You can put the Palisades High swim team in a new league, but you can’t stop it from winning championships. The Dolphins dominated at every level of last Wednesday’s Western League Finals Meet at the Venice High pool and emerged as the strong favorite to win the City Section title May 24 in Los Angeles. Palisades’ boys varsity squad accumulated 413 points, far outdistancing second-place Venice (284). Pali’s girls varsity totaled 489 points to the Gondos’ 398. In the frosh/soph division, Pali’s boys and girls both won by lopsided margins. “I feel optimistic going into the City prelims,” PaliHi coach Maggie Nance said. “We have as good a chance as any team. We have really strong relay teams which will help us score a lot of points.” The Dolphins were switched from the Marine League to the newly-formed Western League this season. So instead of facing familiar Westside and South Bay schools like San Pedro and Gardena, Palisades has spent the season lapping the likes of LACES, Crenshaw and Dorsey. And while their opposition has changed, the Dolphins’ superiority has not. Brian Johnson won both the 200 Individual Medley and 100 Backstroke and Paris Hayes won the 50 Freestyle and 100 Freestyle. Peter Fischler won both the 100 Butterfly and 200 Freestyle events. Palisades’ girls varsity was led by sophomore Jasmine Punch, who swam the 200 Freestyle in 2:06.5 and Chelsea Davidoff (2:08.93) and freshman Nicole Washington, who swam 26.6 in the 50 Freestyle and 1:08.04 in the 100 Butterfly, winning both events. Another ninth-grader, Sophia Perelshtein, won the 200 Individual Medley in 2:30.51. Having finished undefeated in dual meets, it was no surprise that Palisades outraced its competition in the most important meet of the year to this point. Having passed this first test with flying colors, the Dolphins are itching for a new challenge. City preliminaries are May 17 at the AAF/John C. Argue Swim Stadium next to the Los Angeles Coliseum.
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