Men’s water polo: Sleepy Hollow alums vied for NCAA title

A special season came down to a dramatic finish on Sunday for a Marin County duo reunited for a run at the NCAA men’s water polo national title.

Former Sleepy Hollow Aquatics (SHAQ) swimmers Wyatt Barker and Alexander Lansill hadn’t played on the same team together in at least five years, but the magic was still there all season as they helped guide the USC Trojans to the championship contest against rival Cal.

“Playing together this season is the kind of experience you won’t forget,” Lansill said.

With the NCAA men’s water polo national title hanging in the balance, Kentfield’s Barker scored two fourth-quarter goals. Each time, Cal answered back and, with the teams tied 12-12, Cal’s Nikos Delagrammatikas scored the deciding goal to defeat the Trojans, 13-12, for the title.

“The feeling throughout the season was great,” USC head coach Marko Pintaric said. “When you make it to the Final Four, that’s a testament to the guys’ hard work.”

SHAQ enjoyed an all-star reunion in Saturday’s NCAA’s men’s water polo semifinals, as four former Marin swimmers were in the pool for the contest. USC, with two goals from Barker, and a strong afternoon from Lansill, defeated UC Davis, 11-8, to secure a title berth.

“When we play UC Davis, it’s so special,” Lansill said. “We’re focused on the game before we get in the pool, but after the game, it’s all love and good friendship.”

SHAQ and Drake High (now Archie Williams) alum Logan Anderson scored twice for UC Davis, which also got a solid effort from Stefan Venne, who also played at Drake.

Anderson and Barker traded goals in the final two minutes of the second period before the Trojans took a 7-4 lead into the break.

Anderson’s second goal of the day closed the gap to 8-5 midway through the third period, and the Aggies were able to cut USC’s lead to 9-7 in the fourth period, but the Trojans got two goals late from Jacob Mercep in the final 63 seconds to seal the win.

Barker, a postgraduate transfer from University of the Pacific, had 26 goals this season, fifth among the Trojans. He arrived at USC looking to earn his Master’s degree in Finance and “improve my job prospects,” he said. Aware that USC had a perennial title contender in the pool, he joined the team as a walk-on … with a good word from Lansill.

“I wouldn’t be able to do this without (Lansill),” Barker said.

USC head coach Marko Pintaric recalled, “(Lansill) mentioned they had been teammates from the same area and that he’s a good guy and had potential. But Barker really earned his spot. He had a chance with us and he got it. He’s that great success story where he was given an opportunity and he took it.”

Playing for the national title as teammates is an experience Barker and Lansill haven’t enjoyed since their days with SHAQ.

“One of my early memories with T-Bone (Barker) is, well I came to SHAQ later than the other guys, and I remember T-Bone took a break to play football. But he came back to water polo and I was at the Drake pool and he arrives — he’s this tall guy with broad shoulders — and I said, ‘I get to play with this guy? This team is going to be great. I looked forward to playing together with him on the SHAQ squad.”

Barker, a 2017 US Junior National All-American honorable mention, led his Redwood High team to a 22-7 record as a senior and guided the Giants to back-to-back North Coast Section playoff appearances.

Lansill didn’t play his high school career in Marin County, but he was a 2017 All-League first team selection and a three-time All-Conference second team selection in his four years at St. Ignatius College Prep in San Francisco. He led his team to a 2018 NCS D-II Championship, the school’s first.

“Our SHAQ team was a special team,” Lansill said. “A majority of the kids went on to play at Division 1 colleges, so we’ve played with and against each other outside of the club. That time with SHAQ was something we can all cherish.”