didn’t get to experience as a junior, when CdM lost to Mater Dei in the quarterfinals.
Trush, a repeat Dream Team selection, was instrumental in making it happen this year. He scored a key goal from center in the fourth quarter of CdM’s 10-9 win over rival Long Beach Wilson in the Division 1 quarterfinals Nov. 15 at Belmont Plaza, giving CdM a two-goal lead. He added two big field blocks on defense late in that emotional game, and dished out two assists.
“I had already been through the trenches once,” said Trush, who was also one of four team captains as a junior. “I tried to help out everyone and show them the route. Just from a leadership perspective, I tried to be almost like a role model to everyone, and just lead by example in practice.”
When it was all over, Trush played CdM’s final four games with the broken ankle, holding a sort of temporary cast in place with duct tape.
The duct tape was appropriate. It symbolized what Trush meant to the Sea Kings, who are going to miss their tough leader.
“I love the coaches and all the players,” Trush said. “I think that’s mostly what I’ll reflect on, the friendships I’ve made. We just have a really good all-around aquatics program. I think it has been a great time playing for CdM, whether it was club or playing in high school.”
Here’s a look at the eight other members of the 2014-15 Newport-Mesa Boys’ Water Polo Dream Team:
*
Clay Davison
Newport Harbor
The Sailors’ senior captain helped lead during a challenging (10-17) season under interim coach Marco Palazzo that included nine one-goal losses.
Still, the Sailors finished tied for second in the Sunset League and advanced to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs, and Davison was a big reason why. The driver scored a team-high 71 goals, earning first-team All-Sunset League honors.
He scored four goals, including the game-winner on a penalty shot, as Newport Harbor upset Agoura on the road, 9-8, in the first round of the playoffs. Davison is a two-time Dream Team selection.
*
Ivan Shikhelman
Costa Mesa
Shikhelman, a junior goalkeeper, made 309 saves in his first year as varsity starter, helping the Mustangs (18-8) finish second in the Orange Coast League and advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs.
The save total was tops in the league and tied for fifth among all players in the school’s single-season record book. Shikhelman was cast into the spotlight after Mesa’s two-time Dream Team goalie, James Rydjeski, transferred to Edison for his senior year. And Shikhelman responded for first-year coaches Cody and Dustin Serrano.
“He wants to block every ball that he possibly can,” Dustin Serrano said. “His obsession is insane. If he misses a block, it’s like the end of the world to him ... it was really fun to watch him improve from game to game.”
*
Chris Wan
Sage Hill
The junior utility player stepped up following the graduation of center Arya Nakhjavani, a three-time Dream Team selection. Wan, a three-year varsity starter for Coach Tom Norton’s Lightning, makes it for the first time because of his leadership.
He led Sage Hill (6-9) with 45 goals, adding 22 steals and eight assists. Wan helped the Lightning finish third in the Orange Coast League and make the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs for the first time since 2010.
Once they got there, he scored eight goals in a 14-5 wild-card win at Alhambra. Wan was a first-team All-Orange Coast League selection.
*
Ashton Jajonie
Corona del Mar
The senior co-captain was a versatile threat, leading the Sea Kings with 69 goals. He also led the team in steals (53) and his 32 assists ranked third on the squad.
The Sea Kings needed that scoring punch, as Trush (broken ankle) and junior center Ben Brooks (illness) missed time late in the season. It was a change for Jajonie, who last year focused on defense, but he rose to the occasion and was dangerous on the counterattack.
He led everyone with four goals in a 9-7 Battle of the Bay win over Newport Harbor, the Sea Kings’ first in four years. Jajonie was a first-team All-Pacific Coast League selection.
*
Charlie Padden
Newport Harbor
The senior driver developed into a team leader, scoring 30 goals to tie for second-best among Sailors. Many of his goals came in big moments.
He certainly stepped up as the Sailors won a Sunset League CIF play-in game against Los Alamitos, leading everyone with five goals in a 17-4 triumph. Padden was a first-team All-Sunset League selection.
*
Nigel Bress
Corona del Mar
As a junior, Bress shared goalie duties with Ryan Hamm. As a senior, the responsibility was all on Bress, and he responded with 255 saves.
Able to make the deep pass to aid the counterattack, Bress put that ability on display in CdM’s Division 1 quarterfinal win over Long Beach Wilson. He tied a season-high in saves with 16, as CdM stormed out to an 8-1 halftime advantage behind that counterattack and hung on for a 10-9 victory over its rival. Bress was a first-team All-Pacific Coast League selection.
*
Nick Wood
Newport Harbor
The senior impressed in his first year as varsity goalie. He made 201 saves, regularly tallying double-digits in some of the Tars’ biggest contests.
His season-high of 14 saves came in the Battle of the Bay game against rival Corona del Mar. Wood had 13 saves in a CIF quarterfinal loss to Mater Dei, and 11 in just three quarters in the CIF-clinching win against Los Alamitos. His athleticism benefited the Sailors both in making the save and sparking the counterattack.
*
Garrett Spruth
Corona del Mar
The senior driver was one of the main offensive threats for the Sea Kings. Spruth, a first-team All-Pacific Coast League selection, scored 49 goals to rank third on the team. He also dished out 20 assists and added 28 steals.
His strong arm made him particularly effective on the six-on-five and penalty shots. He scored two first-half power-play goals in the big CIF quarterfinal win over Long Beach Wilson, and came up with three big goals and three steals in the Battle of the Bay game.
