Regional Repeat

Overtime Win Lifts Palisades Water Polo to Second Straight SoCal Title   

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Having carried the team on his back for much of Saturday’s  CIF SoCal Regional Division III water polo final, Palisades High junior utility Owen Grant got a chance to add the exclamation point to his remarkable performance with just over two minutes left in the second overtime period. After an initial shot  from the perimeter was blocked by a defender and popped high in the air, Grant reached up to grab the ball, bobbled it once, twice and in a single motion, with two defenders draped all over him, cocked and fired a shot into the right corner of the cage to put the Dolphins ahead  10-9. They held on to defeat Rancho Bernardo for their second straight regional crown and third since 2018, but not before the Broncos had one last chance to tie it. They called their  last timeout with 18 seconds left and tried to work the ball inside, but a desperation shot sailed over the crossbar as the final buzzer sounded, setting in motion a celebration in the pool at Maggie Gilbert Aquatic Center highlighted by splashing and high-fiving in the pool with assistant coach Kirk Lazaruk, who dialed up the right defense at the end to thwart   the visitors on their final possession.        

“Fatigue was a factor and I’d say conditioning-wise we were equal,” said senior goalie John Possman, who made numerous clutch saves, one on a five-meter shot. “There’s no better way to end my Pali career. This is better than winning City.”   

   Grant scored five times in a 15-13 semifinal victory over Birmingham, the same team Palisades beat by six to claim its 10th straight City title seven days earlier. He tallied Palisades’ first five goals Saturday and screamed “I’m better than Oliver!” upon receiving his first-place medal, referring to his older brother who led the program to four City titles and its first regional championship.

“Winning City was more of a legacy thing,” said Grant, who partied in the dark on the deck afterwards.    “This was our most difficult game all season. We wanted to give our seniors the right send-off!”

Lazaruk, who piloted Palisades’ girls to their first City title in 2019     and guided the U.S. men’s team to gold at the World Maccabiah Games  in Israel in July, called it one of his sweetest wins ever: “Our strategy all season was to move and make the other team make decisions.”