Winnetka, Sports

New Trier dominates sectional in pursuit of three-peat

New Trier boys water polo’s quest for a third straight state championship will reach its final stage this weekend.

Following a dominant sectional run, the two-time champs are returning to the eight-team state finals in the hopes of collecting another IHSA title.

The Trevians laid waste to their sectional foes, discarding challengers Prospect (20-7), Loyola (16-1) and Maine South (15-3) in short order May 4, 10 and 11, respectively.

New Trier will open the IHSA finals with Lyons at 4:30 on Thursday, May 16, at Stevenson High School. Also in the mix at state are Fremd, Whitney Young, Naperville North, Lincoln-Way East, York and Stevenson. The Trevs bested Lyons (11-3, 5-4) in their two meetings this season.

The Trevs are 26-5-1 this season with all of their non-victories coming against state-bound programs: three losses to Naperville North, one loss and one tie against York, and one loss to Stevenson. New Trier has also beat York twice and Stevenson once.

Junior Hank Woodman is the Trevians leading scorer with 77 goals, followed by Harry Roberts with 54 and Jack Mitidiero with 43. Mitidiero leads the squad with 21 assists. Will Moran has tallied 22 goals and 17 assists in just 14 game played.

New Trier water polo captured its first state championship in 2022 to cap a record-breaking season. The Trevians backed that up in 2023 with another 30-win season and they toppled Stevenson, which had previously beaten the Trevs three times that season, in the state championship.

The Trevians have five state trophies in program history (since 2002). That includes four since 2016 (third in 2016, second in 2017), all under head coach David Rafferty-Flatter.

On the girls side, New Trier’s run of four straight state-finals appearances came to a close with an 8-2 loss to Evanston in the sectional finale on May 11.

The Trevians had advanced to state in four straight and eight of the previous nine seasons.


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joe coughlin
Joe Coughlin

Joe Coughlin is a co-founder and the editor in chief of The Record. He leads investigative reporting and reports on anything else needed. Joe has been recognized for his investigative reporting and sports reporting, feature writing and photojournalism. Follow Joe on Twitter @joec2319

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