He can’t get out of the water

Merrick Giles ‘24 is a student at VHS with many accolades already under his belt. He and the VHS water polo team made it all the way to the second round of the CIF tournament, eventually getting knocked out by Beckman High School 8-12. He’s also proficient in swimming, where the varsity swim team won the third place medal in the Division 3 2023 CIF-SS FORD Swimming Finals at Riverside City College. Merrick swam a 150 free in 23.41 seconds and a 200 free in 25.95 seconds. 

In water polo, he’s labeled as the “utility,” which is simply the flex player who can fill spaces where others can’t. He’s been playing water polo since he was a freshman, so he’s learned how to be a great attacker who was born for water polo, and his competitive nature only adds to his skill.

Evan Augusta ‘24, a good friend and teammate of Merrick, said, “He’s one of the most competitive people I know at this school.”

When he’s not in school or in water polo season, he plays for the Channel Islands United Club water polo team. Outside of the sport, he focuses on his schoolwork and his studies and loves to hang out with his friends, his girlfriend and his family. 

Giles believes that his greatest strength in water polo is his teammates. He believes that being able to facilitate them is his key to winning games, which has already shown success given their outstanding record in the 2022-23 season. 

 Once he’s done with high school, what he wants to do most is play water polo professionally. Some notable schools he’s interested in are Brown University, Princeton University, the University of Pacific and Santa Clara College, just to name a few. 

Giles is a student who received the honor roll sticker and patch last semester. He’s planning on taking the Spanish language all through his senior year and hopefully getting his bi-literacy seal so he has more job opportunities after his academic career is over. He’s a hard worker who loves his friends and family and values hard work and dedication above all.