Runners “Christen” New Track

The oval at Palisades High’s newly-renovated Stadium by the Sea is named the “Carl Lewis Track” after the nine-time Olympic gold medalist who ran the ceremonial first lap last fall. Alas, Lewis was not on hand Friday for the Dolphins’ first Western League track and field meet but had he been there he most certainly would have been proud of the host school’s performance. It was a clean sweep for the Dolphins’ varsity in their dual meet against beach rival Venice and Coach Ron Brumel could not contain his excitement regarding his talented squad and the all-weather track it can now train and compete on. “All around, I believe this is one of the best teams we’ve had in a long time,” he said. “We’ve got talent in every event and it’s a good group of kids. And it was truly a pleasure to prepare for this meet compared to what I’ve had to do in the past. I didn’t have to use the linemaker or set up hash marks. It’s like having a BMW when you’ve spent years driving a Toyota Corolla.” Not only is the blue eight-lane track more pleasing to the eye, it’s also faster than the old dirt track, which means better times for the athletes. “You can really feel the difference,” sophomore Erika Martin said of the smoother surface. “We’re so spoiled now.” Martin competed in three varsity events on Friday and set personal bests in all three. She won the 100-meter dash in 12.4 seconds, she won the 100 hurdles in 15.9 seconds and she won the long jump with a distance of 16 feet, four inches. On Saturday, Martin ran the hurdles in 16.13 seconds to win the Large Schools “A” Division at the Pasadena Games. “I like the hurdles best although I’ve only had three official races,” said Martin, who led the Dolphins’ varsity soccer team in assists this past winter. “I did the long jump and 100 when I was at Calvary Christian but I didn’t try the hurdles until I came to Pali.” A trio of Pali sophomores swept the girls’ varsity 400 race. Racquel Rachon was first in 62.9 followed by Lauren Gustafson (63.7) and Chyann Chatman (63.9). The girls’ 4 x 100 relay team won easily in 52.3. Senior Mohaned Elias won the varsity boys’ 1600-meter race and anchored the Dolphins’ winning 4 x 400 relay. “I ran the mile in 4:52 and I was pretty much cruising,” Elias said. “I used that race more as a workout, really. My goal is to get under 4:30 by City finals. We won the relay by a lot and by doubling up I can get tired while actually working harder than the times reflect.” Kyle Hale ran a personal-best 16 seconds flat to win the varsity 110 hurdles on Friday and he won the same event Saturday in Pasadena. Mike Fujimoto was second in the varsity mile in 4:53.4. Carlos Bustamante won the 800 in 2:07.4 and Courtney Alexander won the 400 in 52.3 seconds. Khalid Stevens won the 200 on a lean by one one-hundreth of a second, clipping the tape in 23.0 seconds, and jumped 21′ 2″ to take first in the long jump–a mark that Brumel said “is good enough to medal in City.” Loren Artis jumped 19′ 5″ to finish second and Jack Simmons jumped 18′ 3″ to take third. Simmons, a junior, cleared 5′ 10″ to win the varsity high jump–a personal record by four inches. Venice did not enter any of the field events, leaving Palisades’ athletes to compete only against each other. Brock Earnest took first place in the shot put with a throw of 39′ 10.” On the girls’ side, Tuekeha Huntley cleared 5′ 4″ to win the high jump (an effort she repeated the next day in Pasadena) and Brittney Merritt (4′ 6″) was second. Nicole Mahanian won the triple jump, finished second to Martin in the 100 meters, and ran the first leg of the Dolphins’ victorious 4 x 100 relay. Utopia Kates ran the second leg of the 4 x 100 and was runner-up in the long jump (15′ 7″). “We have a strong team with a lot of promising 10th graders and freshmen and so far we’ve done pretty well,” said Mahanian, one of the Dolphins’ five senior captains. “I went to City in the long jump my sophomore year and in the triple jump last year. Right now, I’m the only girl doing triple jump so I might focus on that.” Mahanian, whose older sister Michelle was also a track standout at Pali and now attends UCLA, credits Paul Revere P.E. teacher Paul Foxson with improving her triple jump technique. “I really need to practice more so he comes as often as he can to help,” she said. Brumel’s biggest concern now is keeping his runners satisfied at road meets where they won’t have the top-notch facilities they now enjoy at Palisades. “From now on we’re going to have a “group whine” on the bus on the way over,” he joked. “That way they’ll all get it out of their system beforehand. Hopefully, going other places will help our kids appreciate what we have here.” Palisades travels to Fairfax on Friday but likely won’t be challenged until its last home meet against Hamilton on April 18. “They have some good athletes,” Brumel said. “That should be a real competitive meet.”