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Glendale High School Water Polo
The 90's
Pacific League Action
The 1990 team was coached by Pat Lancaster. The team finished second in league to Muir and was led by co-Pacific
League MVP and all-CIF forward Chris
Petrossian. Petrossian was also the
Area All-Star game MVP and led the Nitros in scoring with 93 goals. GHS beat Hoover
twice by scores of 12-10 and beat Crescenta Valley at CV, 11-10. GHS won the first
round CIF playoff game against Servite with Petrossian netting seven goals, and lost
to Miraleste in the second round. Sophomore goalie Vatche Shirikjian, who had
earned All-America honors while playing for Trojan Club, was the team's MVP. First
team all-leaguers were Bruce
Wright and Chris Jaurigue. The league
championships were played at Rose Bowl.
Finishing 5th in league play, the 1991 team is the only GHS polo team of the
decade not to make the CIF playoffs. They faced a tough schedule and beat 10th ranked,
North Riverside, and lost to the 5th and 6th ranked teams in CIF by one goal each,
Loyola and Santa Monica. They struggled in league play, however, losing to Hoover
in overtime, to CV by two goals and to Pasadena. The squad was captained by first
team all-league driver Kevin
Skinner, who was a 49-second 100-yard
freestyler. Shirikjian was the first team all-league goalie.
The 1992 season saw a changing of the guard at the top of the league. Muir had won
8 of the 10 league titles in the 80s and crowns in 90 and 91, but now CV would begin
its run of Pacific League championships.
The 1992 team welcomed 1986 grad Todd
Byer into the coaching ranks. All-American
and All-CIF second team goalie Vatche
Shirikjian was the team MVP and Armond Abramian and Jeff Byer also led GHS. Hoover beat the Nitros in the match-up
at GHS, 9-6, but that loss was avenged in the Pacific League championships as GHS
beat the Tornadoes 9-5 to take the final CIF playoff spot. In the CIF first round,
GHS battled La Habra, a team that had already beaten them and GHS won. In the second
round, GHS lost to Fountain Valley in a game played at Rose Bowl.
The 1993 team was led by captain Ted
Ro, who was a first team all-league
player. Hoover downed the Nitros twice, 13-12 and 8-6. This was the last year GHS
lost to Hoover. In the CIF playoffs, GHS lost to defending CIF champion Esperanza.
Freshman goalie Ed
Saakyan was named second team all-league.
Saakyan would be a four-timne all-league performer. His sophomore, junior and senior
year he was first team all-league and was all-CIF his sophomore and senior years.
Led by first team All-CIF holeman Gilbert
Abramyan and All-CIF goalie Ed Saakyan, the 1994 team was one of the best Nitro squad's ever. The boys
finished second in league play to CV. Telly Kim was the team and
Glendale High athlete of the year. The team was ranked as high as 7th in CIF and
lost to 8th ranked Whittier, 14-13 in the first round of the CIF playoffs. Whittier
won the game with 3 seconds left.
Former Crescenta Valley All-American Chris Axelgard took over
the coaching reigns in 1995. Scott Greenwood, the fastest
Dynamiter water polo player ever, having clocked a 1:43 in the 200-yard freestyle,
led the team with 114 goals for the year. The team finished second place in league
and challenged defending CIF champion South Pasadena in the first round of the playoffs.
The game was tied going into the fourth quarter before the Tigers won, 12-10. Greenwood's
swim career comntinues today. He qualified for the 2000 Olympic trials in the 50-meter
freestyle and is on the World 2000 USA team.
Hamlet Barseghyan was the top player on the 1996 team along with
Saakyan. Both players earned All-CIF honors and Barseghyan scored over 100 goals
for the season. In the league tournament against Arcadia, Barseghyan scored 12 of
the team's 13 goals in the 13-12 Nitro win. The team finished 18-10 and 5-2 in league
play.
The 1997 team was led by All-CIF star Kevin Witt. The junior helped
GHS to a second place league finish, narrowly losing to CV, 6-5. GHS finished 9-12,
5-2 in league play.
In 1998, Witt was named CIF co-Player of the Year after a dynamite senior
season that saw him rewrite the school record book. He scored 128 goals, passed for
101 assists and had 165 steals for the season. He was also the Pacific League co-MVP.
Glendale won a share of the 1998 Pacific League championship with CV. GHS stunned
CV in the Falcon pool with a dramatic come-from-behind 18-17 victory. Joao Cepeda was a third
team all-CIF player. First team all-league players were goalie Ben Lee and Cepeda
and standouts were speedster Tad
Nakatani, defensive specialist David
Thomas and Alex Pogosyan. GHS won the first round CIF game and then lost to defending
CIF champion La Cañada 14-12 in the quarterfinals. CV coach Pete Loporchio
said about this Nitro team, "It is the best Glendale team I have seen in 20
years."
Carol Driffill and Alfred
Tamazyan teamed up to coach a young
and inexperienced squad. The 1999 team was still able to finish second in
league, and three Nitros were named to the All-CIF third team; Alex Lim, Zareh Galstyan
and Matt Hahn, setting up high hopes for the 2000 season.
Action Pictures from the 90s
 Abramyan-94 |
 Barseghyan-1996 |
 Barseghyan96 |
 Ed Saakyan- 1994 |
 Ed Saakyan- 1995 |
 Telly Kim- 1994 |
 Vatche |
 Kevin Witt- 1997 |
 Witt- 1999 |
 Cover boy- Witt 1998 |
 Jeff Byer-92 |
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Team History:
the 60's
the 70's
the 80's
the 90's
