Newport Harbor boys water polo pursues first title at North vs. South Challenge

For all of the impressive achievements in the history of the Newport Harbor High boys water polo program, including 14 CIF-Southern Section championships and a pair of Southern California regional crowns, as well as victories at the South Coast, Elite 8 and Memorial Cup tournaments, there is one title the Sailors have yet to win and that is at the prestigious North vs. South Challenge.

Newport Harbor (22-0) will have an opportunity to not only validate its status as the top program in the state, but also nationally, as the 16-team tournament held at both Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton and Gunn High in Palo Alto includes Greenwich School from Connecticut and Punahou High of Hawaii.

The three-day event, which began in 2006, starts Thursday with showcase games that are not part of the tournament schedule, as Newport Harbor will face Greenwich at 5 p.m. PDT at Sacred Heart Prep.

The Sailors, led by goalkeeper Luke Harris along with attackers Kai Kaneko and James Mulvey, are matched up against Tamalpais in their opening-round contest Friday at Gunn High, with the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship all held at Sacred Heart Prep.

The tournament final is scheduled for 2:20 p.m. PDT Saturday.

Newport Harbor has reached the North vs. South Challenge championship in each of the past two seasons, losing both years to rival JSerra.

The Sailors suffered an 8-7 setback in the 2022 final, with JSerra prevailing 15-9 in last year’s championship match.

Newport Harbor has already captured tournament titles this season at South Coast – producing a 14-6 victory Sept. 14 against JSerra to snap the Lions’ 40-match winning streak – and the Elite 8 event, achieving a 16-7 triumph Oct. 5 against host Harvard-Westlake in the final.

The Sailors have won multiple championships at the annual Memorial Cup, hosted by Bellarmine Prep in San Jose, including their most recent crown in 2021, but Newport Harbor is still pursuing its first title at the North vs. South Challenge.

JSerra (16-2) is looking to become the first program to win three consecutive championships at the event since Mater Dei captured four straight titles from 2010-13.

The Lions face Miramonte in a showcase contest at 6 p.m. Thursday, with their opening-round tournament match against Punahou at 11:20 a.m. Friday.

Oaks Christian (12-6), Cathedral Catholic (13-5) and 2014 tournament winner Harvard-Westlake (12-6) – which has finished third at the event the past two years – are also strong programs representing the South, with Campolindo (12-3), Miramonte (8-6), Concord De La Salle (10-3) and Sacred Heart Prep (9-7) among the top entries representing the North.

Sacred Heart Prep won its own event in 2018 and 2021, with Miramonte the only other program from the North to secure a title in 2008.