By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

A new era in Palisades High boys basketball annals got underway last week at the Leon Wood Tipoff Classic and the Dolphins gave their fans and first-year coach Jeff Bryant reason for optimism, finishing 2-2 in the tournament at St. Monica High.

In its first game Nov. 19, Palisades led most of the way but lost to Da Vinci 52-48 despite the stellar debut of guard Tommy Pickens, a senior transfer from Grand Blanc, MI, who scored 26 points. Jack Levey added seven while fellow returners Mikal Sims and Mo Butler each had five.

“It felt new… we’re still learning  to communicate with each other,” said senior co-captain Aten Hassan. “Coach Bryant is doing a great job and we’ve gotten a lot better since the summer.”

The Dolphins resumed pool play the next day and beat Taft 74-52 led by Pickens’ 16 points, Butler’s 12 (on four 3-pointers) and Levey’s 10 points and five assists.

Bracket play began last Thursday and the Dolphins improved to 2-1 with a 72-51 victory over Western League rival LACES, last season’s City Open Division runner up.Sims scored 17 points, Levey had 16 with seven assists and Kye Davis, who 

just received a Division 1 offer from Pepperdine, added 11.

Despite losing to West Torrance 50-46 Saturday in their tournament finale the Dolphins found plenty to build on before returning to action Dec. 19-23 at the Winter Slam Jam.

“A nice start, but we have a long way to go,” Bryant said.

Palisades did not pick up its second win last winter until its 13th game on Dec. 30.

Palisades High and California football alums (l-r) Geoff McArthrur, Eric Beegun and Mitchell Schwartz reunited last weekend in Berkeley for the Golden Bears’ annual “Big Game” last Saturday against Bay Area rival Stanford. McArthur (Class of 2000) remains Palisades’ career leader in receptions (139), touchdown catches (35) and receiving yardage (2,517), won the Palisadian-Post Cup Award as the school’s outstanding senior athlete and went on to enjoy a stellar collegiate career at Cal, graduating in 2004 as the program’s all-time leader with 3,188 receiving yards. Beegun (Class of 2002) was an All-Western League first team selection in both baseball and football at Palisades before beginning a productive gridiron journey at Cal, where he contributed at tight end, H-back and on special teams from 2002-06 while earning his Bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies. McArthur and Beegun both played for Ron Price at Palisades and Beegun even returned to Stadium by the Sea on Nov. 1 to participate in a pregame ceremony in honor of his former coach. Schwartz (Class of 2007) was a four-year starting offensive tackle for the Dolphins (the last three under Coach Leo Castro), earning All-League and All-City honors as a junior and being named City Offensive Lineman of the Year as a senior. Following in the footsteps of his big brother Geoff, a three-sport star at Palisades and later an offensive lineman at Oregon and the NFL, Mitchell picked a Pac-10 program too. After redshirting in 2007, he started every game—a total of 51—over the next four seasons at either left or right tackle for the Golden Bears, missing only one snap because his shoelace snapped and had to be replaced. At the 2012 Senior Bowl, Schwartz started at right tackle for the winning North squad. Schwartz spent nine seasons in the NFL (four with Cleveland, five with Kansas City), including an iron man  streak of 7,894 consecutive snaps, was a starter on the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV championship team and, after undergoing back surgery that caused him to sit out the entire 2021 season, announced his retirement on July 14, 2022. He and his brother were both inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. McArthur, Beegun and Schwartz were thrilled to see their alma mater rally for two fourth-quarter touchdowns to defeat the Cardinal 24-21 Saturday afternoon in the schools’ first matchup as members of the ACC.

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

For the second time in three seasons, the Palisades High girls volleyball team reached the Southern California Regional finals. The Dolphins found themselves facing Central Valley Christian in Visalia last Tuesday with a berth in the CIF Division III state championship match at stake. The same two schools met in the Division IV regional final on the same court in 2022 and the host Cavaliers prevailed in three sets. This year was practically a carbon copy as the Dolphins’ suffered a season-ending sweep, but they got to host three playoff contests, downing Oak Hills of Hesperia in four, El Capitan of San Diego in three and Porterville in three.    

A second-place finish in the Western League earned the Dolphins the No. 3 seed in the eight-team City Open Division bracket and after eliminating defending champion El Camino Real in the quarterfinals they fell to rival Venice in four sets in the semifinals Nov. 5 to finish with a 30-12 record.

In recognition of their stellar play throughout the season, four Dolphins have garnered All-City Open Division honors. Selected to the first team are middle blockers Hazel Irving (a senior) and Annie Refnes (a junior). Making the second team are junior outside hitter Tulah Block and junior libero Lucy Neilson. Irving, a co-captain this season along with Neilson, was a first team choice last year as well.

Taft edged Venice in five sets in an epic final Nov. 9 for its first Open Division crown and Toreadors pilot Arman Mercado has been chosen Coach of the Year. Sharing Player of the Year accolades are Taft setter Francine Baltazar-Shine and outside hitter Aleiah Carr. Two other Taft players, libero Gianella Tijamo and outside hitter Eva Velarde are on the first team and senior middle blocker Colette Ejang is a second team pick.

Venice has three girls on the first team: outside hitter Gaia Adeseun-Williams, libero Pauline Lao and setter Kaya Richards. Junior outside hitter Samantha Lortie is on the second team.

Palisades captured the last of its record 30 section titles in 2020.       

Representing Palisades High for the last time November 20 at San Gabriel Country Club, senior golfer Anna Song sought to do the one thing she had yet to accomplish in her remarkable prep career: win a state title. In a field featuring the best high schoolers in California, the three-time LA City Section individual winner and four-time City team champion birdied two holes on the back nine to complete an even par 72 and tied for fifth place with Petra Lee of Pleasant Grove and Alexis Faieta of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. Song happened to be in the same threesome with Palos Verdes freshman Rina Kawasaki, who fired a three-under-par 69 and beat Zoe Jiamanukoonit of Torrey Pines with a birdie putt on the second playoff hole to win the championship.      

Song shot two over to place 18th at state at Poppy hills as a freshman and carded a two-under 69 to finish second last fall (also at Poppy Hills), three strokes behind Jiamanukoonit.

The Stanford commit broke her own City Finals record with a seven-under 65 on Nov. 7 at Balboa.    

Three former Palisades High girls basketball teammates have reunited at Emerson College in Boston and they have contributed to the Lions’ 4-2 start in 2024-25.

Sophomore twin forwards Elise and Taylor Arnold and junior guard Sofia Canter are seeing floor time. Elise had 10 points and Canter added four in a season-opening victory at Salem State; Elise had 10 points, Canter had eight and Taylor had two points and four assists in a win against Elms; Canter had eight points and Taylor had five versus Suffolk; and  Elise scored a game-high 20 points and six rebounds and Taylor had seven points and five rebounds versus University of New England.

Moments after Palisades High’s 12-year dynasty and 43-game City playoff win streak was halted by Cleveland on November 13 in  the Open Division final at Valley College, first-year head coach Theo Trask reminded his players that the season was not over.

The Dolphins qualified for the CIF

Southern California Regional Division III tournament, which they won in 2021 and 2022 and nearly three-peated last fall, losing in the  finals to Bonita.

Palisades was seeded No. 4 out of eight teams and beat No., 5 Palm Desert, the Southern Section Division 5 champion, 13-6 in the first round Nov. 19 at Maggie Gilbert Aquatic Center. In the semifinals two days later the Dolphins traveled to La Canada to face No. 1-seeded South Pasadena, the Southern Section Division 4 champion, and fell 10-5. The Tigers went on to defeat No. 3 Cleveland 12-6 in the final.

Prior to its finals loss to Cleveland Palisades had won 11 straight City titles and had not lost a City playoff game since the 2011 quarterfinals.

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Last season, the Palisades High girls basketball team got bounced out of the City and SoCal Regional playoffs in the first round and the Dolphins are determined to make deeper postseason runs this winter, led by

All-City guard Elly Tierney. They also want to improve on last year’s third-place finish in the Western League.

Other key returners for Adam Levine’s varsity squad include junior guard-forward Ayla Teegardin, senior guards Alyssa Ramirez and Annie Ammer, sophomore guard Olivia Lewis and sophomore forward Riley Oku.

The Dolphins went 17-13 one year ago, falling to King-Drew in the City Open Division quarterfinals, then having to wait nearly two weeks to host their Division III regional game as the No. 3 seed and losing to No. 14 Palos Verdes, 61-58.

The Dolphins open the season December 3 at 3 p.m. against Calabasas in the Westside Classic and continue the tournament against Camarillo the following day, also at 3:15 p.m. The schedule also includes nonleague matchups with Culver City, Valencia, Redondo Union,  Oak Park, Paramount and Moorpark. League play opens January 6 at University.

Pali High Boys Win Fourth in a Row, Girls Second at City Cross Country Finals

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Over the last several years, Palisades junior Blake Sigworth and Venice senior Paul Tranquilla have developed a mutual respect for each other, having gone head-to-head in numerous races. So it was no surprise that they were only strides apart heading up the last steep hill Saturday morning in the City Section Division I boys cross country final at Pierce College.

Spectators lined up behind the ropes 40 yards from the chute to see which runner would round the final bend in the lead and it was Tranquilla who left a cloud of dust behind on his way to a personal-best 14:44.6.

“The school record was 15:01 and I was definitely trying to break it,” Tranquilla said. “I was definitely pushed by Blake and Christopher and I needed it because last week at prelims I was all by myself. I’m not sure I could’ve pulled this off without those guys.”

San Pedro Christopher Frelix came in second in 14:53.0 and Sigworth settled for third for the second year in a row in 15:04.7, his PR at Pierce.

“Friendly competition is so important in this sport,” said Sigworth, who clocked 15:20.2 in the three-mile course last fall—26 spots ahead of Tranquilla. “There’s no hate between us. We bring out the best in each other. Today I took it out pretty hard which wasn’t the plan and I thought ‘why am I doing this?’ When I hit the last hill I was pretty gassed. This makes me more determined to win next year.”      

Palisades won its fourth consecutive team title and seventh overall as six of its seven runners clocked under 16 minutes. Senior Owen Lewicky (15:24.2) took seventh, junior Andrew Razo (15:44.8) was 13th, sophomore Mako Holt (15:50.5) was 14th and junior Zach Cohen (15:51.8)  was 15th. Rounding out the Dolphins’ lineup were freshmen Ethan Funk (15:54.8) and Theo Mayeda (16:10.5). Palisades’ total of 52 points was 29 better than runner up Granada Hills and while the collective winning time of 1:17:55.9 was impressive, it was well off the standard established by last year’s Dolphins (1:17:21.11).

Earlier, Palisades’ girls team fell short in its bid to defend the Division I title despite a strong score of 50 and four runners placing in the top 15. Freshman Maya Hively was third in 18:07.9, behind only North Hollywood’s Ananya Balaraman (17:38.0) and fellow junior Samantha Pacheco (18:04.7) from Granada Hills, which regained the crown with 37 points.

Zoey Morris, the winner as a freshman last year in 17:41.0, stumbled approaching the finish Saturday but still placed eighth in 18:45.5. Junior Louisa Mammen fell on the switchbacks but recovered to place 12th in 19:22.1. Sophomore Gabriella Gilyard (19:50.6) was 15th, junior Daila Harinck (19:56.3) was 20th, sophomore Kendal Shaver (20:02.3) was 21st and freshman Eleanor Mammen (20:37.1), was 30th.

“Give Granada Hills credit—they ran better than us today,” Pali High coach Rob Hockley said. “Hopefully, we’ll get our revenge at state. We’re a super young group: two freshmen, three sophomores and two juniors.”