The Ripon High senior achieved several milestone moments in his life and water polo career in just the last two weeks.

In the middle of it all was his team’s most frustrating loss of the season, which turned into a blessing in disguise.

Now, Biedermann and the rest of the Indians can call themselves NorCal champions, and he’s an NCAA Division I signee, to boot.

Ripon had never won a game in the NorCal playoffs until last week. The top-seeded Indians won three in a span of five days, fending off No. 3 Los Altos 16-10 for the Division III title at Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton. They finished the winningest season in program history with a 29-6 record.

Biedermann headed a strong senior class that was a major contributor to three Sac-Joaquin Section championships — two in Division III, one Division II. They came up just short of a fourth SJS crown, but that only helped set them up well for their NorCal run.

“We started off with eight or nine freshmen in my class, and we played together every year,” Biedermann said. “It’s a brotherhood. It was a lot of fun winning section championships and now a state championship with most of the same guys all four years.”

On Nov. 16, Ripon faced Rocklin in the SJS Division II final at Roseville Aquatics Center. It was a rematch of the 2023 D-II title game won by the Indians, 14-13.

Rocklin got its revenge, winning by the same score and in sudden-death, triple overtime. Ripon trailed all game until Biedermann spearheaded a comeback that catapulted the team to a short-lived lead in the second overtime. Biedermann scored his team-high fourth goal with 10.9 seconds left in the second OT, giving the Indians a 13-12 lead. Rocklin answered with Damon Winton’s goal with 2 seconds remaining, and he scored the game-winner in the sudden-death period.

The Indians’ spirits were lifted 24 hours later, when the CIF released its regional brackets. Ripon was dropped to Division III and awarded the top seed.

“We fought hard in the D-II section (final), and we had our heads down until the next day when we saw the seedings for NorCal,” Biedermann said. “It was a gift to go down to D-III and get the 1 seed.

“The goal the whole season was to win a state title, because we have never done that before. Last year, we lost in triple overtime to the No. 1 seed of Division II (for NorCals).”

The Indians began their march to the NorCal championship last Tuesday, Nov. 19 with a 20-5 clobbering of No. 8 Cabrillo from Lompoc. Two days later, they held on to defeat No. 4 Valley Christian of San Jose, 11-10. Biedermann assisted Mathew Lee’s game-winner with 5.6 seconds to go.

Biedermann keyed Ripon’s win over Los Altos with his all-around play, converting five of his six goal attempts while recording six steals and five assists. For the week, Biedermann totaled 13 goals, 11 steals and 10 assists.

“I play for my team and do whatever I need for them, whether it’s scoring, defense or giving other people opportunities (to score),” Biedermann said. “We just play for each other.”

Biedermann celebrated some personal achievements along the way.

He was named All-Valley Oak League MVP, signed a National Letter of Intent to play water polo for the University of the Pacific. He officially signed on Nov. 13 after Ripon’s 13-10 semifinal win in the SJS playoffs.

Biedermann will be a fourth-generation student at UOP. He plans to study orthodontics.

“Ever since I was little, my dream has always been to be a water polo player at UOP,” Biedermann said. “I pretty much grew up on that campus and have always gone to their games. A lot of the best players from the area and the Central Valley go to UOP, and I want to continue that legacy. They have a great team, and it’s a great school.”