Paloma top seed for water polo playoffs; Heritage also home

The Heritage High School girls water polo team will be at home for a CIF playoff game on Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Heritage athletics Facebook page

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Paloma Valley High School received the No. 1 seed in the CIF-SS Division 6 girls water polo playoffs and will be at home against Buena Park Tuesday in the first round of the playoffs.

The Wildcats head into the playoffs with a 16-7 overall record, having won all 11 of their Sunbelt League games for their first league championship in the five years of the program. The game will begin at 5 p.m. at the Drop Zone water park, which Paloma Valley uses as its home pool. The Wildcats have won seven straight games since a loss to West Valley of Hemet on Jan. 11.

As the top seed, the Wildcats are matched with the No. 4 entry from the Freeway League. That could be deceiving, however; the Coyotes are 20-7 overall. Freeway League champion Sunny Hills finished with a 23-7 record in the highly competitive league in Orange County.

Heritage High School also made the playoffs in girls water polo and will play a home game at the Drop Zone water park Wednesday at 5 p.m. The Patriots, who enter the Div. 7 playoffs with an 8-7 overall record, will face the winner of a wild card game between Flintridge Prep and Nogales.

The CIF-SS also on Saturday announced playoff pairings for boys and girls soccer. The Sunbelt League champion Paloma Valley boys soccer team will take a 10-6-4 overall record into its 3 p.m. Division 5 home game against Jurupa Hills on Thursday. Jurupa Hills is 12-6-4 and the No. 3 team from the San Andreas League.

Also on Thursday at 3 p.m., in Division 7 boys soccer, Santa Rosa Academy plays at Vasquez. The Rangers finished second in the South Eastern League with a 5-2-1 league record.

On Wednesday in Division 3 girls soccer, Paloma Valley plays a 5 p.m. game at Alta Loma. That same day, Heritage plays at Ontario in Division 5. Paloma Valley finished one game out of the top spot in the Ivy League and is 11-4-1 overall. Heritage finished 10-8-5 overall and is facing the division's No. 2 seed -- an Ontario team that is 16-3-3.

The CIF-SS wrestling finals take place Feb. 9. In addition to the league champion Paloma Valley boys and girls teams that will send many wrestlers, there will be 10 wrestlers from Heritage High competing. The Santa Rosa Academy wrestling team, which won the Arrowhead League, will be well represented after 10 wrestlers won championships in the league finals.

Playoff pairings for boys and girls basketball will be announced on Sunday.

The Heritage High wrestling team will send 10 wrestlers to the CIF finals on Feb. 9. Photo courtesy of Heritage athletics Facebook page