Brad Zacuto’s softball team played two important games last week, defeating Archer 12-2 on Wednesday and coming from behind to defeat first-place Brentwood 6-2 the following day. The game against Archer was tighter than the score indicates and the Falcons’ defense had to work out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning. Danielle Greenberg snared a hard ground ball to retire the side and preserve a 2-0 lead. Outfielders Bonnie Wirth and Sheridan Hathaway made big plays in the field to hold Archer hitters to singles. Codie Dicus and Claire Bastis pitched effectively, striking out 10 batters in five innings and limiting the opposition to just three hits and two runs. Wirth had two hits, Emily Newman doubled, Dicus had two hits, and Hathaway, Carlye Gordon and Anne Turner each had a hit. St. Matthew’s pulled away on a triple by Rylee Ebsen and a three-run home run by Bastis. Brentwood proved to be the Falcons’ toughest opponent thus far this season. Emily Newman made a running catch to end the top of the third inning, then St. Matthew’s teammate Audrey Turner got the offense started when she walked, stole second and third and sored on a grounder by Dicus. Still trailing 2-1 in the fourth inning, Anne Turner led off with a walk, Ebsen singled and Newman walked to load the bases. With one out and two strikes, Wirth tripled to give St. Matthew’s a 4-2 lead and the Falcons added two more to provide the final margin. St. Matthew’s improved to 3-0 in the Pacific Basin League (tied for first place) and 7-0-1 overall. Boys Volleyball The Falcons swept Harvard-Westlake’s seventh-graders, 25-13, 25-22, lost to the Wolverines’ eighth-grade squad, 25-19, 25-22, defeated St. Paul’s seventh-graders, 25-11, 25-8, and lost to St. Paul’s eighth-graders, 25-17, 25-19. Coach John Caravella’s squad is 4-2 in the Junior High Delphic League and consists of eighth-graders Matt Bagnard, Logan Shoop, Evan Palmer, Greg Aspell and Alex Helmintoller along with seventh graders Andrew Goldberg, Daniel Deloje, Connor Gill, Cary Kriegsman, Evan Biscow and sixth-graders Spencer Eichler and Lucas Helmintoller. Boys Tennis Tied 3-3 in matches, St. Matthew’s beat Brentwood on games, 39-34, for its first win of the season. The Falcons (1-4) had suffered tiebreak losses in three of their previous four defeats. Joey Friedrich led the way against the Eagles, winning 8-4 at No. 1 singles while Starr Hathaway and Christian Williams won at No. 2 doubles for St. Matthew’s, which is coached by Parker Rand. The Falcons’ third point came by default.

If the Palisades High boys varsity volleyball team continues to play the way it did in its regular season finale there is no telling how far it can go in the City playoffs. Seeded eighth out of 32 teams, the Dolphins (10-3) will host 25th-seeded Valley Alternative (6-2) in the first round tonight at 7 p.m. Should Palisades win, it would host either No. 9 Carson (11-2) or No. 24 Hollywood (6-7) in the second round next Tuesday night. Palisades secured second place in the Western League by sweeping host University, 25-23, 25-23, 25-18 on Monday, reversing an earlier five-game loss to the Wildcats. Senior setter Rusty Barneson directed the Dolphins’ attack expertly, allowing Brandon Bryant and Jonathan Peters to control the net while co-captain Lucas Pols, Joey Sarafian and Beck Johnson delivered crushing spikes from both sides of the court. West Valley League champion Granada Hills (12-1) is seeded No. 1 and defending City champion Chatsworth (11-2) is No. 2. Western League champion Venice (11-2) is seeded sixth. The City finals will be May 13 at Cal State Northridge. Baseball The Dolphins continued to steamroll through the Western League, beating Venice 22-0 in five innings last Wednesday, then scoring five runs in the second inning on their way to a 6-2 victory over second-place Westchester Monday at George Robert Field. Senior pitcher David Bromberg (5-0) had 10 strikeouts and three hits. Against Venice, Bromberg hit a grand slam home run and Dylan Cohen added a three-run homer as Palisades scored 13 runs before the Gondos recorded their first out. Palisades (13-4, 9-0) has outscored its league opponents 94-7 and has won five games inside seven innings. Softball Palisades (4-11, 1-7) lost 15-1 at Westchester on Monday, managing only two hits. The Dolphins travel to Hamilton for a league today and close league play at Stadium by the Sea against University, which Pali defeated 7-5 in their previous meeting. City playoffs begin Tuesday, May 10. Tennis A 6-1 victory over University Monday at Stoner Park assured Palisades’ varsity team of an unblemished league record and a likely top four seed in the City Section playoffs, which begin next week. Top singles player Adam Deloje, who has not lost a league match this season, is the No. 1 rated player in the Western League while fellow Dolphins Seth Mandelkern and Darya Bakhtiar are the top-ranked doubles team. Playoff seedings will be determined tonight and first-round matches will be played next Monday at 2:30 p.m. Round robin scoring, in which 29 1/2 points are available, will replace the head-to-head format used during league play.

Running a triathlon is not normally something one decides to do on a whim. However, when Renee Brown found her workout regime a little monotonous, that is precisely what she did. And little did she know, she wouldn’t have to leave her house to find a training partner. When he learned what his mom was up to, Jared Brown volunteered to brave the triathlon with her. So after months of conditioning and psyching each other up, the mother-son tandem entered and completed the IronBruin reverse triathlon, held at the UCLA campus in Westwood on April 10. One of the youngest competitors in the race, 13-year-old Jared placed first in his age group (19-and-under) and 85th overall out of 209 participants. He completed the four-mile run, 10-mile bike ride, and 400-meter swim in one hour, 34 minutes and 23 seconds. At 47, Renee didn’t do too bad herself, covering the course in 2:05:58. “I was working out before I decided to do this, but I just wanted to take my training to a whole new level,” Renee says. “I thought to myself ‘What can I do to pump things up a bit?’ This seemed like it would do the trick.” Renee credits Palisades triathlete JJ Janda with whipping her and her son into shape for their first triathlon. “JJ has been so supportive to us–especially me,” Renee says. “His support of making my dream come true has been incredible. He also has been a very positive influence on Jared.” Jared played in the Palisades Recreation Center roller hockey league four years ago and was a member of the Palisades-Malibu YMCA swim team for four years, becoming an accomplished breast stroker even though it was his least favorite stroke. But after awhile he got bored with only one sport. “I like to play every sport in P.E.,” says Jared, who will be part of the stage crew for Paul Revere’s production of “Bye Bye Birdie” this Friday and Saturday night. “What I enjoy about triathlons is that you get to do more than just run. I actually liked the biking part best.” Since she and her husband Bob moved to the Highlands five years ago, Renee has been active outdoors, but she had never so much as run a 5K, let alone participate in a triathlon, until three weeks ago. Now she is considering entering the Palisades-Will Rogers race on July 4. “Renee was encouraged by her mother, Ida, to go on lengthy bike rides and they always swam in the Santa Monica Bay together,” recalls Nita Stern, Renee’s best friend since they were 18. “In a time where bonding with your teenager is sometimes strained and a struggle at best, this should definitely be in the bonding record book.” Both mother and son enjoyed the triathlon experience so much that they have already signed up for another one in Newport Beach on May 22. Although it is even longer–a half-mile swim, followed by a 12-mile bike ride and a three-mile run, neither Renee nor Jared is intimidated by the added distance. “The first time there was a learning curve because we’d never done it before,” Renee says. “It’s such an accomplishment just to finish, so I have confidence that we’ll be able to do the next one.”

To be successful in track and field, teams must be both talented and deep. Palisades has shown an equal measure of both this season’a big reason why the Dolphins are frontrunners in the race for first place in the Western League. ‘We have 100 kids in the program now, which is the most we’ve had since I’ve been here,’ Pali coach Ron Brumel said. ‘And our attrition rate has only been about five percent, much lower than usual, so we’re picking up a lot of points on numbers alone.’ The Dolphins’ skill was on display last Friday in a dual meet against University at Stadium by the Sea. Pali’s varsity boys won nine of 15 events to post a 72-46 victory while the varsity girls won 12 of 15 events to win 83-34 and remain undefeated in league competition. The boys improved to 1-1-1 in the league standings while the girls remained undefeated at 3-0 with only duals against Venice and Fairfax remaining. Leading the boys was sophomore Jeff Fujimoto, who remained unbeaten in league in the 110 high hurdles, winning in 17.9 seconds. ‘He’s been our most consistent points-getter,’ Brumel said of Fujimoto, who is also nationally ranked in judo. Junior Julian Harris was second in the 110 hurdles and Pali teammate Robert Gillette was third. The Dolphins’ 400 relay team of Javon Crowder, Ryan Henry, Chris Henderson and Gillette won in 46.4 seconds. Freshman Marco Tringali ran 5:00 flat in the mile’the fastest 1600 meter time by a Pali ninth-grader since Robert Varie ran a 4:37 in 1998. Wearing her trademark black socks, sophomore Kristabel Doebel-Hickock continued to pace the varsity girls, blazing the 800 in a personal-best 2:30 and doubling to win the mile in 5:35. Senior captain Michelle Mahanian performed well in the long jump (14-5) and triple jump (30-9) while freshman Tukeha Huntley cleared 5-0 to win the high jump and finished second behind fellow Dolphin Unique Shanklin in the 400. Senior Sarajane Onyeama was second in the triple jump and third in the long jump. Freshman Nicole Mahanian, Michelle’s younger sister, is undefeated in the 100 this season and finished second in the frosh/soph long jump (12-7). Palisades’ frosh/soph boys won 101-18 and the girls won 72-17. Baseball Senior right-hander David Bromberg threw his second no-hitter of the season, striking out 12 batters in five innings, as Palisades (11-4 overall, 7-0 in league) cruised to 12-0 win at Venice on Monday. Bromberg, who has 56 strikeouts this season, added a three-run home run and leadoff batter Turhan Folse had three hits and scored two runs. Shortstop Dylan Cohen hit a home run and scored four runs while third baseman Andy Megee had two hits, four RBIs and two runs scored. Austin Jones went two for two and Matt Skolnik had a single, a double and scored a run. Bromberg went four for four with five RBIs, including a two-run homer, and scored four runs while Cohen added two hits, two runs and one RBI as the Dolphins mercied host Hamilton, 14-1, last Wednesday. Megee and Monte Hickock each had two hits and scored a run while Folse allowed one run in five innings and struck out nine to earn the victory. Boys Golf Coach James Paleno’s team hosts Monroe today at 2 p.m. at Rancho Park. The Dolphins return to Rancho next Wednesday afternoon to play defending City team champion Granada Hills in their final regular season match. The 6A League finals are May 11 at Encino Golf course. Softball The Dolphins won their first Western League game last Thursday, beating host University 7-5. Nicole Torres had four hits, including a two-run triple in the fourth inning. Palisades (4-9, 1-5) managed only one hit in a 16-2 loss to first-place Venice on Tuesday at Stadium by the Sea. Swimming Both the boys and girls varsity teams clinched the Marine League title with easy victories over Hamilton last Monday at Temescal Canyon pool in their final regular season meet. The defending City champion boys completed their third straight undefeated season in league by outscoring the Yankees 143-10. The Dolphin girls, looking to recapture the City title they lost last year, won 120-44. Boys Tennis Palisades won the outright Western League title with 5-2 victories over Venice and Fairfax last week, then blanked Westchester 7-0 on Tuesday, with Ariel Oleynik winning 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3 singles. Against Fairfax, the Dolphins (14-2, 10-0) dropped only seven games in four singles matches, led by Stephen Surjue, who won 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1 singles. Adam Deloje won 6-2, 6-0 at No. 1 singles and Palisades swept all three doubles matches against Venice. Hamilton forfeited Wednesday’s league finale. Nine Dolphin players are entered in the 105th annual Ojai Tournament, which begins today. Boys Volleyball Palisades (8-3, 6-2) stayed in contention for a share of the Western League title with a 25-17, 25-11, 14-25, 25-15 victory at Fairfax last Thursday and a 25-16, 25-17, 25-19 sweep of visiting Westchester on Tuesday. Led by co-captains Lucas Pols and Rusty Barneson, the Dolphins’ only league losses this season have come in five games at the hands of Venice and University. Pali hosted Hamilton Wednesday and wraps up regular season play Tuesday at University.

Around here, Peter Gilmore is known as the 5K king of the annual Palisades-Will Rogers race. But lately, the Palisades High alum has been making headlines on the national stage and he did so again on Monday by finishing 10th overall in the 109th running of the Boston Marathon. In a field of 20,453 runners, Gilmore ran the famed 26.2-mile course in 2:17.32, less than six minutes behind men’s winner Hailu Negussie of Ethiopia. Gilmore was the second American finisher, beaten only by Alan Culpepper of Lafayette, Colorado (2:13:39). Gilmore, a Post Cup Award winner at PaliHi in 1995 and subsequent All-Conference cross country and track athlete at Cal, earned Palisadian-Post athlete of the year honors in 2004 after winning his hometown race for the seventh time in 10 years. He owns five of the six fastest times ever in the Palisades-Will Rogers race, including the course record of 14:10, which he set two years ago. Gilmore finished 18th overall out of 33,000 runners at the Chicago Marathon in 2003. For the last several years, he has run with the Nike Team in Menlo Park, training for longer distance races in hopes of qualifying for an Olympic marathon.

You might know him as the pizza delivery guy, but working at Domino’s is merely what Morgan Genser does when he’s not out on assignment. His career goal is to become a sports photojournalist and the 31-year-old Palisades native took a step in that direction last weekend when he finished second in the mail-in sports photo category and received honorable mention for on-the-spot sports photography at last weekend’s 50th annual Journalism Association of Community Colleges conference in Sacramento. This year was the third time Genser submitted entries to the annual contest, but this is the first time he left with a plaque. In fact, he left with two. ‘I was surprised,’ Genser admits. ‘And then they called my name again later. A classmate of mine took a picture of me with my awards afterwards and let me tell you, I’ve never smiled for so long in my life.’ Despite having earned his associate’s degree in computers at Los Angeles Trade Tech, Genser enrolled at Santa Monica College two years ago to gain experienceand his perseverance is paying off. Gessner first became interested in photography while training to be a computer programmer. He photographed a traffic accident several years ago and Palisadian-Post managing editor Bill Bruns published several of his pictures in that week’s issue of the Post. From then on, Genser was hooked. ‘Ever since then, I’ve known this is what I want to do,’ says Genser, whose work was judged by professional media members. ‘Winning these awards is a big deal for me because I was up against peers from 60 other colleges in California.’ Both of Genser’s winning photos were of college soccer, one of Genser’s sports beats at SMC’s weekly student newspaper, The Corsair: ‘I love shooting sports, but I’m open to whatever comes my way.’