Cuesta Men's Water Polo and Los Angeles Valley have been the kings of the Western State Conference (WSC) for past two decades.  The Cougars, who have won 45 conference titles since 1979, including the past five WSC Crowns, had never gone more than two years without a title until LA Valley Coach Jim McMillan ran off five in a row from 2014 to 2018.  The Cougars regained control of the circuit after that run, but the two teams annually meet in the WSC Title game, just before they both annually advance to the post-season.  Last Friday, they met Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa for the CCCAA Regional Quarterfinals, which marked the rivals fourth meeting in twenty days.  Their first meeting was the Golden West Tournament finale, and the Monarchs were the Cougars' fourth straight game against a ranked opponent.  LA Valley earned the nod, 17-12, but also knew they had to play at Cuesta four days later in SLO.  The Cougars defended their home tank with a win, 15-10, and, just ten days later, beat the Monarchs again, 15-14, on a last second shot, as Coach Greg Enloe led the Cougars to his second and the team's 5th straight WSC Crown.  The victory in the title game marked the second straight year the Cougars had clinched a WSC Crown over the Monarchs in the final minute.  In the playoff seeding meeting the Cougars were in a three-way tie with Orange Coast and Long Beach in their head-to-head matchups, so it went to common opponents, where the Cougars earlier loss to LA Valley, despite two recent wins over the Monarchs, helped set up a post-season showdown for the rivals. 

Cuesta, as the 4th-seed, earned the honor as the home team against 5th-seed LA Valley for a tournament held at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. The Cougars took the lead halfway through the first quarter, 2-1, but the Monarchs scored twice more before the buzzer and never relinquished their lead. The two teams traded goals all through the second quarter, however LA Valley got the first and last laugh before the intermission and went into the break with a three-goal lead, 8-5.  Cuesta scored four goals in the first four minutes of the second half to make it a game, but LA Valley netted the next five goals to take a six-goal lead into the final six minutes of regulation.  Cuesta rallied to outscore the Monarchs, 4-3, in the final frame, but it was not enough to earn the Cougars a third straight appearance in the CCCAA Regional Finals.  The Cuesta Poloists finished the 2024 campaign with the program's 32nd conference title and 45th consecutive playoff berth.  

Note- Post-season honors shall be announced after the conclusion of the 2024 CCCAA State Championships