(Editor’s note: High School spring sports include volleyball, swimming, softball, lacrosse, track, baseball and golf. The plan is to do a year-end result for each sport. Today, volleyball, swimming and softball are featured. If your youth/teen plays a sport and you have photos or updates, please email me with the results and a photo and I will try to run it. Thanks.)
The 2019 boys varsity team is (left to right, back row) Mason Mallory, Justin Howard, Akhil Tangutur, Javin Janger, Marcus Partain, Owen Loncar, Michael Moore, (front row, left to right) Zack May, Miles Partain, Vance Mallory, Nick Conte, Stone Werner, Daniel Bershadsky and Nathan Yu.
Palisades Boys Volleyball Wins City Championship,
But Is Upset in the CIF SoCal Regional Tournament
Palisades, top seeded in the City Section Open Division playoffs, beat second-seeded El Camino Real in four sets on May 11 to win a third straight championship and the 16th in school history.
Afterwards, Coach Carlos Gray tweeted: “So proud of these guys. Never have I coached a team with more talent.” The 14-man roster has nine seniors this year and was ranked sixth, not only in California, but also nationally.
The Daily News reported that “Coach Alyssa Lee’s El Camino Real team just couldn’t handle the firepower of Palisades (41-2). The Dolphins’ starting rotation has four NCAA Division I commits, led by Akhil Tangutar. Tangutar, who is committed to UC Irvine, had 18 kills and five aces after his team committed eight service errors in the first set.”
Additionally, Marcus Partain has committed to UCLA, middle blocker Justin Howard is headed to Ohio State and Mason and Vance Mallory are going to Endicott College, a Division III program
In the CIF SoCal Regional tournament, Palisades was ranked second and easily beat Saddleback Valley Christian 3-0 on May 14. The Dolphins then faced third-seeded Mira Costa in the semifinals and fell in three straight sets. Mira Costa proceeded to lose to top-seeded Newport Harbor, 3-0.
On May 21, the City released the 2019 All-CIF Boys Volleyball team players. Player of the Year was Marcus Partain. Making the first team were Tangutur, Miles Partain and Justin Howard. On the second team was junior Nick Conte. Gray was named coach of the year.
The All-City Division I players of the year were also released the same day. Earning the Player of the Year designation was Marcus Partain and Gray was named coach of the year. On the first team were Miles Partain, Tangutur and Howard. The second team included Conte and Mason Mallory made the third team.
PaliHi boys and girls swim teams won City Championship.
Swimmers Leave Competitors in their Wake
As Girls and Boys Teams Win City Titles
Palisades High swim teams both repeated as City Section swimming and diving champions on May 3 at the LA84/John C. Argue Swim Stadium in Exposition Park.
Competing against 20 schools, the girls had 600 points, well ahead of Granada Hills (308.50). The boys won with 493, also defeating Granada Hills (304).
Pali’s girl swimmers have won 29 City titles since 1973 (versus six by Granada Hills) and the boys have won 11 titles since 2002. Cleveland won seven straight titles from 2006-2012.
PaliHi diver Madison Pierce took second at the finals held at the Maggie Gilbert Aquatic Center on April 30. Diving points are added to the team totals in figuring the overall championship.
GIRLS DOUSE CITY COMPETITORS
The Dolphin girls couldn’t be stopped. Their first win came in the 200-yard medley relay, the first event of the day. Junior Sophia Wlodek, freshman Kavita Sekhon, junior Quincy Timmerman and senior Grace Winter won in 1:52.32 (three second faster than their prelim time).
Sophomore Nathalia Wyss won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:55.48, senior Charlotte Bota was fourth, sophomore Kretstina Kobuke was fifth and junior Kira Davis was sixth. In the 100 yard-freestyle, Wyss finished third, junior Darby Green sixth and sophomore Maxine Eschger eighth. Outsprinted in the 50-yard freestyle, Eschger was seventh and junior Sydney Brouwer was eighth. In the 500-yard freestyle, sophomore Chloe Alpine took second (5:15.95), Kira Davis fourth, junior Lola Balestra fifth and sophomore Sydney Savarese eighth.
In the 200-yard IM, it was a first, second, third and fourth by, respectively, Timmerman (2:12.18), Sekhon, sophomore Chloe Alpin and junior Amanda Kim. In the 100-yard butterfly, Pali was second, fifth and sixth: junior Sophia Wlodek (59.06) and freshmen Adelaide Saab and Roselin Gallegos, respectively. The 100-yard breastroke was won by Timmerman (1:06.98), Sekhon was second, Winter fifth and senior Emily Bunnmapradist sixth. In the 100-yard backstroke, Wlodek was first (1:00.37), Darby second, Kim third and junior Ellie Sim sixth.
The 200-yard freestyle relay was another first place for the Dolphins (1:40.68) with Wyss, Green, Winter and Brouwer. The Dolphins finished second in the 400-yard freestyle (Wyss, Darby, Eschger, Timmerman), edged out by Granada Hills.
BOYS SHOW THEIR STRENGTH
The Pali boys also started fast, winning the 200-yard medley relay in 1:38.29, two seconds faster than their qualifying time. The team included freshman Joshua Han, senior Orion Vayanas and juniors Andrew Planting and Marc Pryor.
In the 200-yard freestyle (BOLD FACE), Planting was first (1:42.73), junior Chris Pedersen fourth and junior Oliver Grant sixth. The 100-yard freestyle was won by senior Asa Tatro in 49.07, sophomore James Gurnery was third and junior Najee Railey was eighth. Tatro also won a close race in the 50-yard freestyle (22.12), beating his competitor by 0.22 of a second. Pryor was fifth and Railey seventh. In the500-free, Planting was first (4:36.54), sophomore Oliver Grant fourth and senior Theo Trask sixth.
Vayanas was first in the 200-yard IM (1:54.10) and Han was third. Max Speiser took third in the 100-yard butterfly. In the 100-yard backstrok, Han was third and James Gurney sixth. Vayanas (58.98) and Pedersen finished one-two in the 100-yard breastroke.
The boys won both the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays. In the 400 it was Planting, Tatro, Vayanas and Chris Pederson in a time of 3:15.03. The 200 was swam by Pedersen, Pryor, Railey and Tatro (1:29.59).
The top two swimmer/divers were invited to compete in the fifth annual Swimming and Diving Championships at Clovis Olympic Swim Complex on May 10 and 11. The Dolphins competed among 40 of the top swimmers in each event from across the state. The top 16 swam again, but Pali did not qualify anyone for the finals.
Palisades had a young team this year and games are played at the stadium.
Young PaliHi Softball Team Continues to Grow;
Dolphins Will Lose Only Four Seniors
The PaliHi girls softball team finished the year 8-12-1 overall and 7-5 in the Western League. Coached by Victoria Dario, the Dolphins had a young team, with only four seniors on the 17-person roster.
Pali, seeded 15th in the City Section tournament, drew Eagle Rock in the first round and lost 18-4 on May 9.
Pitchers for the Dolphins during the season were senior Gabriella Weiner, junior Jayla Brannon and sophomore Molly Tenenbaum.
According to the MaxPreps site, Pali’s leading hitters were sophomores Peyton Pollard and E. Edwards, who both hit .500 on the season. Senior Alyssa Wallin finished with a .404 average, Weiner hit .486 and Tennenbaum .447.