"Watching 6-foot-6, 220-pound Connor Ohl of Newport Harbor High play water polo is similar to a Great White Shark sighting. You're stunned and in awe. He's water polo's version of a speeding dolphin in the pool, able to accelerate so fast with his long arms and powerful legs that few can stay with him. He won the Southern Section Division 1 50-yard freestyle title last spring and broke 20 seconds in a league meet (19.79),"
"Then comes his size and strength. He could be a football player because physicality comes naturally. Being the youngest of three water polo playing brothers, it was sink or swim in the Ohl household growing up in Greenwich, Conn. One brother plays for Stanford, where Connor will soon join him. Another plays at Princeton. Connor moved to Orange County last year for his junior season so he could be part of what he calls "the water polo hub of America.""
"This past summer, he was the youngest player on the USA junior national team that earned a silver medal at the under-20 world championships in Croatia. "It was such a crazy experience," he said. First there was playing the host team in front of screaming fans in an indoor pool. "Oh my God, It was so loud," he said. "They had drummers. You couldn't hear yourself think.""
"Then there was playing Serbia, known for its physicality. He was a boy going against men. "It's insane," he said. "Some are built like refrigerators." What Ohl learned from his international experience will help him immensely during a high school season in which Newport Harbor is the defending Southern Section champion and heavily favored to win again. The Sailors are off to a 6-0 start."
Connor Ohl combines rare size and sprint speed as a 6-foot-6, 220-pound Newport Harbor High water polo player. He won the Southern Section Division 1 50-yard freestyle title and recorded a 19.79 in a league meet. The youngest of three water polo-playing brothers, he relocated from Greenwich, Connecticut, to Orange County for his junior season and will join a brother at Stanford. He was the youngest member of the USA junior national team that won silver at the U-20 world championships in Croatia, where loud crowds and physical opponents like Serbia tested him. Newport Harbor began the season 6-0 as defending Southern Section champion.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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