Junior Olympics feature four locals

Two Laguna Beach Age Group Water Polo teams are done with tournament play and two more currently are involved in action at the 2007 S&R Sport Junior Olympics water polo championships at San Jose.

Laguna Beach's boys' 12- and 14-and-under teams completed tournament play Tuesday, earning 15h- and 11th-place finishes, respectively.

Laguna Beach's 12-U and 14-U girls' teams began tournament play Thursday and play again today.

Eight days of competition in San Jose features the top middle and high school-aged players from around the nation. The boys' tournaments began July 28 and concluded Tuesday.

The girls' tournament runs through Sunday. More than 300 teams entered the eight-day event. The Laguna 14-U girls' team, which headed north Wednesday and was to scrimmage Stanford later that night, finished in seventh-place at last year's tournament.

"We're looking to improve on seventh-place," said Jessie Holechek, 14, who will be competing in her fourth Junior Olympics.

Holechek will be a freshman at Laguna Beach High in September.

"Last year we were the youngest team in the division and this year we have more experience," she said. "This team has been together for a while and this tournament is kind of our last time we will be playing together as a team."

Holechek's teammate, Jessica Shusko, who also will enter her freshman year at Laguna Beach High next month, said this last go-round for the team has her motivated.

"I'm looking forward to being with my teammates one last time, before I enter high school," the 13-year-old, a hole set, said. "This is my sixth year in the program and this group has been together for six years and we know each other very well.

"I think we have the talent to win this tournament. Santa Barbara will be our biggest competition and it will take team work to win the title."

Following the Junior Olympics tournament, Laguna's 14-U team will play in the 39th annual Hawaiian Invitational water polo tournament on Oahu.

More than 100 teams are expected at the tournament which begins Tuesday and goes through Aug. 12.