Warriors gear up for another big year As Righettis fall sports teams get set for another fall sports campaign, Righettis boys water polo squad is gearing up for what it hopes will be another big year. The Warriors have rolled to the last several PAC 7 (now the PAC 8) League championships and have lost to Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos by two goals in each of the last two CIF Southern Section Division 4 championship games. Kyle Shaffer will start his 11th season as Righetti coach when the Warriors play in the Santa Barbara Tournament Sept. 11-13. Righetti will scrimmage San Marcos at home Sept. 2. Shaffers squad has three returning starters, all seniors. They are Lukas Sheckherd, a top team scorer who can play anywhere in the pool, Shaffer said, and team captains Terry Franklin and Nick Hurdle. All three seniors are in their fourth year on the Righetti varsity. As he can with Sheckherd, Shaffer can use Franklin and Hurdle anywhere in the pool. Though the team is a bit thin when it comes to returning starters, We had a good summer, said Shaffer. We finished second in our division at the Junior Olympics. Just before that, the Warriors went 5-0 in an open water tournament in Oregon and won the tourney. I think overall the summer was a big lift for us, said Sheckherd. We harnessed a lot of our skills and Im excited to see how we can do in games this season. Franklin said, I think weve made a lot of progress from last season. Obviously, getting back to the championship game is a motivating factor for all of us, said Hurdle. Going for a four-peat as league champs, Sheckherd, Hurdle and Franklin said, is also a big driving point for the Warriors fourth-year players. Shaffer said senior Justin Murillo and junior Ryan Dacus will definitely help out with the offense. Justin had to sit out all summer with a broken hand. Hes just getting back into it. He was actually one of our top scorers coming off the bench in (the CIF sectional playoffs). Ryker has advanced a lot in the last year. Righettis goal keeper is junior Thomas Lane. He mostly played junior varsity last year, said Shaffer. Hes making strides. Another couple of months under his belt and hell be ready for the stretch run this season. Besides Hurdle, Shaffer said junior Austin Nims and senior Jordan Tomooka should also be top defenders for the Warriors. Were working well together, helping each other out, said Shaffer. I like what Ive seen so far.
Posted on: Wed, 27 Aug 2014 15:57:19 +0000
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