Valley Center High School varsity water polo player Kimi Walters was part of a team from Carlsbad that won the gold medal in the 18U girls division in the S&R Sport Junior Olympics water polo tournament, held in Los Angeles from Aug. 5–8.Walters, who joined the Carlsbad team in order to play with some of her friends, had to earn her spot on the team that headed to the Junior Olympics. Once she made the squad, the team had to qualify for one of four spots reserved in the tournament for San Diego-area teams.
“We were pretty well matched with the teams from the area,” Walters says. “We played some college-level teams, and that kind of competition really gets you prepared.”
The Carlsbad team made it through the opening rounds and advanced to the final on Sunday, where they met the Rose Bowl team. Carlsbad jumped ahead with three early goals, but Rose Bowl fought back.
“We took an early lead, but we let up on defense a little and they came back to tie it up at four in the third quarter,” Walters explains. “We knew we had to pick up the defense, but at the same time we had to score and pick up the offense.”
Carlsbad did both, holding Rose Bowl scoreless in the final period, while added three goals of their own to take a 7–4 victory.
“It was both a defensive and an offensive game,” Walters says. “At different times we had to focus on different things, and we pulled together for the win.”
Walters didn’t score in the final, but tallied a total of four goals in the tournament as a driver and a utility player.
She hopes to be continue playing with the Carlsbad team next season, and would like to keep playing water polo in college and beyond.
For more information about the the S&R Sport Junior Olympics water polo tournament, visit the Web site at www.juniorolympics.com
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