River City High School varsity water polo programs (boys and girls), winners of the 2024 Monticello Empire League Championships. Photo courtesy

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - Congratulations to the River City High School varsity water polo programs, winners of the 2024 Monticello Empire League (MEL) Championships. The boys' team takes home the 2024 league championship and the girls' team celebrates back-to-back league championship wins this year and last. 

"We are excited about the continued growth and development of our programs. This is the first time in the program's history that both the girls and boys have won league titles at the same time. It’s a tremendous accomplishment for both teams." Head Coach Ryan Mosley said.

River City High Raiders girls water polo team celebrate a 2024 MEL league championship. Photo courtesy

After winning the 2023 Metropolitan League Championship, the varsity girls program graduated eight seniors leaving the current roster with an uphill battle in 2024. Featuring a starting line-up composed of two juniors, three freshman, a sophomore and a senior new to the sport, it took time for the Lady Raiders to find their groove. However, the girls developed a prolific scoring attack led by the tandem of Reagan Eisberg and Catharina Habda-Guimaraes. As a junior, Eisberg earned national recognition as the MaxPreps leading goal scorer for all varsity girls programs. Meanwhile, freshman Habda-Guimaraes finishes out regular season play as one of the top ten goal scorers in the Sac-Joaquin D1 Section. On the other side of the ball, the team was anchored by the defensive work of junior Reese Castro. Putting together an overall regular season record of 17-9, the Lady Raiders went undefeated in league play, taking home the Championship in their first MEL season. 

Led by the league’s leading scorer and senior Joshua Stone-Eisberg, the varsity boys had an equally challenging task entering the 2024 season. Like their counterparts on the women’s side, the 2023 varsity boys program graduated six starting seniors in a season that saw the boys finish second in the Metropolitan League Championships. With only two returning seniors in the line-up, the varsity boys program featured four freshman and one sophomore in the starting line-up this season.

River City High Raiders boys water polo team after championship game against rivals Rodriguez High School on Oct. 30. Photo courtesy

Despite their youth, the boys remained determined to improve and make their mark. In the end, the varsity boys would end regular season play with three offensive players ranked in the top 15 of goal scorers for the Sac-Joaquin Section (Joshua Stone, Bryce Rosenquist, and Caleb Eisberg), while freshman Elijah Stone would end regular season play locking down the team's defensive efforts with an impressive 199 saves. The end result was an upset victory in the league championship game against rivals Rodriguez High School.

Once again, congratulations to the River City High School varsity boys and girls programs on an historic season.