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El Dorado girls water polo dominates Division 5 final to win first CIF-SS title

February 23, 2025

WALNUT — The El Dorado girls water polo team seemed able to score at will during the second period of the CIF-SS Division 5 championship match against Santa Paula on Saturday at Mt San Antonio College.

As it turned out, the seven-minute flurry of goals propelled the Golden Hawks to a dominating effort as they beat the Cardinals 16-4 and won their first CIF-SS championship.

In the second period, the Hawks scored on almost every possession, winding up with seven in the period.

Sophomore Hayden Sparks, who Hawks coach Karly Carazo calls a “lefty wizard,” led El Dorado (16-12) with seven goals and two assists.

Players on the El Dorado girls water polo team celebrate as their coach, Karly Carazo, shows them the championship plaque for winning the CIF-SS Division 5 title Saturday, Feb. 22, at Mt. SAC. (Photo by Lou Ponsi)

“We work on it all the time,” said Carazo, who guided El Dorado to a title in her first year as coach. “She goes in there and she knows if the ball is open with her, it’s her shot to take. We trust in her.”

The Hawks got the ball to Sparks as often as possible, usually with a lead pass as she was swimming fast toward the goal.

Sparks scored three goals in the second period, three in the third and one in the fourth.

“This is really exciting,” Sparks said. “I work with my goalie and other teammates with passing and taking shots during practice. I practice on all kinds of shots and it really helps me in the game.”

Senior Kaleyna Chun finished with five goals and an assist for El Dorado.

Chun scored two in the second, two in the third and one in the fourth.

“It means a lot,” Chun said of the victory. “Especially being a senior in my last season. All the work that I’ve put in all these three years, like summer practices, morning practices, late afternoon practices, late evening practices, it feels like it’s all paying off. This game, I just knew the adrenaline was going. I knew that we put in the work, so I went into this game full confidence.”

Carazo said Chun is the “backbone” of the team.

“She carries the energy and the passion,” the coach said. “We wouldn’t be here without her.”

Coming into the match, all the Hawks knew about the Cardinals (17-13) came from whatever statistics they could find, Carazo said.

“We just wanted to play our game first and adjust from there,” the coach said.

Players and coaches for the El Dorado girls water polo team celebrate in the pool after defeating Santa Paula 16-4 in the CIF-SS Division 5 championship game Saturday, Feb. 22, at Mt. SAC. (Photo by Lou Ponsi)

Carazo also credited the success to the hours spent in the pool.

“The girls would tell you we do a lot of swimming,” she said, “and this year I think it paid off, and they were able to counterattack and finish the shot.”

Gisselle Ramirez, El Dorado’s sophomore goalie, said she was growing more and more confident as the match went on.

“I got pretty confident we would win during the fourth quarter,” Ramirez said. “We still had the energy to persevere and we were up by a lot. It was a lot of fun that last quarter.

The Hawks last reached the finals in 2002, losing11-6 against Corona del Mar in the Division 4 championship.

El Dorado girls water polo dominates Division 5 final to win first CIF-SS title Orange County Register

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El Dorado girls water polo dominates Division 5 final to win first CIF-SS title

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