Many top young beach volleyball players hit the sands of Hermosa Beach last weekend when the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) hosted its 20th edition of the Junior National Championships.
The two-day tournament was highlighted by a boys 18U gold-medal match that pitted athletes from teams that, just over two months ago, were battling for Bay League title during high school’s indoor volleyball season.
Recent Mira Costa graduates Grant Chalmers and Riley Mallon defeated former league adversaries and Palos Verdes graduates Andy Benesh and Cole Fiers for the gold medal and bragging rights on the sand.
The four were teammates on the Southern California Volleyball Club’s 18’s indoor team that placed fifth in the nation at the USA Volleyball Junior National Championships on July 4 where Mallon and Fiers were named to the all-tournament team.
Also enjoying success on the beach was the Manhattan Beach team of Matt Reilly and Ian Schwan who took home bronze medals in the 18U division.
In the boys’ 16U division, Manhattan Beach’s Casey McGarry continued his successful summer by winning the silver medal with partner James Thomas of Mission Viejo. McGarry was named tournament MVP after leading his SCVC 15’s indoor team to a national championship in Reno, NV.
The Hermosa Beach duo of Sam Caldwell and Tanner Smith were defending champions in boys 16U competition but settled for bronze this year.
Local athletes emerged victorious in the boys 14U with Luke Grafton (Hermosa Beach) and Dane Johnson (Manhattan Beach) capturing gold medals.
In the boys 12U division, Will Campbell (Manhattan Beach) and Johnny Anselmo (Thousand Oaks) were silver medalists while the Manhattan Beach team of Lauch Farris and Will Bond took home the bronze.
In girls 10U competition, Jaclyn LaCroix (Torrance) and Savannah Standage (San Pedro) won gold by defeating Leah Kelly (Manhattan Beach) and Nicaylah Iamleava (Carson). The Manhattan Beach duo of Sophia Cole and Madison McGrail won bronze.
In the girls 12U division, Maia Hannemann (Hermosa Beach) and Mandalay Rennon (Santa Margarita) defeated Lindsey Kelly (Manhattan Beach) and Zoe Almanza (Los Angeles) in the gold-medal match. Olivia Sampras (Rancho Palos Verdes) and Harper Haligren (South Lake, TX) were bronze medalists.
The Manhattan Beach team of Presley Forbes and Sunny Villapando duplicated their bronze-medal finish of 2012 in the 14U division.
In 16U competition, Katie Barkley (Manhattan Beach) and Camille Davey (San Clemente) won gold while Emma Smith (Manhattan Beach) and Nicole Anderson (San Diego) were bronze medalists.
Winning bronze in the 18U division was Zana Muno, of Hermosa Beach, who has enjoyed success with a variety of partners. She teamed with Raeann Greisen, of San Diego, for competition in the Junior Nationals.
On July 7, the Junior California Open took place in Long Beach where Abril Bustamante (Redondo Beach) and Grace Campbell (Manhattan Beach) captured gold in the girls 16U division.
In the girls 12U competition, Bella Giaquinta (Manhattan Beach and Olivia Sampras (Rancho Palos Verdes) took home silver medals while Emily Mitter (Redondo Beach) and Myers Rodberg (Manhattan Beach) won bronze.
Winning silver in the girls 10U were LaCroix and Standage.
Local athletes excelled in boys competition. In the 14U division, Grafton team with Luke Snyder (Manhattan Beach) to win gold with Archer Defterios (Hermosa Beach) and Matthew Johnson (Manhattan Beach) winning bronze.
It was an all-South Bay final in the boys 12U division with Campbell and Sebastian Rodriguez (Hermosa Beach) defeating Michael Zucker (Manhattan Beach) and Eric Yeich (Palos Verdes Estates).
The AAU’s Southern Pacific Beach Volleyball Committee will be hosting the final two events of its four-part Summer Series on Tuesday and Thursday at Marine Street in Manhattan Beach.
Competition begins at 9 a.m. and features boys 16U/14U/12U and girls 18U/16U/14U/12U/10U divisions. Open to AAU members, the cost of the tournament in $53.49 per player. The tournament is also a qualifying event for the West Coast AAU Junior Olympic Games held in Hermosa Beach July 27-30.
Six local athletes captured gold medals in the first tournament with the team of Mitter/Rodberg taking top honors in the girls 12U division and the Manhattan Beach team of Forbes/Villapando winning the girls 14U title.
Redondo Beach’s Dominique Dodd teamed with Isabel Carey (Westlake Village) to win gold in the girls 16U competition and Muno won gold in the girls 18U division with partner Sarah Sponcil, of Phoenix, AZ.
For more information, visit aaubeach.org or contact Gino Grajeda, spvcvolleyball@hotmail.com.
