History was made at Central Valley High School last week as water polo matches were staged on campus for the first time.

Central Valley’s brand-new $5.5-million Aquatics Center opened this past spring.

“It was fun to host our first match,” said Kayla Himmist, head coach of the girls team. “Having our own pool on campus, it’s gotten more kids talking. It’s great we have an aquatics program, which is going to be growing because we have our own facility.”

“It’s really cool to have our own place,” said Tyler Bolton, leader of the boys team.

Central Valley’s girls team dropped to 0-2 in the Western Athletic Conference standings after losing 16-6 to Pacheco on Sept. 11 in Ceres.

The Hawks opened the season with a 22-8 loss to Grace Davis on Sept. 9 in Modesto.

“I definitely saw improvement from practice to play,” Himmist said. “The girls are starting to figure out what’s going on.”

Sophomore Lilyanna Madrigal etched her name into the record books by scoring Central Valley’s first-ever goal at home.

She totaled five goals.

“She’s an absolute powerhouse,” Himmist said. “She’s competitive. I can’t wait to see what she does moving forward.”

Central Valley’s boys team dropped to 0-2 in the WAC standings after losing 12-5 to visiting Pacheco.

The Hawks dropped their conference opener, 22-2, at Grace Davis on Sept. 9.

“This was our first-ever water polo matches,” Bolton said. “We didn’t know what to expect. A lot of the kids are still learning the game. The main thing I wanted them to get out of it is to know how much swimming and treading is involved.”

Freshman Ari Luman made program histoy by tallying Central Valley’s first-ever home goal.

“What a cool moment for him,” Bolton said. “It’s a big honor. I see a really bright future for him.”

Mixed results for Dawgs

Ceres High’s boys and girls water polo teams competed against Johansen and Livingston during the opening week of WAC play.

“Each kid got playing time,” said Sebastian Huerta-Alvarado, first-year leader of the boys program. “They got an opportunity to show what they learned in practice.”

Ceres High’s youth-laden boys team fell to 0-2 in league after losing 15-6 to Johansen on Wednesday in Modesto.

Abel Samaniego led the Bulldogs in scoring with four goals.

Zalan Arvai, a foreign-exchange student from Hungary, added two goals.

Ceres High dropped its WAC opener, 13-8, to visiting Livingston on Sept. 9.

Arvai led the Bulldogs in scoring with four goals.

Samaniego had three goals.

Jose Gomez Hernandez added one goal.

Ceres High’s girls team fell to 1-1 in the WAC following last Wednesday’s 15-4 loss to host Johansen.

Kaylie Clindaniel led the Bulldogs in scoring with three goals.

Layla Abraham added one goal.

Host Ceres High won its WAC opener, 16-6, versus Livingston on Sept. 9.

Clindaniel led the Bulldogs in scoring with 10 goals.

Jessie Blevins collected three goals.

Abraham tallied two goals.

Jennifer Sasser contributed one goal.