Pali High Runners Dominate Prelims

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

 It was only a dress rehearsal, but bases on the results of the Saturday, November 11, City Section preliminaries, the Palisades Charter High School boys and girls cross country teams are ready for their close-ups.

The Dolphins dominated the first Division 1 boys heat, taking six of the first seven places. Two-time individual champion Max Fields posted the fastest time of the morning, completing the dusty 2.93-mile course at Pierce College in 15:28.4. In second was his sophomore teammate Blake Sigworth (15:42.0), who held off Arman Vazquez of South East by 1.9 seconds.

Rounding out the Dolphins’ lineup were senior Axel Mammen (15:53.6), sophomore Zachary Cohen (15:59.4), junior Owen Lewicky (16:01.6) ands sophomore Andrew Razo (seventh in 16:17.2), who ran side by side for most of the race.

In the second Division 1 heat, Cleveland senior Joseph Vargas took first place in 15:43.6, the third-fastest prelims time behind Fields and Sigworth. His Cavaliers teammate Alexander Mendoza was second in 15:44.1 and Alec Flores of Granada Hills was third in 15:46.0.

Palisades’ boys finished with a score of 18 (15 is the best possible score)—easily the lowest among Division 1 schools—and heads to the Saturday morning, November 18, finals as the clear favorite, though coach Rob Hockley knows anything can happen come race day.

“The guys didn’t extend themselves too much, they just wanted to do enough to win,” he said.

Venice was second in Heat 1 at 89 points, followed by San Pedro (92). Granada Hills won Heat 2 with a score of 35, followed by Cleveland (48) and Taft (86).

Palisades’ girls team was almost as impressive and served notice that Granada Hills’ title reign is in jeopardy. No one could catch Highlanders sophomore Samantha Pacheco, who cruised to victory in 17:56.7. However, pushing her for the first two and a half miles was Dolphins freshman Zoey Morris, who clocked 18:09.5 to finish second.

Senior Kyra Morris, Zoey’s older sister, was third in 19:02.4 and sophomore Lulu Mammen (19:22.3) was fourth. Sophomore Daila Harinck (19:58.3) was seventh, freshman Gabriella Gilyard (19:59.0) was eighth, senior Virginia O’Neill (20:36.6) was 11th and junior Cecelia Tierney was 21st in 22:22.6.

The Dolphins posted the lowest score (24) across the two heats as their top five runners were all in the top 10 in Heat 1. Granada Hills was second in Heat 2 with 38 points and Garfield third with 92.

Cleveland’s Metzle Velasquez (19:34.8) and Lucy Culliton (19:56.3) took the top two spots in Heat 2, and the Cavaliers were first in team scoring with 38, tied for second overall with Granada Hills. Taft was second in Heat 2 with 68.

“The girls race was a little tricky because I’m sure Granada Hills wasn’t going all out, but then again neither were we,” Hockley said.

The finals are Saturday, November 18, at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. The Division 1 boys race starts at 8:30 a.m. and the Division 1 girls race goes off at 9:20 a.m.