The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial.

Long Beach Poly senior Fiona Lobedecis got sweet revenge at the CIF State Finals this week. After coming in second place at last year’s Finals, Lobedecis came out as the CIF State Champion on Thursday.

The senior’s win was a dominant one. Lobedecis posted a score of 505.35, pulling ahead by a huge margin compared to her competitors. The second place diver had a score of 470.25.

“I am extremely proud of the work that Fiona has done this season as part of the Poly Swim and Dive team,” Poly head coach Ali Landeros said. “On top of being one of our most elite swimmers, she dedicated much of her time towards her development as a diver, and the results speak for themselves.”

Lobedecis was the 2024 Moore League Diver of the Year. She also holds the school record for her dive score at last year’s CIF State Finals, where she posted a 508.20.

“Even though Poly does not have an officially dive team, Fiona has pushed herself this season on her own doing club diving and making sure she had what it took to make it past the CIF-Southern section championships and on to the state competition,” Landeros said.

The Jackrabbit is taking her athletic talent and skill, along with her academics, to the next level. She will be joining the University of Michigan’s Dive team in the fall. She will be in the water alongside fellow Poly alum Colin Geer, who is already making history for Michigan through his second year.

“We’re extremely stoked on her accomplishments and know she’s going to continue on with her success in college,” Landeros said.

Irvine, CA – May 14 – The roster for the Men’s Cadet National Team has been announced for the 2025 PanAm Aquatics Water Polo Championships in Medellin, Colombia. The competition will take place from May 19-25 and will showcase some of the top pipeline athletes in the country.

Live streaming of all matches will be available on the PanAm Sports YouTube channel. More information can be found from PanAm Aquatics. See below for roster and schedule.

Men’s Cadet National Team

1 – Ethan Wallace, Goalkeeper, San Francisco Water Polo Club Warriors, Pacific Zone

2 – Hunter Coleman, Center, Stanford Water Polo Foundation, Pacific Zone

3 – Jack Davis, Attacker, Del Mar Water Polo Club, Pacific Southwest Zone

4 – Curren Francisco, Attacker, Newport Beach Water Polo, Southern Pacific Zone

5 – William Gorsche, Attacker, Los Angeles Premier, Coastal California Zone

6 – Ronan Keane, Attacker, North Irvine Water Polo Club, Southern Pacific Zone

7 – Christopher Koo, Attacker, Mission Water Polo Club, Southern Pacific Zone

8 – Andrew Schneider, Attacker, Mission Water Polo Club, Southern Pacific Zone

9 – Liam Zarcu, Attacker, San Diego Shores Water Polo Club, Pacific Southwest Zone

10 (C) – Sungwon Shin, Attacker, Del Mar Water Polo Club, Pacific Southwest Zone

11 – Francesco Pintaric, Attacker, Trojan Water Polo, Coastal California Zone

12 – Cord McCall, Attacker, Diablo Alliance Water Polo, Pacific Zone

13 – Alistair Sterrett, Goalkeeper, Northwest Water Polo Club, Pacific Northwest

14 – Owen Clark, Center Defender, Orange County Water Polo Club, Southern Pacific Zone

15 – Cortez Chavez, Attacker, Del Mar Water Polo Club, Pacific Southwest Zone

Men’s Cadet National Team Staff

Head Coach: Ian Davison

Asst. Coach/Team Lead: Ashley Hill

Asst Coach: Derek Clappis

Asst. Coach: Mike Gonzales

ATC: Coreyon Edward

Medical: Dr. Ken Lin

Men’s Cadet National Team Schedule

May 19 – USA vs. Peru at 8:20am pt

May 20 – USA vs. Argentina at 6:00am pt

May 21 – USA vs. Mexico at 12:40pm pt

May 22 – USA vs. Colombia at 2:00pm pt

May 23 – TBD

May 24 – TBD

May 25 – TBD

 

MEDFORD, MA (May 16, 2025) — The NCAA announced the final selections to the 2025 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships next week May 22-24, and the Tufts University women’s track and field squad was awarded with eight entries after a solid outdoor season. 

The Jumbos will have first-year Arielle Chechile in the 400 meter hurdles, after the newcomer posted a collegiate-best time on Thursday of 1:00.64 at the MIT Final Qualifier. Chechile’s time is currently the fifth-best among the field of 22 competitors to compete. 

Fellow newcomer Makayla Moriarty ran a 55.21 at the 2025 NEICAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and got in as the No. 18 seed in the 400 meter dash. 

The field crew will have a large contingent heading to the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, as senior Harper Meek was a last second selection into the field in the high jump after clearing 1.66 meters at the New England Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. 

First-year Elysse Cumberland will look to earn another national championship next week in a pair of events, as she qualified No. 5 in the nation in the long jump with a mark of 6.04 meters at the Tufts Sunshine Classic on April 19. She also will be the No. 3 seed in the event she won at Indoors, as her triple jump mark of 12.66 meters at the Sunshine Classic was plenty good enough for a spot in the NCAA field. 

Cumberland will be joined in her two events by senior teammate Jordan Andrew, as the former All-American is seeded No. 5 in the triple jump after a leap of 12.29 meters at the Tufts Sunshine Classic on April 19. Andrew was close to the cutline in the long jump, but her 5.80 meter leap was good enough for the final spot in the field. 

Sophomore Jackie Wells tossed a school record in the javelin on Thursday at the MIT Final Qualifier, as her toss of 42.41 meters was good enough for the 11th-best distance this spring. She will be making her first appearance at the NCAA Championships. 

The long jump and javelin will be contested on Thursday, May 22 while the prelims of the 400 meter hurdles will also be run that day. Meek will compete in the high jump on Friday afternoon at 11:30 a.m., while Moriarty will run in the 400 meter dash prelims on Friday at 3:15 p.m. 

Both Andrew and Cumberland will compete in the triple jump Saturday at 1:45 p.m., while the finals of the 400 meter hurdles and 400 meter dash are Saturday afternoon as well. 

Full entries can be seen HERE.

–JUMBOS–

Cedar Crest got some payback.

Manheim Central did not get a three-peat.

And the Falcons — relentless and defensive-minded from the first serve until the final point — raised the Lancaster-Lebanon League boys volleyball championship gold trophy for the first time in program history on Thursday night.

Blocking with authority and digging out seemingly everything in sight in the back row, Cedar Crest topped the Barons 3-1 in a sensational finale at Ephrata Middle School. Set scores were 25-18, 25-20, 16-25 and 25-19, as the Falcons snapped Central’s two-year reign over the league — and handed the Barons their first setback this spring.

“Fantastic,” said Cedar Crest’s Jack Wolgemuth, who had 15 kills and 15 digs. “This is what we’ve been pushing for. This is what we’ve had our eyes on since the beginning of the year.”

The Falcons (18-2 overall) finished the job, thanks in large part to a monster defensive effort.

“We had to (defend them),” Cedar Crest coach Monica Sheaffer said. “They’re a phenomenal attacking team. Going into practice I told the guys that if we’re going to beat them, we had to put up a block and read them. We had to play defense. That was our biggest thing.”

Cedar Crest, fresh off its first Section 1 title in program history, was playing in an L-L title match for the first time, and the Falcons soared. Using a 3-0 nonleague setback at Central back in April as motivation — and defending passionately throughout — Cedar Crest got its revenge, withstood the Barons’ third-set punch, and happily accepted the gold medals at center court in front of packed house.

“This means absolutely everything,” said Cedar Crest setter Ryder Rohrer, who teed up 47 assists. “This feels so great. Very, very rewarding”

Aidan Vukovich sparked Cedar Crest in the first set with seven of his 14 kills. It was 15-15 when the Falcons surged; Tate Tadajweski (10 kills, 17 digs) and Wolgemuth had back-to-back kills to spur Cedar Crest’s set-ending 10-3 run and the Falcons had the early momentum, up 1-0 after stuffing the block and dig columns.

“We lost the first one 3-0 to them,” Wolgemuth said. “We did not want to lose the second one. Our defense was something like I’ve never seen before tonight. We picked everything up. Even if we just got a touch. That was going to be the biggest part of the game.”

Cedar Crest, riding momentum and continuing to block and dig at breakneck pace, never trailed in the second set, when Jacob Alnoor had six kills. Alnoor (12 kills, four blocks) also set up set-point when he blocked Central’s all-star middle hitter Landon Mattiace at the net. Alnoor had another block, and Tyler Hackleman’s ace helped the Falcons pull away late in the second for a 2-0 lead.

“Extremely huge,” Rohrer said. “We were able to play loose and play confidently. Having that early lead really helped us.”

Central (17-1) rose to the occasion in the third behind Weston Longenecker, who had five kills and two blocks. After not leading since 5-4 back in the first set, the Barons seized control with a 5-0 run — three points on blocks, two by Longenecker — and Central, the back-to-back-to-back reigning Section 2 champ, closed it out when Reagan Miller (20 kills) had a block, and then he sizzled a kill off a pretty feed from Dylan Musser, who set up 39 assists.

Longenecker had kills on two of the last three points to cap it, and the Barons were within 2-1 and still in it.

But Cedar Crest bolted to a 17-10 lead in the fourth. Central had one last salvo, getting two blocks from Blake Neiles and an ace from Mattiace, who piled up 13 blocks. But the Falcons stopped the bleeding on Tadajweski’s kill. Later, Wolgemuth’s kill set up match point, and Vukovich clinched the title with a kill.

“Blocking and defense, I thought (Cedar Crest) was outstanding,” Central coach Craig Dietrich said. “Everything was hard tonight. Everything. We even struggled to get points in transition. Maybe it was also a lot of motivation from the last time we played them. But hey, they played like champions here tonight. We tip our caps to them.”

Cedar Crest, with plenty of positive momentum, now heads to the District 3 Class 3A playoffs as the No. 3 seed. Central will be the No. 1 seed in the Class 2A bracket — with motivation to get back to the finals after falling there last spring.

TWITTER-X: @JeffReinhart77

INSTAGRAM: JeffReinhartLNP

MORE L-L LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL COVERAGE

The Colorado College track and field teams will send a program-record five athletes to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships next week in Geneva, Ohio.
 
Juniors Rabbit Barnes and Josh Williams and sophomore Will Shuflit will compete in the men’s competition, while senior Isabel Olson and junior Alison Mueller-Hickler will represent the women’s team at the national meet, May 22-24, at the SPIRE Institute’s track and field facility.
 
Barnes, Shuflit, Olson and Mueller-Hickler will be competing at the Division III Championships for the first time.
 
“It is exciting to see so many individuals qualify for the national championships,” head coach Katie Bretscher said. “It has been a goal of mine to continue to have more athletes from our program qualify.  Each year, it seems like athletes have to run faster than the year prior in order to make the meet.  I’m extremely proud of all of our qualifiers and the work and dedication that it took to get to this level.”  
 
Barnes, the three-time defending SCAC champion in the 1500, will run that race at the national meet. He has the seventh-fastest in Division III and is scheduled to compete in the preliminaries on Thursday, May 22, at 5:35 p.m. (ET).
 
Williams, meanwhile, will run the 400-meter dash for the second consecutive year. The 400 prelims are on Friday, May 23, at 3:00 p.m. (ET).
 
Shuflit has the 12^th-best time in the 10K in Division III and will compete in that race on Thursday, May 22, at 8:30 p.m. (ET).
 
Olson qualified for both the 1500 and 5K after setting the school record in each race this season. She is ranked 15^th in the 1500 and 23^rd in the 5K. The 1500 prelims are on Thursday, May 22, at 5:50 p.m. (ET), while the 5K final is on Saturday, May 24, at 4:25 p.m. (ET).
 
Mueller-Hickler, who has the 10^th-fastest 10K time in Division III, will run in that final on Thursday, May 22, at 9:15 p.m. (ET).
 
Colorado College sent a then program-high three athletes to the Division III national meet last season.
 

We’re at Metea Valley for a Sectional Quarterfinal matchup as the fifth-seeded Hinsdale Central girls water polo takes on the fourth-seeded Metea Valley Mustangs. The Red Devils enter with a 16-10 record and a three-game winning streak. Metea also rides a three-game win streak with a 14-13 record on the season. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.

Hinsdale Central girls water polo leads Metea by three at the break

Metea comes out attacking, but Red Devils goalie Allie Tonjes sets the tone early with a great save to keep things scoreless.

Tonjes’ defense sets up the offense. Anna Azeem capitalizes on the other end, giving Hinsdale Central the early 1-0 lead.

But the Mustangs waste no time responding. Makayla Paulding finds the back of the net with help from Lillian Witte, tying it at one.

The Mustangs keep the pressure on. Abigail Hervey scores to give Metea a 2-1 lead with three minutes left in the first.

Just before the quarter ends, another big stop by Tonjes! She quickly pushes the counter, finding Anna Deppe, who ties it up at two at the end of the first quarter.

To open the second, Witte takes it coast-to-coast and finishes past Tonjes to give Metea a 3-2 lead.

But the Red Devils respond with fire. Anna Deppe scores back-to-back goals, flipping the lead back to Central at 4-3 and forcing a Mustang timeout.

Out of the timeout, Hinsdale scores quickly again. Metea answers as Amelia Hervey finds the back of the net, keeping the Mustangs within one at 5-4.

After another Central goal, Tonjes makes another huge save and decides to take matters into her own hands—literally. She scores to close the half as Hinsdale Central leads 7-4 at the break.

Red Devils add onto their lead in the IHSA Sectional Quarterfinal

Starting the second half, Paulding works her magic, drawing Tonjes out and scoring the first goal of the third quarter to give Metea a spark.

The Mustangs force a Central violation and capitalize with a goal from Natalie Kosta. Metea cuts the deficit to 8-6 with four minutes left in the third.

But Central answers again. Chloe Van Houtte fights through the Mustang defense and scores to push the Red Devils’ lead to 10-6 heading into the fourth.

Central starts the final quarter strong. The first shot is deflected, but Deppe is right there for the putback, making it 11-6.

Hinsdale keeps the pressure on. Rashida Moosabhoy goes solo and scores, giving Central a 12-7 lead.

Metea scores one more, but Hinsdale Central hangs on and will now play Naperville North

Metea puts together one final push. Witte scores in the closing minutes, but it’s not enough as Hinsdale Central wins 12-10 to advance to the sectional semifinals.

The Red Devils will now face the top-seeded Naperville North Huskies this Friday, and a spot in the sectional final is on the line.