AHS Boys won against Golden West with a score of 11-5

ATASCADERO – The Atascadero Greyhound Boy’s Water Polo Team brought home a historic win on Saturday, Dec. 11, with the school’s first-ever CIF Central Section Division III Championship! They won against Golden West Visalia with a score of 11-5.

“This is actually the first time in school history that our water polo [team] has won CIF,” said Head Coach Jon Conrad. “They’re just a phenomenal group of young men that put in a lot of hours early in the morning and late into the evening to be at their best performance. They stepped up really big for this game. It was great,” he continued about his winning team.

The Greyhound Water Polo Team is a Senior led team this year, with a total of ten Seniors.

“Only one of my starters is a junior. His name is Ben Strohl. He led the team with goals this year with 126. Which was the school record,” boasted Conrad.

Nate Benedix, Conall Brown, Logan Chubon, Dylan Clark, Aiden Garrett, James Hazelwood, Luke Heckman, Greg Hider, Curran Hoxie, Morgan Jones, Casey Jones, Caleb Newby, Leo Pan, Philip Ramsdell, Traise Rodriguez, Brandon Snyder, Ben Strohl, and Vince Vega make up the 18 players on the Championship winning team.

“As a parent, it has been such a joy to watch these boys grow and come together as a team. During the last couple of years, these players have really become a family. When one player is successful, the entire team celebrates. And I know the parents feel the same–we feel pride in every player’s accomplishment; these are all ‘our boys.’ At the final game, while we were cheering and celebrating, there were also tears. The emotion of this triumph was simply overwhelming,” said team mom, Nicole Hider.

On Wednesday, Dec. 15, The City of Atascadero, along with Atascadero High School’s Athletic Director, Sam DeRose, organized a parade to celebrate the team’s big win! Atascadero’s Fire and Police Departments were both heavily involved. Giving the players rides along the parade route.

“They organized a short little parade from the school, the high school, over to City Hall. And then, all the boys got to be honored in front of friends and family. The school band was there, and the cheerleaders. It was a fun time,” said Conrad of the parade. “It was neat to get a ride in the fire engine and the old school, Chevy cop car. It was fun for the kids.”

The parade was attended by proud parents of the team, the team’s classmates, and a large array of locals who came out to support their Water Polo CIF Champions.

“It’s just awesome being part of a town that really just appreciates the work that these kids put into athletics,” continued Conrad.

The Greyhounds are gearing up to go up against Palo Alto for state playoffs.

Congratulations to our new CIF Champs!