THREE-PEAT!!!

Behind the dominance of junior two-meter Marco Stanchi and breakout performance of junior Josh Rehder, the Bellevue boys water polo team defeated Mercer Island 12-9 to capture its third-straight state title. Bellevue joins Puyallup, Curtis and Mercer Island as the only programs in state history to win at least three state titles.

Bellevue earned a spot in the championship game after beating Enumclaw 18-6, Auburn-Mountainview 22-11, Bainbridge Island 19-3 and Roosevelt 9-7.

In front of a packed crowd at the Curtis Aquatics Center, Bellevue faced its Kingco division rival hoping to avenge its only in-state loss of the year. But the game did not start as planned for the Wolverines.

On Mercer Island’s first offensive possession, Islander junior Jack Larkin lofted a half-court lob past senior goalie Diego Acevedo as the shot clock expired to put the Islanders up 1-0. Unfazed, the Wolverines quickly responded. Freshman Cameron Hayes, who became the first freshman in nearly a decade to start every game for Bellevue, put the Wolverines on the board after a baseline drive led to a post-up goal in front of the cage. A few possessions later, Hayes scored again to put Bellevue up 2-1. Midway through the first period, Stanchi earned a five-meter penalty in set and buried the ensuing shot to put Bellevue up 3-1. Mercer Island answered when Larkin assisted junior Topher Lacrampe to pull the Islanders to within one goal. Late in the quarter, French scored his first goal of the game to put Bellevue ahead 4-2.

The second quarter belonged to Bellevue. Or more specifically, the second quarter belonged to Josh Rehder. Rehder, who was forced to sit out his sophomore year after transferring to Bellevue, made the most of his championship debut by scoring three second quarter goals. The first came off a drive and post-up from the 1-2 side. The second came off a counter-attack. The third, which may have been the play of the game, came when Rehder posted-up and turned his defender and buried a point-blank shot. Stanchi chipped in his second goal of the game during the decisive second quarter, helping the Wolverines build an 8-2 halftime lead.

With Mercer Island on the ropes, Islander junior Trevor Gullstad managed to stop the bleeding, burying an outside shot at the 5:30 mark to cut the deficit to 8-3. The remainder of the third period was a back-and-forth affair. Stanchi and French scored goals, but Larkin and Gullstad answered. The third period ended with Bellevue leading 10-5.

With just seven minutes standing between Bellevue and its third-straight state title, the defense sputtered early in the fourth quarter. Mercer Island took advantage of a lapse in defense to earn multiple ejections and reel off three unanswered goals. Suddenly, Bellevue’s once-mighty lead stood at just 10-8 with 4:30 left in the game. Following a Bellevue timeout, it was clear that the Wolverines needed a goal to stop the bleeding and regain momentum. Enter Stanchi. With his team reeling, the Wolverines’ center delivered, ripping a set shot past Islander goalie Hunter Peshkin to increase Bellevue’s lead to 11-8. A few possessions later, Lacrampe scored his third goal of the evening on another man-up to reduce the lead to 11-9. But after Stanchi earned an ejection with 1:40 left on the clock, junior Liam Naughton pushed a loose ball deflection past Peshkin to put Bellevue up 12-9 and dash all comeback hopes. Mercer Island tried valiantly to score in the last 90 seconds, but Acevedo turned back all attempts to preserve the victory.

After leading the Wolverines with four goals, four ejections drawn and four steals in the final, Stanchi earned State Offensive MVP honors. Stanchi joins Jake VanWolvelaere (’11) as the only Wolverine to earn such honor. French and Rossman, who posted 17 and 16 goals respectively over the five-game tournament, joined Stanchi as First-Team All-State selections. Naughton and Hayes were awarded Second-Team All-State. Senior center-defender Silas Clapham earned Honorable Mention honors.

Joining these six athletes on the championship winning squad were senior goalies Garrett Moffatt and Diego Acevedo, senior co-captains Scott Bowers and Stuart McClelland, senior Blake Evans (statistician) and juniors Daniel Sandler, Quinlan Hughes and Sevren Trulson.

Bellevue finishes the 2013 season with a 25-5 record.

Final Results:
1st: Bellevue
2nd: Mercer Island
3rd: Roosevelt
4th: Curtis
5th: Puyallup
6th: Auburn-Mountainview
7th: Newport
8th: Bainbridge Island

Offensive MVP: Marco Stanchi, Bellevue
Defensive MVP: Nathan Ives, Roosevelt
Coach of the Year: Sam Shabb, Roosevelt

First Team All-State:
Marco Stanchi, Bellevue
George French, Bellevue
Zack Rossman, Bellevue
Nathan Ives, Roosevelt
Anthony Pedreira, Mercer Island
Jack Larkin, Mercer Island
Riley Hess, Curtis

Second Team All-State:
Liam Naughton, Bellevue
Cameron Hayes, Bellevue
Topher Lacrampe, Mercer Island
Trevor Gullstad, Mercer Island
Matt Lasley, Roosevelt
Conrad Gordon, Roosevelt
Daniel Tishman, Curtis

Honorable Mention:
Silas Clapham, Bellevue
Chris Merritt, Mercer Island
Eli D-Albora, Roosevelt
Chandler Arrington, Curtis
Jason Mukai, Curtis
Jake Hodges, Puyallup
Ian Walsh, Puyallup
Jackson Jalewski, Auburn-Mountainview
Jourdan Rogers, Auburn-Mountainview
Cooper Oswald, Newport
Andrew Pana, Newport
Noah Clark, Bainbridge Island