Palisades High Cross Country Teams Qualify for City Finals; Bamberger Seeks Girls’ Crown after Fastest Time at Prelims
Perhaps the official timekeepers should have checked to make sure there were no wings attached to Jacklyn Bamberger’s powder blue running shoes following her race in last Thursday’s City Section cross country preliminaries at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. The Palisades High freshman seemingly glided over the three-mile course, taking command from the start and maintaining a 40-yard lead the rest of the way, crossing the finish line in a personal-best 18:20 and establishing herself as the favorite to win Saturday morning’s final. “Coach [Ron] Brumel said just run how you feel–if you want to go all-out you can,” Bamberger said after breaking her previous best time of 18:26, which she clocked two weeks prior in the Dolphins’ last Western League dual meet against Venice. “I went out pretty fast but it was okay. I still had a little left in the tank.” Bamberger not only won her heat, she had the fastest time of the day, 22 seconds better than Venice senior Jaclyn Walles, who had beaten Bamberger in the dual meet but was sick and not running her best in the prelims. Still, she easily won her heat and could be ready to challenge Bamberger come Saturday. “To be honest, I was more concerned with winning my race than my time,” admitted Bamberger, who predicted it could take another PR to win the City. ‘I’m gonna’ have to run under 18 [minutes],’ she said. “Jaclyn is a fierce competitor. When she’s at her best she’s amazing.” Bamberger’s performance is a big reason why the Dolphins also qualified as a team, though she couldn’t do it alone. Only the top four teams in each of three heats advance to the finals and Palisades took third in Heat 2 with 100 points, one better than Santee. Sophomore Sophia Stone finished 15th in 20:30, senior Michelle Colato was 18th in 20:57, junior Wendy Gomez was 35th in 21:56 and junior Amber Greer rounded out the scorers, placing 38th in 22:10. Sophomore Melissa Tallis ran 47th in 22:53 and junior Amy Moulthrop came in 64th in 25:13. Bamberger, who turned 15 in August, will play varsity soccer at Palisades this winter and plans to run track in the spring. The present goal, however, is to win City or, at the very least, earn a berth to the state finals in Fresno. “I definitely think she can do it,” Brumel said. “The times she’s running for her age are just incredible.’ Palisades sophomore Grant Stromberg finished sixth in Heat 1 of the boys’ competition as the Dolphins secured the fourth and last team spot for Saturday’s finals with a total score of 128. Stromberg conquered the dusty switchbacks in 16:22 and was followed by freshman Drake Johnston (17th in 17:03) and senior Carlos Bustamante (19th in 17:06), who started the season as the Dolphins’ top runner and a City contender but has been slowed by injury. Junior Danny Escalante ran 33rd in 17:44, sophomore Daniel Hernandez was 55th in 18:47, junior Evan Shaner was one place behind in 18:48 and junior Alex Hernandez finished 59th in 18:52. “Only two teams qualify for state and there are three or four teams ahead of us so we’re all going to have to drop time,” said Johnston, whose PR at Pierce was 16:56 at the Venice meet. “It’s fun to be on a team with guys like Carlos and Grant because we all push each other.”
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