Elius Graff Sets New 10K Record in 10th Edition of Local Thanksgiving Day Race

Story & photos by STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

On  a picture perfect Thanksgiving morning in the Palisades, 19-year-old Emily Suby put all of those gathered at Palisades High School’s Stadium by the Sea in a patriotic mood with her stunning rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner and a few minutes later a sea of children flocked to the starting line for the inaugural Kids’ Fun Run, a one-lap sprint around the track. Then, race founder David Houston hopped on his mint green Vespa pace scooter to send the field of 5/10K participants on their way in the 10th edition of the Pacific Palisades Turkey Trot, powered by reaktr.ai.

“I’ve been singing my whole life but I was pretty nervous,” admitted Suby, who attended Corpus Christi School, is a pre-med student at NYU and whose debut EP “Letters Unsent” will be released by summer 2025.      

The first runner across the finish stripe at the 50-yard line was 26-year-old Stephen Sloan, whose time of 16:15 for the 3.1-mile route through the El Medio Bluffs was seven seconds ahead of runner-up Luke Malinda  but 39 ticks off the record pace of 15:36 set last year by Wlliams College trackster Luke Zanuck.

“I grew up in Berkeley but my parents live here so I’ve run this race before,” said Sloan, a triathlete training for the Ironman World Championships. “It’s a little steep on the uphills but I like it.” Malinda, 22, who ran at Menlo College, called it “one of the best 5Ks I’ve been to.”

The first female finisher in 19:18 was 17-year-old Maddie Giorgio, a junior at Marlborough High who placed 10th in 18:07 in Division IV at the CIF state cross country championships in Fresno two days later.   

“I ran this last year with my dad but I got here super late,” said Giorgio, a lifelong Beverly Hills resident. “I like this course. A lot of my friends from school live in the Palisades.I didn’t have any time expectations—I just wanted to get a good race in before state. I kind of started off in the middle and said ‘I gotta get out of this pack.’” Santa Monica High track coach Tania Fischer set the 5K record of 18:47 in 2014.

Pali High alum and 2023 Post Cup Award winner Ava Baak, who was second among women last year, took third for the ladies in her hometown  race this time in 22:21.    

Instead of going down and back up Temescal, the new 10K route circled back through the El Medio neighborhood and setting a new time standard for the 6.2-mile distance was former Seattle Pacific University cross country and track runner Elius Gaff, whose 32:01 beat the previous record (set in 2019 by former Indiana University cyclist Craig Taylor) by 26 seconds.   

“The sunny weather today was welcome—I’m used to it being cloudy, raining and cold,” said Graff, who resides in San Jose and was staying at his fiancee’s sisters house in Marina del Rey. “My college buddy [Pali High grad Ben Hansen, who placed fourth in 34:11] is from here and he  encouraged me to run it with him.”

Winning the women’s 10K in 39:31 was 40-year-old Marissa Kellogg, who is originally from Malibu but now lives in Palo Alto. Not far behind in 40:12 was 2022 winner and Village resident Charlotte Kane, whose 9-year-old son Thor was first in his age group in the 5K in 22:39.

The event has grown in popularity since it debuted in 2013 thanks to its sponsors. Partnering this year with reaktr.ai, a groundbreaking initiative by Exela aimed at revolutionizing industry, were The Bay Theater, Hästens, Equinox, Palisades Village and Friendship Circle.

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The annual Palisadian-Post Football Contest, giving readers a chance to predict upcoming game winners, continues to week two.

“Every week, the Palisadian-Post will have a selection of NFL and college football games,” according to the contest rules. “Check the team you predict will win each game. The person with the most correct picks wins. In the event there is a tie, the tie-breaker will be used to determine the winner.”

There is an online submission process: Contestants can download or copy their entry form, fill in their picks, take a photo, and email it back to footballcontest@palipost.com by the 5 p.m. Friday deadline. This week’s deadline is Friday, December 13, at 5 p.m.

One entry per person per contest will be accepted. Winners will receive a $10 gift card from our contest sponsor, The Yogurt Shoppe, via email. Last week’s winner was Griffin Rowe (+9).

The sky is the limit for Brentwood School sophomore Amelia Sarkisian. The Eagles’ rising star tore up the course Nov. 30 in Fresno, clocking 17:31.8 to take first place in a field of 192 runners in the Division V girls race at the CIF State Cross Country Championships at Woodpark Park. Her 5:38.2-per-mile pace was good enough to beat runner-up Ella Mogannam from Lick-Wilmerding High in San Francisco by 15.6 seconds.

Sarkisian captured the Gold Coast League individual title Nov. 5, running the three-mile course on Brentwood’s campus in a personal-best 17:01.40, over two minutes faster than runner-up Zooey Jeong of Viewpoint. She also led the Eagles to second place in the team standings.   

Sarkisian lives in the Alphabet Streets and grew up playing basketball at the Palisades Recreation Center. She won the league cross country crown as a ninth-grader as well and in the spring she swept the 800, 1600 and 3200-meter races at the God Coast League Track Finals. She ran 17:17.4 to win the White Varsity Girls A Division at the Woodbridge Classic on Sept. 21  in Irvine and won the Small Schools Division in 18:46.5 at the Bellarmine/Sacred Heart Invitational in Griffith Park one week later.

The future is bright for Palisades High senior golfer Anna Song. At lunch on Monday, in front of her family, friends and teammates in the Dolphins’ gym (including younger sister Lauren, who is set to follow in Anna’s footsteps at Palisades next fall), she signed her national letter of intent with Stanford University, where she is poised to succeed at the Division I college level, just as she has in high school and SCGA Juniors.

“Anna is the best we’ve ever had,” proud Dolphins coach Dave Suarez said. “She’s accomplished more in high school than [Hall of Famer and Palisades alum] Amy Alcott did.” Song has led the Dolphins to four City team titles while capturing three straight individual crowns.

Alexandra Wolf and her younger sister Kingsley are among the top tennis players in their respective age groups but rarely do they get to play together. Over the summer they paired up to win the silver ball in the 16-and-under doubles division at the USTA Clay Court Nationals in Alabama. This fall, Lexi (a senior) and Kiki (a freshman) enrolled at Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks and they joined forces again for the CIF Southern Section Individual Doubles Tournament and advanced all the way to the final round on Dec. 5, where they lost 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 to  Stella Simpson-Morgan and Cassie Blakley of Palos Verdes.

The Palisadians from the Riviera won their second round match 6-2, 6-2, their quartyerfinal match 6-1, 6-0 amd their semifinal match 6-2, 6-3.  In the three preliminary rounds they did not drop a single game.

Both started playing at the age of 5, coached by their mom Alisha and they both played other sports growing up. They enjoyed playing on the same team high school team together for the first and last time. Both girls graduated from Corpus Christi and trained at the Palisades Tennis Center for years. They now hone their skills with  a private coach in La Canada.

The Palisades High football team had a chance to make history Nov. 30 at Birmingham High in Lake Balboa and players were confident  they could win the program’s first City Section football title. Making their second Division I finals appearance in three years the Dolphins fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter and were unable to handle the speed and athleticism of King/Drew all-purpose back Jahmir Torres, who scored six touchdowns—three rushing, two receiving and one on an 89-yard  punt return—in the Golden Eagles’ 56-35 triumph.

The fifth-seeded Dolphins never gave up and matched sixth-seeded King/Drew score for score in the second half. Jack Thomas completed 17 of 46 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns (two of them to Maz Hejazi) and scored on a quarterback sneak. Deveron Kearney scored on a two-yard run, Harrison Carter caught three passes for 65 yards and a touchdown and Nico Townsley led the defense with 11 tackles. Palisades finshed 11-3 in its second season under coach Dylen Smith.

There were plenty of handshakes and hugs exchanged Sunday afternoon in Mercer Hall where the Palisades High football program held its annual postseason awards banquet following one of the Dolphins’ most successful seasons ever.

“I’ve never had more fun with a group of players than I have this season,” second-year head coach Dylen Smith said. “I want to thank each and every one of you for your hard work and dedication. This journey began back in February in the fog and cold on Saturdays and the defense kicked our butts for six or seven weeks straight, but once the offense figured it out we were pretty much unstoppable.”

Palisades racked up 582 points in 14 contests (an average of 41.5 per game), notched 11 victories, finished second in the Western League and reached the City finals for only the fourth time in school history.     

JV coach Christian Feathertstone presented awards to his players: Aleco Ulloa won Rookie of the Year;  Fiinegan Viles was Offensive Player of the Year; Enzo Allen was Defensive Player of the Year; Tom Levias Passman was Lineman of the Year and Malachi Ross, who led the team in touchdowns, was named MVP.

After watching a slideshow/video presentation from the Pali QB Club highlighting the varsity season, Smith returned to the podium and announced senior center/guard Josh Chinchilla as winner of the Coaches’ Award for Offense. Linebackers coach Kelly Loftus gave Cash “the Money Man” Allen the Coaches’ Award for Defense. Offensive line coach Syr Riley could not help feeling nostalgic presenting the In the Trenches awards for he was an All-City lineman for the Dolphins.  

Liam Giannantonio and Kenneth Sanchez were given the honors and senior tackle Cole Ward won the Pancake Award.

“Mad Max” Hejazi was named Offensive Skill Player of the Year after catching a team-best 49 passes for 784 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Cornerback Jayden Joch was Defensive Skill Player of the Year. Riley gave the Larry Palmer Offensive Lineman Award to senior tackle Mitch Ghotanian. Returner LeHenry Solomon and kicker Jack Malloy were Co-Special Teams MVPs; Harrison Carter was named Offensive Player of the Year and linebacker Jake Treibatch, the team leader with146 tackles, was Defensive Player of the Year. Quarterback Jack Thomas won the Joe Spector Award as Team Most Valuable Player after throwing for 46 touchdowns and running for 12 more.