WALNUT, Calif – West Valley men's water polo (10-2, 1-0 Coast-South) put up 20 points twice and outscored its opponents by a total score of 70-34. In a loaded gauntlet that saw the Vikings face two teams that reached the 3C2A Regional round, plus the 31-time state champion Golden West College, the Vikings did more than just hold their own.

The tournament opener was against El Camino (1-9), which has a deceiving record in its own right. The Warriors finished last season 23-13, losing by just one goal to Cerritos in the Southern California Regional Playoffs.

West Valley got off to a hot start, at one point leading the Warriors 6-1 on a pair of goals each from sophomores Bronson Chungson and Tristan Grimett. After the Warriors edged the deficit to just 6-3 at the end of the first half, West Valley went on a 16-1 scoring run spanning almost a full half of play.

There were plenty of strong signs in what would end up as a 22-7 victory, but maybe the biggest was the scoring distribution from the Vikings. Chungson, who finished with a career-high five goals, led the charge. But West Valley also got multi-goal scoring contributions from freshman Ali Cinar Nuray (4), Grimett (3), Pa'Kalani Saxton Vaka (3), Jacob Rogers (2) and Liam Rogers (2).

It's not that Makar Salnikov, who led the charge against the Shanghai Water Polo Club with eight goals, was quiet. He still got on the scoresheet, adding his 25^th goal of the year.

It's that the Vikings have proven now in two separate games that they can win without Salnikov, the 6-foot-5 attacker, also dominating conference-foe Ohlone, 23-3.

With the score out of hand at the half, the Vikings also got to play two keepers: Lucas Rocha Gentil and Nicholas Boniface. Rocha Gentil was the opener. He had a solid showing, allowing two goals while saving five shots. Boniface, who also had the start against Shanghai, played a solid second half by only allowing five goals of his own.

Game two took place later that evening against Ventura. The Vikings again got off to a quick offensive start, with Grimett scoring just over a minute in to spark a 5-0 opening for the Vikings with goals from Chungson, Vittorio Sarra and two from Salnikov.

While he got a little less wear-and-tear in the first game of the day, Salnikov was all over the scoresheet in the second. He scored two in the first, two in the second and two in the fourth to provide the Vikings with a game-high six.

The Vikings also got scoring from Chungson (4) and Ali Cinar Nuray (3) with single goals from Sarra and Peter Kohari.

In what was easily the headliner of the tournament, the Vikings fought tooth-and-nail against their bitter rivals, the Golden West Rustlers. The Rustlers (9-1) are off to another hot start after finishing as state champions every season since 2020.

Cinar Nuray continued his hot stretch by tallying four goals against the Rustlers, leading the team in that category. It was his second four-goal game of the tournament. He finished with 13 goals in the tournament, nearly half of his season total.

He also contributed on the defensive end, finishing with a team-high three steals. Chungson and Rocha Gentil, from his goalie position, added two apiece as West Valley dropped only its second game of the season.

Still, the Vikings were stellar in the tournament-closer, taking down Saddleback 22-8. The Bobcats (3-5) are also coming off a spot in the 3C2A Regionals, but West Valley leapt out to a 6-0 lead.

The finale was another balanced scoring attack for West Valley. 11 different Vikings scored, this team with Kohari putting up a five-piece to mark his career-high. Cole Taylor, Michael Rohlfing and Nathan Arakawa added their first goals of the tournament.

With a big lead, both Rocha Gentil and Boniface got playing time. Rocha Gentil, playing the first three quarters, saved six shots. Boniface, who had to face seven shots, saved four of them.

Overall, Cinar Nuray was the breakout star of the tournament, leading the team with 13 goals over the four games. The freshman from Turkey nearly matched his season total in goals and seems to be finding his offensive rhythm at the right time.

The Vikings continue conference play on Wednesday, taking on Merced at 3:00 PM.