South Coast Conference Names Martinez the 2017 MVP & Kasa as Coach of the Year
Eight Long Beach City College men’s water polo players were honored with All-SCC selections after an undefeated South Coast Conference season.
It was recently announced by the South Coast Conference (SCC) that eight Long Beach City College men's water polo players were honored with All-SCC selections after an undefeated conference season. Leading off the awards was sophomore attacker Myles Martinez, who was named the 20017 SCC Most Valuable Player of the Year. Sophomore goalkeeper Carl Matthews, sophomore attacker, Aaron Mowl and sophomore utility Chaz Harker were all named to the first-team all-conference list, while sophomore attacker Mario Moran and freshman attacker Kobe Jackson earned spots on the second-team list. Furthermore, freshman attacker Ludovico Mensa and sophomore utility Ian Dretzka earned Honorable Mention accolades. Alongside the All-Conference selections, coach Dave Kasa was honored with the 2017 SCC Coach of the Year Award.
This is Kasa's eleventh SCC Coach of the Year Award in his seventeenth year as part of the LBCC staff. Kasa led the men's water polo to an undefeated 7-0 record in the conference and then placed third in the state.
Martinez earns the SCC Most Valuable Player of the Year after scoring 69 goals and having 36 steals this season. This is Martinez's second-consecutive All-SCC first-team honors. Martinez was the offensive catalyst on the team and the sharp shooter to the corners of the goals. During the SoCal Regional Playoffs, Martinez scored eight out of 14 goals against No. 1 Golden West College.
Matthews brings home first-team honors with being unstoppable in the cage. As the last line of defense for the Vikings, Matthews was a wall in the cage that could reach beyond the top cross bar and block his opponent's shots.
Mowl adds to the All-SCC list with his fundamental skills in the water. Mowl scored 38 goals this season with nine assists. With burst attacks to the ball, he managed to inherit 18 steals for the Vikings.
Harker rounds out the All-SCC first-team list with being a two-time All-SCC selection. This season, Harker scored 43 goals and assisted his teammates in scoring 19 times. Harker was a big offensive help with scoring in the final game for third place in the State Championships against Sierra.
Moran earns second-team accolades with triumphant offensive efforts. Moran helped lead the Vikings to victory in conference over Cerritos College by scoring two of the goals.
Jackson finalizes the second-team All-SCC list by earning his way with being an effective attacker. Jackson has scored 29 goals within 24 games this season. He has turned the ball over for the Vikings with 20 steals.
Mensa was named with honorable mentions to the All-SCC list. In his debut season for the Vikings, Mensa has scored over 35 goals and tops the list for 26 steals.
Dretzka rounds out the All-SCC list with honorable mentions. Dretzka was a powerhouse in the pool, and was able to steer his opponents into wrong positioning. Dretzka scored 16 goals in conference and 27 in the overall season.