Track Hits Marks Against Hamilton

Palisades High athletes got to have a little fun during last Friday’s Western League dual meet against Hamilton at Stadium by the Sea. Coaches Perry Jones and Ron Brumel let their runners try races they normally wouldn’t compete in and yet the Dolphins still won both varsity competitions easily. Senior Carlos Bustamante, who primarily runs the 800 and 1600, was second in the 400 in 53.44 seconds and junior Eric Lopez (last year’s City frosh/soph 800 champion) was fourth in 54.2. Sophomore Grant Stromberg, normally a 1600 and 3200 scorer, won the 800 in 2:10 and freshman Drake Johnston was second in 2:14. Malik McDaniel ran the 100 in 11.44 seconds and ran the first leg of the 4 x 100 relay, which finished in 44.74. Lopez, junior Danny Escalante, Bustamante and Johnston combined to run the 4 x 400 relay in 3:44.10, with Escalante running a 55.2 second leg. “It’s fun to try new events but I’ll be shooting for the 800 at City [Finals],” Lopez said. “That’s my best event.” In the long jump, sophomore Kevin Strangeway (19′ 3.5″) and junior Ryan Bertwell (18′ 9.50′) had their best jumps of the spring, placing second and third respectively, while Kolmus Iheanacho put the shot 44′ 7.5″ and junior Naeem Jones cleared 5′ 10″ in the high jump. Senior Mariah Fisher-Kendrick won the girls’ varsity long jump with a season-best 14′ 8″ and the 4 x 400 relay team of Cleo Monrose, Maddy Meek, Laurie Pymartin and Mikaela Panza ran 4:21.20 against Hamilton. Monrose also ran a personal-best 55.94 in the 300 hurdles, where junior Amber Greer clocked a 49.24. Freshman Jacklyn Bamberger ran 2:45.40 in the girls’ 800 and blazed to an easy victory in the 3200 race, going 8 laps in a personal record 12:05.50. Senior Kiyah Moore ran the 400 in a season-best 63.04 and clocked 27.24 in the 200 and Jamie Greenberg finished the 100 hurdles in 17.84. Meanwhile, senior Erika Martin and freshman Kendall Gustafson were at the Arcadia Invitational, where Gustafson ran the 100 hurdles in 15.68 seconds, was fourth in the Open Division in the long jump with a distance of 17′ 8,” took sixth in the Heptathlon and cleared 5′ 3.75″ in the high jump. Martin cleared 5′ 1.75″ in the high jump and placed seventh in the heptathlon. The Dolphins will back on the Carl Lewis Track tomorrow for another dual meet, this time against archrival Venice. sports@palipost.com