Palisades High Basketball Teams Advance to CIF Southern California Regional Division III Semifinals 

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Five years ago, the Palisades High girls basketball team was on the brink of history but never got a chance to make it. The Dolphins were SoCal Regional champions and all set to face Oakland Tech for the CIF Division II state championship in Sacramento. However, the finals were cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, leaving coach Adam Levine and his team to ponder what might have been.    

This winter, the program faced a different but every bit as devastating type of adversity: the Palisades Fire in January, which damaged the campus and left the Dolphins without a gym to play or practice in for the second half of the season. They persevered, made the City Open Division playoffs, and reached the semifinals. Then, when the regional brackets were released, they found themselves seeded No. 1 in Division III and with a fresh opportunity to reach the state finals.

Hoping to author a storybook ending to their challenging season, the Dolphins began their quest to become the school’s first basketball state titleists with a 59-45 victory over 16th-seeded El Toro last Tuesday  at Birmingham High in Lake Balboa­­, which served as their “home away from home” throughout the tournament. Sincere Aubrey led the charge with 25 points and Elly Tierney contributed 16 as Palisades was in control from the opening tip. Two nights later, the Dolphins took on El Cajon Christian in the quarterfinals and this time Tierney and Alyssa Ramirez each scored 30 points and Ayla Teegardin, whose home in the Via Bluffs burned down in the Palisades Fire, added 10 in a 76-56 win.

On Saturday, the Dolphins’ opponent was fifth-seeded Mater Dei of Chula Vista and the Crusaders overcame a five-point halftime deficit to forge a two-point lead in the final seconds. Palisades got the ball in the hands of its season leading scorer for one final possession. Tierney drove the lane and her layup rolled around the rim and off. Players on both teams battled for the rebound but no one could control it before the buzzer sounded and Mater Dei escaped with a 57-55 victory. Tierney scored 18 points and Aubrey hsd eight as the Dolphins finished 17-16.

Meanwhile, the Pali High boys team was also seeded No. 1 in Division III for regionals after winding up second place in league and losing to top-seeded Chatsworth in the semifinals of the City Open Division bracket under first-year coach Jeff Bryant.            

In the first game of last Tuesday’s boys-girls doubleheader, Bryant’s squad ran 16th-seeded Righetti off the floor 82-50 behind 18 points from Tommy Pickens and 12 apiece from Eli Levi and Kye Davis. Mo Butler and Julian Cunningham each added 10 for the Dolphins, who carried a commanding 40-19 lead to the locker room.

On Thursday, the boys played after the girls in the quarterfinal round and Palisades was hot from the start against eighth-seeded Bakersfield North. The Dolphins made eight three-pointers in the first quarter, four of them by Pickens­, to take a 28-17 lead and the gap grew to 14 points by halftime. Pickens finished with 17 and Davis had nine to offset an 18-point effort by the Stars’ Wyatt Haner.

On Saturday, the boys capped the doubleheader by seeking to avenge the girls’ loss just before and sophomore guard Jack Levey’s long-range shooting kept the Dolphins close to fifth-seeded San Gabriel Academy.At intermission, Palisades trailed 31-26 as both teams had players in foul trouble. The Eagles extended their lead to 10 going into the fourth quarter and an 8-0 run with five minutes left put victory out of reach for the home team. Levey finished with 17 points while Davis added 11 as the Dolphins’ season ended in a 63-45 loss. They finished 21-12 after their deepest state run since reaching the Division IV regional finals in 2020 under coach Donzell Hayes when they beat Bakersfield Independence, San Ysidro and St. Pius X before falling to Bakersfield Christian. The only Palisades team to play for a state hoops title was the 1998-99 girls squad (coached by Kevin Hall) that lost to Archbishop Mitty 49-48 in the Division I final at Arco Arena.

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Palisades High baseball coach Mike Voelkel reached a number few coaches can last Friday at North Venice Little League. The Dolphins beat Western League rival Hamilton 7-4 to give their coach his 300th victory with the blue and white and afterwards he took it in stride, as he had the previous 299.

“It’s great… a big milestone in California and losing one year to COVID,” said Voelkel, now in his 18th season at Palisades after having relocated to Southern California from the state of Washington, where he coached at Hoquiam and Aberdeen high schools in Grays Harbor County in the 1990s. “It just means that I’ve been doing this awhile. Down here teams play year-round so being able to practice over a longer period of time makes a huge difference. Also, there are more schools in LA than in the Pacific Northwest so there’s more talent since more kids are playing.”   

Voelkel entered the 2025 season two wins shy of 300 and crept to within one of the mark after Palisades’ 6-1 triumph over Kennedy on March 1. On Friday, Ian Sullivan (four innings) and Max Miller (three) handled the pitching while Andreas Konnari got two hits to pave the way to victory. Palisades, despite not being able to play or practice at George Robert Field as a result of the Palisades Fire, began the season with back-to-back lossses to reigning league champion Venice. The teams will meet a third time April 23.    

Since taking the reins from Tom Seyler in 2008, Voelkel has piloted the program to 20 or more wins six times. Under his leadership, the Dolphins have made the playoffs every year except 2013 and last year marked the first time they failed to make the highest division.

Voelkel has posted an exceptional record in league play, guiding the Dolphins to 11 league crowns, including a 72-game winning league streak from 2017 to 2024. Palisades advanced to the City Open Division championship game at Dodger Stadium in 2019 and has made the semifinals at USC twice under Voelkel, in 2014 and 2023.      

AYSO Region 69, consisting of Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Topanga and parts of Santa Monica, in collaboration with its affiliate Aspire Soccer Coaching, is moving forward with its Spring League program.

Registration is now underway for March 15-22 with a pause for Spring Break April 14-20. Games start this Saturday, so register as soon as possible.                                             on the website: //form.jotform.com/Corinne_Coach/pal.

All activities will take place at Paul Revere Middle School with the following weekday options:

Tuesdays or Thursdays from 4:15-5:15 p.m. for U5, U6, U7 and U8; Tuesdays or Thursdays  from 5:15-6:15 p.m. for for U10 and U12. All weekday participants also play games on Saturdays. The schedule is as follows:

U5, U6, U7 and U8 Boys from 8:30-10 a.m.; U5, U6, U7 and U8 Girls from 10-11:30 a.m.; U10 and  U12 Boys and Girls from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Families that have relocated or face challenges with road closures can choose a Saturday-only program combining practice and game experience in a single day.Region 69’s staff includes coaches Pete, Louis, Corinne and Cindy, who are more than just instructors. Families that lost their homes will receive a 50 percent discount on Spring League registration. Please use the coupon code HOMELOSS during checkout. Registrations after March 15 are welcome.

For questions or information, call or text (818) 570-3829.

The Western League was the best in the City Section in basketball this winter as three boys and three girls teams made the Open Division. Many Dolphins earned All-League accolades, led by sophomore guard Jack Levey, who was named Most Outstanding Player. Joining him on the first team  are Tommy Pickens and Kye Davis. Making the second team were Julian Cunningham and Mikal Sims and honorable mentions were Eli Levi and Aten Hassan.

For the girls, Elly Tierney, Riley Oku, Sincere Aubrey and Ayla Teegardin made the first team and Alyssa Ramirez and Olivia Lewis made the second team. In girls soccer, first-teamers are Mechal Green, Caroline Quigley, Leila Jafari, Ava Loos and Alina Evans. Second-teamers are Erin Landis, Sibley Norris, Maya Hively, Ava Friedman and Maria Kneirim.

Zach Ritts had an afternoon to remembeer last Saturday. In the second game of a doubleheader against Asbury, the Oberlin College senior third baseman stole seven bases to set a school and North Coast Athletic Conference record. His total tied him with  three other players for the second-most steals in a single game in NCAA Division III history. Isaac Taylor of Transylvania set the record with eight swipes versus Centre on April 2, 2018.     

Ritts is enjoying life in Ohio. He has started eight of the first nine games for the Yeomen, colelcting six singles, one double, seven RBIs and five runs scores. After his record-setting performance he improved to 12-for-12 in stolen base attempts.    

Ritts grew up in the Highladns, played in the PPBA, went to Marquez Elementary and Paul Revere Middle School and was the opening day pitcher for Pali High his senior year in 2021, allowing one hit and zero runs in four innings to beat Narbonne. He went on to earn second team All-Western League recognition and was joined at Oberlin by league MVP and All-City infielder Kyle Grassl.

A trip to the first-ever City Open Division girls soccer final was at stake Feb. 25 when fourth-seeded Palisades traveled to Woodland Hills to take on top-seeded Cleveland at Taft High. It was a rematch of last year’s Division I semifinal and once again the Cavaliers prevailed, building a 3-0 lead before the Dolphins managed to score on a penalty kick just before full time.

In the quarterfinals five days earlier versus No. 5 GALA, Ava Loos and Mechal Green scored in regulation and Palisades (16-2-1) prevailed 5-3 in a shootout.

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

When she accepted the role of starting pitcher for the Palisades High varsity softball team, freshman Sarah Feldman knew she had big shoes to fill. However, she has shown the poise of a veteran so far, throwing every inning of the Dolphins’ season so far and earning the respect of her teammates with her tenacity and poise in the circle.       

“I started playing when I was 9 and my first season I played outfield,” Feldman said. “When I was 10 I convinced my coach to let me pitch and I’ve done it ever since.”

Feldman, who lives in Santa Monica and attended Lincoln Middle School before Pali High, plays club for SoCal Choppers’ 16U fastpitch squad (based in Santa Clarita) and isn also active in Swim with Heart, a non-profit program that offers year-round swim instruction and team training. Her 11-year-old sister started in softball but now plays soccer.

“I was originally going to go to Samo but we talked about it as a family and decided on Palisades,” added Feldman, who has two dogs (Sadie and Belle). “Pitching at Pali is a step up from travel ball, but I like it.”         

Feldman tossed a complete game in the Dolphins’ 9-1 nonleague loss at Oak Park last Friday, throwing 114 pitches. “That’s nothing… I’m used to high pitch counts,” she said. “If I have a bad inning I give myself some grace. I’m a freshman, so there’s room to grow and I love my teammates. They’re like my older sisters, they make me laugh and they and they even dance with me.”   

A ninth-grader trying to replace three-year starter and All- City selection Briana Vasquez, who finished her Palisades career with 320 strikeouts and is now a freshman at La Verne, Feldman has no fear of failure—a quality Dolphins coach Linda Park appreciates.

“Bri was the backbone of our program,” Park said of Vasquez, who   was named SCIAC Pitcher of the Week on Monday after tossing complete-game one-hitter Saturday versus Bethel. “Sarah’s done a phenomenal job! She keeps us in every game.”

Feldman notched her first victory Feb. 27, strking out nine Centaurs  while allowing only two hits in a 10-0, six-inning shutout. She had five strikeouts in an eight-inning win against St. Monica one week later—a game in which she also got her first hit. She had seven strikeouts in her prep debut against Leuzinger on Feb. 25.

Vasquez pitched the Dolphins to the City Division I semifinals last spring and it will be tall order for Palisades to make it back there given  that the roster includes seven underclassmen.