Jeeter Ishida displays a strong arm on the pitcher's mound and in the pool.

Caton Smith shows fancy footwork on the soccer field and below the water line.

Eric Deer can outmuscle opponents on the wrestling mat and in front of the goal.

They are three of nine seniors who have found success on the Punahou water polo team, which is 3-0 this season in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.

The group has played water polo together for Punahou the past five years.

Out of the pool, most of the seniors have diverse sporting interests, and water polo is helping them get in shape for the other sports they'll be playing after the season.

Shaun Giancaterino, Spencer Dung and Brett Gomes will compete in swimming. No surprise there.

Ishida, a pitcher/third baseman, was The Advertiser's Baseball State Player of the Year last season.

The same right arm that fires fastballs and curveballs past hitters also puts balls past water polo goalies.

"Water polo and baseball are great cross training for my arm," Ishida said.

He played baseball and swam at a young age, but eventually gave up competitive swimming.

"It wasn't as stimulating for me, so I traded it for water polo," Ishida said.

He's among the Buffanblu's scoring leaders in water polo this season. In early March, he'll hit the diamond for the baseball team as the Buffanblu seek their fifth consecutive state championship.

"It's an odd combination, but it's been pretty easy to handle," Ishida said.

Smith, a forward/midfielder in soccer, is guaranteed to be in shape once soccer season starts, which is important because it's a quick turnaround.

"I focus in on water polo during season, but it's kind of tough because the (soccer) season starts up right after," he said. "So during water polo season I kind of have to do (drills) by myself to keep in the groove of soccer."

Smith said he'll likely miss all the Buffanblu's preseason soccer matches.

Last season, he was part of Punahou's state championship team.

Deer has been playing water polo since the eighth grade, and wrestling for only a couple of years.

"All the kids knew a lot of technique and I didn't know that much," Deer said of when he started wrestling. "I had to rely on my will and my conditioning to do better.

"Water polo definitely helps with the conditioning because you're constantly moving and swimming around."

Deer, who competes in the 152- and 160-pound weight classes, added "the physical aspect" of wrestling and water polo are similar.

"There is a lot of grabbing and dirty play going on in the water," he said.

Cameron Carter also plays basketball for Punahou, while assistant water polo coach Alan Lum also serves as an assistant coach on the Buffanblu girls basketball team.

Jack Roney (paddling) and Tim Steinmeier (surfing) compete in sports outside of school.

Roney, who paddles for Lanikai during the O'ahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association regatta (six-person) season, has crossed the Kaiwi Channel once on a paddleboard. He's done it three other times as part of a relay team.

"I've been paddling for about four years now. It complements water polo; you don't use the same muscles," Roney said.

Ken Smith has coached the Buffanblu since 1973 and they've won the ILH title every year except for three.

He's happy the seniors have stayed together through the years.

"In the seventh grade you could see the potential right there," Smith said. "A lot of times with a young group they'll head other ways, but these guys stuck together. They've done other sports, but stuck with water polo. Their attitude has never changed. It's the same as when I first met them."

Punahou has four regular-season matches remaining this season, and the ILH tournament Nov. 7 and 9. There is no state tournament for boys water polo.

"The tradition here has been a really strong one. Our team is pretty strong this year," Dung said.

"Once a week a bunch of the alumni come in and we get to scrimmage with them, so they help us out a lot. It's kind of a joke, but they always remind us we need to keep winning."

So far the Buffanblu have been winning impressively. They have outscored their three opponents 34-6.

"I'm hoping we can just keep riding this wave," Roney said. "We've been winning and we're in good shape."

Reach Kyle Sakamoto at ksakamoto@honoluluadvertiser.com.