ATHERTON >> Aptos High’s girls water polo program finally earned its day in the sun.

The top-seeded Mariners, a Central Coast Section runner-up twice in the past three years, knocked off No. 2 Santa Cruz 7-4 in the Division II final at Sacred Heart Prep on Saturday.

“We played very good defense against a strong team and kept offense moving,” said Cody Gilbert, the Mariners head coach. “I’m so stoked for them. They showed up ready and focused. I was very proud. They made history taking home the first CCS title for Aptos in water polo, and we will get to share that wonderful memory.”

It was Aptos’ fourth match against Santa Cruz this season and third straight win against the Cardinals. Both teams tied for second place behind Soquel (22-7) in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League standings.

Goalie Mary Suarez-Abraham made 12 saves and also scored a goal for the Mariners (17-10), who advanced to the CIF NorCal Regional tournament.

Aptos earned the No. 2 seed for NorCal on Sunday and hosts No. 7 Marin Catholic (17-9) in the first round of D-III play on Tuesday at 5 p.m.

The Wildcats upset No. 1 James Logan 8-6 for the North Coast Section D-II title on Saturday.

Sophomore Riley Knudsen scored twice for Aptos. Junior Bellame Breen had one goal, three assists, and two steals, and seniors Adriana Santillano and Sophie Contreras each added a goal.

Junior Madi Knudsen was key to the Mariners’ defense and also scored a goal.

Senior Giulia D’Souza had three goals and three steals for the Cardinals (14-9). Junior Violet Rubin had one goal and one steal.

Sophomore goalie Sage Steller-Croll made nine saves for Santa Cruz.

Aptos lost 6-3 to Stevenson in the 2023 final and 10-9 to Santa Cruz in the ’21 final. Both those finals were held at Hollister High.

Sacred Heart Prep 12, Soquel 2

ATHERTON — The No. 1 seed Gators, the country’s top-ranked team by maxpreps.com, beat the No. 2 Knights to repeat as Open Division champions and earn their 14th CCS title on Saturday.

The Knights’ Shelby White became the first female head coach to lead a team to the Open final.

The Gators, champion of the West Catholic Athletic League, led 1-0 after the first quarter after making a penalty shot, and 4-1 at the half.

SHP, stacked with U.S. National Team athletes and seniors bound for Division I programs, blew the game open in the third quarter, when they outscored the SCCAL champion Knights 7-0.

The youth-laden Knights feature just one senior in their starting lineup, two juniors, two sophomores, and two freshmen.

Junior Libby Forrest scored for the Knights on an outside shot in the first half, and junior center defender Natasha Ackerstein scored on a penalty shot in the fourth quarter.

Grace Graessle led Soquel with three steals and four kickouts drawn. Ackerstein, Natalie Salerno, and Keira “Kiki” Burke each made two steals.

Senior goalie Maddison Barwick recorded six saves for the Knights, who earned the No. 6 seed for the CIF D-II NorCal Regional playoffs and open at No. 3 Arroyo Grande (28-5) on Tuesday at 5 p.m.

The Eagles beat Clovis East 15-9 for the D-I Central Section title on Saturday.