The Dexter water polo team is headed to the Great Eight.
The Dreadnaughts advanced out of the Saline Regional last weekend to qualify for the MWPA State Championships this weekend at East Kentwood High School.
Dexter will face Grand Haven at 5:10 on Friday. The winner will play the winner of the Hudsonville-Grand Blanc game at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.
The finals game will be played at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
There also are other games to determine the top eight spots – so it’s not win or go home this weekend.
The Dreads had a great run at Saline on Oct. 27-28. They opened the regionals with a 7-5 win over Birmingham Groves and then doubled-up Ann Arbor Huron in the next round 12-6. Dexter lost to top-seeded Okemos 12-9 in the finals but still advanced to the Great Eight.
Huron also advanced by taking third at Saline. The River Rats open with Rockford at 7:45 p.m. on Friday in a first-round matchup. Okemos plays Zeeland in the other first-round game.
Hudsonville comes into the finals as the No. 1 ranked team in the state. Rockford is No. 2, followed by Okemos, Dexter, Grand Haven and Huron.
The Dreadnaughts head to East Kentwood with an impressive 29-11 overall record for the season, including postseason games in Districts and Regionals. They finished third in Districts and second in Regionals.
Dexter is led by a solid group of seniors including Grisha Griffiths, Henry Gaetino and Colin Strang.
Dexter is coached by Brian Semple. The assistant coach is Adam Theros.
Dexter Water Polo Roster
Grisha Griffiths #6 Captain Senior
Henry Gaetino # 8 Captain Senior
Colin Strang #5 Senior
Luke Sayler #21 Junior
Mitchell Sterlitz #9 Junior
Kellen Porter #19 Junior
Jack Blodgett #4 Junior
Paul Schaefer #18 Junior
Griffin Bartscht #22 Junior
Michael Baumann #15 Junior
Aiden Anderson #10 Junior
Tony Golin #1 Sophomore
Ben Duncan #13 Sophomore
Leo Varitek #7 Sophomore
Sam Sterlitz #12 Freshman
Joe Sharon #2 Freshman
Jack Potsos #14 Freshman
Daniel Bialowcz #17 Freshman
Tristan Lorincz #3 Freshman
For more information on the finals tournament this weekend, log onto https://www.michiganwaterpolo.com/~mwpa/boys/postseason
