Summer Practice Begins at Stadium by the Sea for Palisades High Football Program

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Palisades High summer football practice began Monday afternpoon and head coach Dylen Smith was anxious to see how his players would handle extremely hot weather at Stadium by the Sea. The answer: just fine.

In his first season at the helm, Smith led the Dolphins to a 7-3 record, a Western League title and an Open Division playoff berth. He begins his sophomore campaign with optimism but knows the road ahead is long and full of bumps.

“I didn’t expect the year we had,” Smith admitted. “There was a lot of pressure on me given that Pali made the [Division I] finals the previous season. I personally was surprised  how well we did considering all the players we lost. The primary goal this year is to defend our league title and along the way we have to avenge the losses to Granada Hills and Brentwood.”

More than 20 freshmen joined the program and Smith said every  position is a competition, including quarterback, where returner Brett Federman and Loyola transfer Jack Thomas will vie for the first string position following the graduation of two-year starter Roman La Scala.

Last season’s JV starter Mattias Hernandez, whom Smith expected to compete for the varsity job this year, transferred to Long Beach Millikan

“I don’t recruit, so I didn’t know  Jack was transferring until someone told me he enrolled at Pali,” Smith said. “Jack and Brett are the same type of QB, so he’ll fit intom our system. It’ll be a good competition.”

Last year’s varsity MVP Teralle Watson, who racked up over 1,000 all-purpose yards, transferred to Warren, linebacker Dezmen Howard transferred to Roosevelt in San Bernardino and cornerback/safety Isaiah Sensabaugh transferred to Notre Dame. Palisades’ key returners are junior all-purpose back LeHenry Solomon, junior running back Harrison Carter, sophomore tailback Sholo Beavers, senior offensive tackle Cole Ward, senior defensive end Joseph Bucher-Leighton, senior linebacker Cash Allen (who will replace sacks leader Evan Nehrenberg) and senior linebacker Jake Treibatch, who led the squad with 60 tackles last fall.

Smith has entered the Dolphins in two seven-on-seven passing tournaments: Saturday at Los Altos and  the Westside Classic at Culver City  High on July 13.

“The main focus right now is our conditioning… hitting the weights, power lifting and getting stronger,” Smith said. “We have to be in better shape than our opponents to run the up-tempo style we want.”

Smith started Monday’s spirited workout by addressing the varsity and junior varsity teams together, introducing  the new coaches and then sending the various position groups to different stations for stretching, sprints and drills.

Former head coach and longtime JV assistant Kelly Loftus will be called on to coach the linebackers  and Brandon Forrest (the team MVP and the Palisadian-Post Cup Award winner in 2021) will return to his alma mater to coach the running backs.

“[Athletic Director] Rocky Montz and [former JV coach] Ray Marsden] thought of him and he’s a perfect fit,” Smith said of Forrest.

Jack Beck will be the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach, Devon Shay will handle the lifting program and the offensive line until Moosa McLean returns at the end of summer and Dwight Hamilton is back to head the JV program for a second season.

Smith wanted to schedule tough opponents to prepare the Dolphins for a postseason run. In addition to their annual rivalry games (the Charter Bowl with Granada Hills and the Sunset Showdown versus Brentwood), Smith added Dymally  for the season opener and a Southern Section opponent, Harvard-Westlake, to fill out the nonleague slate.

“We didn’t have full participation in the spring so I don’t know if we’ll be an Open level team this year—it’s too early to tell,” Smith added.   

Last year we played a little too fast and it took us three or four games to get on track offensively, so this year we’ll take things a little slower. Last year we started with 136 players and were down to 112 by the end of the season. Right now we have about 115, which is fine. You don’t really want too many kids because then it’s harder to get everyone a decent amount of playing time.”

Smith belives the no-huddle attack is what allowed the Dolphins to tire out Venice and win the league title and he plans to use the same basic  principle this fall.

“Pali has never won a football title  and I want to be the first coach to do do it,” Smith said. “I’m not saying  it’ll happen this year, but that’s definitely the long-term goal. We lost our three best lineman so we’ll have to replace them. The way we have our practices set up I want the kids to learn four or five new things each day.”

Treibatch was fired up from the  first whistle and wants to be a vocal leader on the defense side. He was in the weight room four times a week during the offseason and recently attended camps at Sacramento State, San Diego State and the University of San Diego.

“I’m up to 210 [pounds] now,” he said. “I was 185 last year. “I know how to use the added weight to my advantage. I’m moving well and my footwork is good. I’ll be doing both [rushing the passer and dropping back into coverage] but most of the teams we play are run-first, so at least 60 percent of the time I’ll be playing the run. We’ve got a lot of new guys on defenss but we have to stay true to our base defense. There are a lot of ways to execute that. We have the same blitz packages and our new defensive coordinator has  adapted real fast. It’s going to be fun but we have to put our heads down and go to work. Two years ago when we went to the finals we had three extra games and four full practices each of those weeks, which is great. The more games we play the better.”

Tight end Augie Evans, who is back at Palisades after playing his sophomore season at Notre Dame, stayed after practice to run routes and catch passes from Thomas. The friends and Palisadians are glad to be on the same team.    

“This is home and I’m embracing the opportunity to be back in Pali blue,” the 6-foot-5, 200-pound Evans said. “I’m so excited. I’ll have a lot of balls thrown my way at my position and I’ve worked a lot to improve my speed and hands.”

Thomas embraces the quarterback competition and believes it will only make both he and Federman better.

“I’m a fast learner,” Thomas said. “To be a good quarterback you have to do everything—run, throw, make good decisions and be a leader. Today’s my first day whereas Brett is embedded in this program, but I’m bonding with the upperclassmen. There are some similarities and a few differences in the two programs  [Loyola and Palisades] but I learned a lot my first two years and I’m real excited to be here. I can tell you that we’ve got it going really good here at Pali.”   

Local Pinto 8U, Mustang 9U and Bronco 11U Squads Advance to Pony Baseball Regional Playoffs

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

The Pacific Palisades Baseball Association’s Pinto 8U All-Stars are on quite a roll this summer. One week after capturing the Pony SoCal North Region District 1 championship at Freedom park in Camarillo, the local team added the Section 2 championship to its resume following a 14-8 triumph over host Hart White on Sunday in Santa Clarita.

“We went 4-0 in the tournament with a couple of amazing endings,” head coach Kambiz Kamdar said. “In our first game Friday against Simi Youth White we were a run down in the bottom of the sixth inning but won it 10-9 by stealing home on a wild pitch. We ended our second game against Lancaster Blue with a triple play. In the semifinals against Hart Red we came back in the top of the fifth, scoring eight runs with two outs, including six doubles in a row! In the championship game, it went back and forth until we broke it open with five runs in the bottom of the fifth. Then we closed it out in the sixth with Henry Janneck on the mound.”

Kamdar and assistant coaches Brad Hill and Steve Bergman guided the 8Us to finals in Cheviot Hills and the semifinals  in Agoura and Simi Valley to prepare their squad for sanctioned playoffs and the extra games paid dividends. Battery power propelled Palisades to a 10-0 shutout of host Camarillo White in the District finale, as pitcher Parker Atwood and catcher Ford Hill kept the opposing team off the scoreboard in a four-inning victory.

Everyone on the roster except Luca House was there for the sectional round: Hill, Atwood, Janneck, James Kamdar, Grey Schiff, Alex Pollack, Sam Schiff, Gavin Morrow, Noah Mehring,   Spencer Bergman, Theo Johnson and Graham Aris.

Winning the section earned the 8Us a spot in this weekend’s 10-team regional bracket at the East Valley Complex in North Hollywood. Palisades opens pool play today versus Hart White and faces Camarillo Blue on Saturday morning. Semifinals are Sunday and the championship game is Monday at 5 p..m.      

Two other PPBA squads also won section titles the next day in Simi Valley. Palisades’ Mustang 9Us defeated  Newbury Park 12-4 in the championship game Monday after having won their pool with blowout victories over Santa Ynez and Simi Youth White, then defeating Simi Youth White again, 6-3, in the semifinals.

“Carter Bergman, Nate Underwood and Will Feil pitched phenomenally [in the finals],” head coach Taylor Talt said.

“Tristan Kawasaki and Will [Feil] each hit a triple—the first time we’ve had two triples in a game—and all of the boys  played great to contribute to the win. Fun day!

Rounding out the 8U roster were Axl Moody, Bennett Underwood, Dylan Morrow, Jack Hetherington, Maddox Martin, Cabe Talt, Owen Tyler and Anthony Layton.

The 9Us advanced to the region playoffs at Kildee Park in Camarillo. They begin pool play today against Simi Youth Red and have two games Saturday: Hart and Camarillo Blue.

While the 9Us were wrapping up their Section 3 title, Palisades’ Bronco 11Us were applying the finishing touch to their dominant run through the Section 3 tournament. Playing at the same facility in Simi Valley but on the larger Pony-size diamond, the 11Us beat Toluca Navy 12-2 in the championship game Monday.

“The player of the game was pitcher Tyler Racanelli, who took a perfect game into the fifth before giving up a walk and finishing one out shy of a complete game,” assistant coach  Eric Foster said. “He allowed one hit and two walks with eight strikeouts in fiour and two-thirds innings. At the plate he went two-for-three with a double. Henry Wyman and Will Hill also stood out. Both went two-for-three with a double and a triple.”     

Hill relieved Racanelli to get the final out. He and Ethan Montminy each had two RBIs for head coach David Hoffman’s squad, which also got contributions from Sam Foster, Perrish McGinn, Remy Moore, Jackson Moore, Blake Milinovich, Max Yost, Hudson Tucker, Wil Hoffman, Dylan Hartunian, Isaac Ungerleider and Cy Murphy.

In Sunday’s 15-5 semifinal win against Simi Youth Red, Palisades took the lead when Wyman belted a two-RBI double to highlight a fourrun fourth inning. In the sixth, Yost and Hill each hit two-RBI doubles and Foster’s single to the left-center field gap ended the game.

Palisades advanced to the eight-team regional round, also at Kildee Park, and takes on Camarillo Blue today at 5. On Saturday, the PPBA  11Us play back-to-back games versus Westhills and Westlake Blue. The semifinals are Sunday morning and the final is at 1:30 that afternoon. Five teams will advance to either the Zone or Super Region playoffs.

Palisades’ Mustang 10U and Bronco 12U All-Star squads host sectional tournaments this weekend at the Field of Dreams. The 12U final is Sunday at 2 p.m. while the 10U final is Monday at 5 p.m.

*** Click on any photo below to view slideshow ***

Since the Commissioner’s Cup competition started 10 years ago, Palisades High has thoroughly dominated the LA City Section points race, accumulating the highest score throughout the athletic calendar every time. That trend continued in 2023-24, only with a twist.

For the first time, the competition was divided into boys and girls divisions. Palisades took the girls title with 216 points after capturing City team titles in five sports: cross country, golf, water polo, lacrosse and swimming.

Palisades racked up 207 points to take second in the boys division, 20 points behind winner Birmingham.

Five Dolphins boys programs won City: cross country, water polo, lacrosse, golf and tennis. The leading LAUSD school for the boys was San Pedro (158 points) and for the girls was Eagle Rock (171).

In the overall standings (boys and girls combined), Palisades ended up No. 1 with 423 total points (one shy of its highest score ever), followed by fellow charter schools Birmingham (408), Granada Hills (372) and El Camino Real (369).

Schools are awarded points for each round it advances in the section  playoffs in a given sport.

Adding 10 more to its record total in 2023-24, Palisades has captured 255 section crowns since it opened in 1961—well over 100 more titles than any other City school. The inaugural Cup competition took place in  2014-15 with Palisades emerging as the winner by a healthy 38 points over Granada Hills.

Palisades’ 10 titles in 2023-24 are three more than the Dolphins notched in 2022-23 when they captured City championships in seven sports: girls tennis, girls golf, girls lacrosse, boys water polo, boys cross country, boys lacrosse and boys tennis. Granada Hills finished second in six of the seven Cup races prior to  2023-24.   

Charter schools have swept the top three spots every year. The Cup competition was canceled in 2019-20 and 2020-21 due to the coronavirus pandemic. When it resumed the following school year Palisades prevailed by 50 points over Granada Hills and Birmingham, who tied for second, and the Dolphins’ 424 points matched their record total in 2016-17.

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

For any athlete, there is nothing quite like presenting your country in the Olympics.

Palisadian beach volleyball player Miles Partain is looking forward that experience next month after he and playing partner Andy Benesh officially qualified for the Summer Games in Paris, France after sweeping the Norwegian tandem of Anders Mol and Christian Sorum 21-15, 21-14 on June 9 in the bronze medal match at the FIVB World Beach Pro Tour stop in Ostava, Czech Republic.

The American pair tied for fourth in the men’s rankings to earn their Olympic spot following a grueling qualification period beginning in January 2023. Based on their eight best results, both Partain/Benesh and the Dutch duo of Stefan Boermans/Yorick de Groot accumulated 7100 points.

Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig accumulated 9340 points to earn the top ranking.

Joining Partain and Benesh on Team USA’s Olympic beach volleyball roster will be Chade Budinger and Miles Evans, who tied for 13th in the rankings.

Partain is only 22, making him the youngest US Olympian to date in his sport, and has been playing with the 29-year-old Benesh since 2022. They plan to play Elite16 events in Gstaad, Switzerland the first week of July and Vienna, Austria after that, followed by a week of training with the Olympic Italian squad, before going to Paris for Olympic competition, which will take place July 27-August 10 at Eiffel Tower Stadium.

Partain played in his first organized beach volleyball tournament at Will Rogers State Beach when he was 10, partnering with his older brother, Marcus. In 2017, at the age of 15, he and Marcus (then 17), become the youngest pair ever to advance to the main draw of an AVP event (Hermosa Beach). Miles was a setter and opposite hitter for the indoor team at Palisades High for three seasons, leading the Dolphins to three City championships and graduating a semester early as valedictorian. He went on to join his brother on the indoor team at UCLA, earning First Team All-American and All-Conference Player of the Year honors in 2022.

Partain was named AVP Rookie of the Year in 2019, AVP Best Defensive Player by Volleyballmag.com in 2021 and earned Best Offensive Player and Most Improved Player honors in 2022 when he won his first tour title in Atlanta with then partner Paul Lotman.

Partain is one of four Palisadians set to compete  in Paris, joining Nick Itkin (fencing), Johnny Hooper (water polo) and Ali Riley, captain of the New Zealand women’s soccer team. Pali High 1983 alum Steve Kerr )winner of five NBA titles as a player and four as a coach) will try to pilot the USA men’s basketball team to gold as the head coach of a squad featuring LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid and Jason Tatum.

After another exciting spring season during which 535 players demonsrated their rolling talents at   Veterans Gardens, Calvary Kisses secured the Palisades Bocce Club’s Sunset League title last week thanks in large part to George Douglas’ precision shot-making.

Ellie Lederman shared Most Valuable Player honors with Miriam Braveman, Millie Villaros was named Most Improved Player; and Bocce E Chianti was chosen Most Improved Team.

In the Dolphins (Senior) League,  Bocce Aces beat Friends and Neighbors in the finals as Chris Dickson and Diane Holt both rolled clutch Bays to clinch it. Diane Tallant was named MVP; Mary De Kernion was Most Improved; and OBG Rollers was the Most Improved Team.

Deserving players were presented certificates during the postseason party at Casa Nostra Restaurant in the Highlands. Chuck Rapaport won the Marti at ni Award (exemplifying the best of the Palisades Bocce Club); Robin Meyers won the McGregor Award for selfless giving; Manny and Dori Arin were Gift of Joy recipients; the Greatest Family Award went to The Minzners; Happiest Campers were I Liff Bocce and Lucky Stripes won The Snappies Award as the best dressed team.