Pali High Lacrosse Teams Sweep City Finals

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

It was all about the blue and white on April 23 at Birmingham High School in Lake Balboa.

Palisades Charter High School’s girls and boys lacrosse teams did what they came to do, capturing City Section championships hours apart to continue the program’s dominance in the sport over the last decade.

Led by seniors Elah Blyumkin and Mallie McGowan, the girls repeated as champions with a 13-7 triumph over El Camino Real. The Dolphins, who crushed University 21-1 in the semifinals, finished the season on a five-game winning streak. Perhaps no one was happier than third-year head coach Dexter O’Connell, who piloted the girls to the title last year, culminating in an 18-9 win versus their nemesis Birmingham in the final.

The girls now have three section crowns to their credit, having won their first in 2019 under former coach Katlyne Duffey.

After the girls received their medals and the first-place plaque, the boys took the field—and took it to El Camino Real—winning 17-6 for their eighth City title in a row and their ninth total. Axel Greve, Dominic Zuniga, Trey Tzung and Dylan Wong led the attack as the Dolphins poured it on in the second half to pull away from the Royals, who had lost to Palisades twice in the regular season.

It was the fifth straight finals meeting between the schools dating back to 2019 when the Dolphins won 19-3 for their fourth and last title under former coach Kevin Donovan.

The 2020 playoffs were canceled due to COVID, and since he took charge of the boys team in 2021, present coach Dave Bucchino has piloted Palisades to four more titles.

The only time the boys failed to win the title was in 2015 when they got upset 9-4 by Birmingham in the finals in their last season under coach Bryan Cuthbert, who guided the Dolphins to the inaugural City championship the previous year.

Both the boys and girls squads have reached the finals every season since the City first sanctioned lacrosse playoffs in 2014. There is no sign of the Dolphins’ dynasty ending anytime soon.