Dolphins’ Water Polo Dynasty Ends

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

While Palisades Charter High School players watched helplessly as the final seconds ticked off the clock last Wednesday, November 13, in the pool at Valley College, they came to the realization that one of the most impressive runs in City Section history was coming to an end.

The Dolphins’ latest water polo dynasty began after its 14-3 loss to Cleveland in the quarterfinals of the City playoffs in 2011 when Adam Blakis resurrected the program more than three decades after it had won six straight titles from 1973-78, after which the sport was dropped.

So it may have been fitting that Cleveland was the team that snapped Palisades’ 43-game City playoff win streak and its record 11 straight City titles with a 15-4 triumph, the same margin by which the Dolphins had suffered their last section playoff defeat 13 years earlier.

Blakis was not on hand to witness the streak buster, having handed the reins of the program over to Theo Trask, who played an integral part in the dynasty, recording a school single-season record 123 steals as a senior in 2018 while captaining the blue and white to a seventh straight title.

Palisades had needed late heroics from Charlie Speiser to get by Birmingham 13-10 in the semifinals, a sign that this version of the Dolphins was not as dominant as past teams. However, the mystique surrounding Palisades’ program was palpable—and it took a veteran Cavaliers squad that won the City’s inaugural Division I championship last year to dethrone the champions in the Open final last week.

Arman Tarakhchyan netted seven goals while Arthur Petrosian added four for the No. 2-seeded Cavaliers (17-9), who secured their third section crown and first in the Open Division, which debuted last fall. Speiser and Hudson Mirzadeh each scored twice for top-seeded Palisades (12-17), which had beaten Cleveland twice in the finals during its dynastic run—16-9 in 2019 and 22-7 two years later.

The game was tied 3-3 after the first quarter, but the Dolphins managed only one goal over the final three quarters, that coming with 6:04 left in the contest and the Dolphins down by eight goals. Cleveland led 6-3 at halftime and put the game out of reach with four unanswered goals in the third quarter—something the Dolphins are used to doing to their opponents.

“Usually in the finals we come out hot and bury them, but this team today had a good defense and if you don’t do that the other team starts believing it can win,” Trask said. “It was a rough year but this team has so much potential moving forward … we’ve only got three juniors. It’s more fun being in the water but it’s nice to be able to pass down your knowledge.”

Trask, who served as an assistant to Blakis last year, was quick to note the Dolphins’ season is not over. They qualified for the SoCal Regional Division III tournament and are seeded fourth in the eight-team bracket. Trask helped Palisades capture its first regional title his senior year and would like nothing better than to win one as coach.

Palisades would get another crack at Cleveland, provided both teams reach the finals Saturday, November 23.