By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Timing is everything and for LeBre Merritt, the time is now.  After serving as a varsity assistant to Palisades High girls basketball coach  Adam Levine, the 2010 Pali High graduate is getting his chance to lead his alma mater and he could not be more excited.

Last week, Levine announced he was stepping down after seven seasons in which he posted a 129-82 record and guided the Dolphins to three straight City Section titles from 2019-21, the first Division I followed by back-to-back in Open Division, and the SoCal Regional  Division II championship in 2020.

“I was with him for six years and learned a lot from Adam, not only on the court but also the admimnistrative side of things like scheduling and making sure parents are informed,” said Merritt, who turned 33 last month. “It’s like I’ve come full circle and I’m hitting the ground running. This is a chance to build my own legacy.”

Merritt stepped in to coach the boys team on an interim basis last winter after Donzell Hayes and his staff were asked to step away from the program days before the season started. The situation was far from ideal but after the Dolphins dropped 11 of their first 12 games Merritt righted the ship and    guided the boys to second place in the Western League and a berth in the Open Division playoffs as one  of the City’s top eight teams. He applied for the boys’ head job in the spring but it was given to former Valencia West Ranch coach Jeff Bryant instead.

“Probably the most valuable thing I took from that experience is patience,” Merritt said. “Given the situation I was put in I had to get the kids to buy in and the first 10 or 11 games it was tough, some players weren’t fully committed.”

When told he would be taking over the girls program, Merritt’s first instinct was to get to the gym at Paul Revere Middle School (the one at Pali High remains off limits) and begin creating an identity and culture for future players who could join the program, while also continuing to coach his Riptide girls club team.

Merritt was a point guard and captain his last two years at Pali High (playing under coach James Paleno) but fractured his ankle not once but twice. In 2006 he and his older brother Paul were victims of a drive-by shooting in South Los Angeles, but that frightening event only made him stronger. He relished the chance to coach his niece Demonnie Lagway at the same school he went to (she helped the Dolphins to three City titles, was voted City Player of the Year and just finished her junior season at Cal State Fullerton).               

Levine is proud to be passing the torch to his energetic assistant  and will continue to coach club basketball as he seeks a new challenge in his coaching career.

“I’m proud of what I accomplished at Palisades, expanding to three competitive teams, running a year-round program, sending 10 girls to play at the next level, from Division 1 to Division 3 and junior college, navigating through COVID and now the fires, it was challenging yet very rewarding,” said Levine, who had nothing but praise for his successor. “One of the best things for me was watching LeBre grow as a coach. Each year I gave him more responsibility. I fought for him to coach the boys last year when they needed an interim coach and he couldn’t have done a better job. He ended up not getting that position but was humble enough to come back and coach the girls this year. LeBre has overcome every obstacle he’s faced in his life and come out better and stronger. No one’s more dedicated and caring and I can’t wait to watch him lead the girls next season as a fan. I also want to thank one of our other assistants, Don Burke, who was vital to winning our first two championships, then came back last year to replace LeBre while he was coaching the boys and stayed on staff this year. He’s one of the best people I know and provided valuable insight.”           

Merritt is confident he can deal with any adversity, like not being able to practice on campus.

“My goal is to set the ground rules and boundaries right away,” he added. “I want the girls to play for each other and to compete at a high level.”

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

The Los Angeles City Section Ahletic Hall of Fame will honor its 2025 class at a ceremony from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 6, at the Odyssey Restaurant in Granada Hills and among the 35 recipients are four individuals from Palisades High.

The Legacy Group includes Harold Glenn “Bud” Ware,  a founding member of the Pali High faculty, who taught math while coaching boys and girls tennis in addition to football and basketball. Ware built the tennis program into a dynasty, piloting the Dolphins to nine City boys crowns from 1965-77 (including a then-record five straight from 1969-73) along with six City girls titles from 1975-84, He turned the boys’ program over to current coach Bud Kling just before the playoffs in 1979 and the team went on to capture the City championship that spring. Upon retirement, Ware lived in Topanga Canyon until he passed away in the summer of 2012 at the age of 86.

Another coach whio left an indelible mark in Pali High history is Dave Anderson, who arrived on campus in 1969 as a 25-year-old biology teacher. He took over the aquatics program in 1971 and coached for 22 years, through 1993, leading the Dolphins to six straight boys water polo titles (1973-78), eight varsity boys swim titles and 11 varsity girls swim titles. The 2025 inductee continued teaching until 1994 and in his last year at Palisades he was magnet counselor.

Representing the Class of 1978 is one of the finest athletes ever to wear a Pali High uniform—volleyball player Dave Saunders. Under legendary coach Howard Enstedt, he helped the Dolphins capture three consecutive City titles, was a key contributor on three NCAA championships at UCLA (twice earning All-American honors as the prmariy passer and starting outside hitter) and joined two other Pali High alums (Chris Marlowe and Steve Salmons) on the USA’s gold-medal-winning indoor team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He won gold again at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and represented the United States at the Pan American Games  in 1983 and 1987. He ended his international career in Italy before retiring and going into the radio business. His younger brother J.B. was a senior hitter on Pali High’s undefeated 1986 squad.

This will be the eighth class to be inducted every two years since the event’s inception in 2011 and another worthy inductee in the “Contributor” category  is 1979 Pali High graduate Jeanie Buss, now the president and controlling owner of the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2020, she became the first woman owner to lead her team to an NBA championship.

Buss, who grew up on Ranch Lane in Rustic Canyon, played on the golf team and was the stat  keeper for the boys basketball team at Pali High. When she was 17 she won the Miss Palisades Pageant (one of the judges was actor Adam West, who played the Caped Crusader in the Batman television series in the 1960s) and she began her career at the age of 19 while attending USC. She was general manager of the L.A. Strings (World Team Tennis) and later the L.A. Blades professional roller hockey team.

Also among this year’s inductees is longtime Pali High assistant coach Ron Hightower, a 1976 Eagle Rock High alum who taught tennis for many years at Riviera Country Club.

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor      

How quickly things can change in a softball game. Palisades

Palisades seemed in complete control Monday afternoon in its Western League opener at LACES. The Dolphins built a 9-0 lead behind the pitching of Karlee Sanders, but when she tired and got replaced with one out in the fifth inning the Unicorns exploded for nine runs over the next two frames and after her team regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth, Sarah Feldman kept the opponent off the scoreboard in the seventh to earn her first save and allow Palisades to escape with a 10-9 triumph.

Third baseman Samantha Ruvalcaba had a single, a home run and two RBIs while catcher Celia Elisha and utility Rikka Richardson each added a single, a double and two RBIs for the Dolphins (3-2). Sanders, Jocelyn Harrison and Olivia Stanley had two hits apiece.   Richardson, Amanda Brown and Amanda Silver each stole a base.

Sanders leads the squad in hits (11), RBIs (11), batting average (.611), on-base percentage (.600), and slugging percentage (1.167) and Feldman holds a 3.17 earned run average with 28 strikeouts in 28.2 innings pitched.    

Meanwhile, Palisades’ baseball team played its best game of the season Saturday despite a 2-1 tournament loss at Westlake. Jett Teegardin pitched a gem, giving up only four hits and one run in 5.2 innings before being relieved by Caleb Gitlin.

Needing a run in the top of the seventh inning to stay alive, Palisades staged a rally. Gitlin led off with a single, Roman Hawk laid down a sacrifice bunt and Hudson Ramberg drew a walk to set up Noah Andrews’ base hit that scored pinch runner Jack O’Brien.  A groundout and strikeout ended the inning. In the bottom half, the Warriors loaded the bases before winning on an error, but Dolphins coach Mike Voelkel liked what he saw from his team, which dropped to 4-5 heading into Saturday’s 11 a.m. nonleaguer at San Pedro.     

“I’m so proud of you because you showed up, battled to the last out and nearly won,” said Voelkel, who notched his 300th victory with Palisades on March 7 against Hamilton. “I don’t like losing, but we can build off this.

Earlier in the week, Palisades beat LACES 6-4 and 7-1 to even its Western League record at 3-3.       

The 40th annual Los Angeles Marathon was held Sunday, March 16. Over 26,000 runners participated in the 26.2-mile race, which started at Dodger Stadium and ended at Avenue of the Stars in Century City. Among them were 21 Palisadians (listed below). Three others ran the Charity Half Marathon: 46-year-old Will Redd (2:19:50), 16-year-old Natalie Redd  (2:19:51) and 43-year-old Margaret Nathanson (2:38:06) while 50-year -old Jose Nunez was eighth among men and 12th overall in the Handcycle Division in a time of 3:19:54.   

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

The CIF-LA City Section released its All-City basketball and soccer teams last week and Palisades High was well represented on each list. After being named Most Outstanding Player in the Western League, sophomore point guard Jack Levey made the Open Division boys basketball squad along with Dolphins teammate Tommy Pickens, a senior shooting guard. The two were instrumental in Palisades’ runs to the City semifinals and SoCal Regional Division III semifinals under first-year coach Jeff Bryant. The Dolphins took second place in league with a 9-3 record and finished 21-12 overall.

Junior Tajh Ariza of Open Division champion Westchester shared Player of the Year honors with senior Alijah Arenas of runner-up Chatsworth while Westchester’s Dewitt Cotton was named Coach of the Year.

In girls basketball, Palisades junior point guard and leading scorer Elly Tierney made All-City Open Division squad along with sophomore forward Riley Oku. Both were also first team All-League selections after leading the Dolphins to the City semifinals and SoCal Regional Division III semifinals under coach Adam Levine. The Dolphins finished third in league behind Hamilton and Westchester and wound up posting an overall mark of 17-16.

Hamilton seniors Jade Forte and Kinidi Curl were named Co-Players of the year after leading the Yankees to the Open Division title while Hamilton pilot Sherland Chensam was named Coach of the Year.

In girls soccer, Palisades’ two leading point producers both made the City’s inaugural Open Division squad: junior forward Mechal Green  (22 goals, 17 assists) and senior forward Leila Jafari (17 goals, 10 assists). The pair powered the Dolphins to the Western League title and the City semifinals, where they fell to defending champion Cleveland, 3-1. Coach Christian Chambers piloted Palisades to a 16-2-1 record and the No. 4 seed in the eight-team Open bracket.

Green and Jafari earlier made the All-League first team along with  teammates Caroline Quigley, Ava Loos and Alina Evans. Five Dolphins were selected for the second team: Erin Landis, Sibley Norris, Maya Hively, Ava Friedman and Maria Kneirim.      

Senior midfielder Ana De Los Santos of champion Granada Hills was chosen Player of the Year and Highlanders pilot Guilherme Mitrovitch was named Coach of the Year. Third-seeded Granada Hills defeated Cleveland 3-1 in the finals after upsetting No. 2 San Pedro in a shootout in the semifinals.       

Palisades’ boys soccer team also qualified for the eight-team Open Division despite finishing second in the Western League behind Venice.  The Dolphins were seeded No. 6 and lost on penalty kicks to third-seeded South East in the quarterfinals after the teams battled to a 0-0 draw through regulation and overtime. Palisades went 17-4-2 under first-year head coach Josh Figueroa. 

Senior midfielder Jack Spirito was the Dolphins’ lone selection for the All-City Open team, which consisted of the best 16 players from the highest playoff division.

El Camino Real edged West Valley League rival Birmingham 2-1 in  the championship game Feb. 28 at Valley College. Royals senior striker Bladimir Coto was named Player of the Year and El Camino Real’s Ian Kogan earned Coach of the Year accolades.

Private swim instructor Sharon Minasian Skowron was overjoyed to present many of her brave young students with shiny trophies upon completing their long distance freestyle swims before the Palisades Fire in January that destroyed their teacher’s house in the upper Bienveneda neighorhood and left countless kids and their families displaced.    

Replacement trophies from 2023 have been ordered as well as new ones for last year which some children did not get. In 2024, several swimmers were able to do over 30 laps in deep water with no fear. Kids traditionally come back year after year to try to break their own records and swim further.

Assisted by her two Golden Retrievers, 13-year-old Snowy and new puppy Flurry, Skowron is glad to report her pool is being salvaged and she remains committed to keeping her youth swim program alive this season at pools around the westside to keep community spirit and morale high until local residents are able to return.