Track Teams Place at Finals

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

For the first three laps of the girls 1600-meter race at last week’s City Track & Field Championships, Palisades High senior Ava Baak patiently waited for the opportunity to make her move. She stayed close behind the two leaders until the final turn, then used a burst of speed to surge to the front and won in a personal-best time of 5:05.68.

“My goal for the first two laps was to stay with the first girl and see what happens,” said Baak, who held off Jocelyn Pacheco of Granada Hills and Angelina Valladares on the final straightaway. “The third lap was the hardest for me. The 200 mark was where I made my move. I’m very proud of myself—and I don’t say that much.”

Baak, who will attend the University of Michigan in the fall, also ran the 800 (finishing seventh) but opted out of the 3200 for prelims to increase her chances at the shorter distances. The strategy paid off.

Louisa Mammen took sixth in the 3200 and the Dolphins took third in the 4×100 relay (50.21 seconds) and fourth in the 4×400 relay (4:08.32) to finish tied for third with El Camino Real in the girls’ team standings with 28 points, behind only Carson (166) and Granada Hills (96).

Palisades’ boys squad took second overall behind Granada Hills, racking up 46 points. Senior Zaire Peters won the shot put with a throw of 52 feet, five inches on his final attempt, edging Abdoni Ubeda of Birmingham (51-8.50).

“My spin was bad and I almost took out a few bushes,” joked Peters, who threw a personal-best 54-8 at the Redondo Nike Track Festival on March 11. “I was losing by half an inch going into the last round. I had to focus on technique, staying low and ripping through. My goal is to place in the top six at state.”

Junior Max Fields, the reigning City cross country champion and preseason favorite to repeat in the 3200, woke up feeling under the weather but decided to compete and earned valuable points by placing eighth in the 1600 and second to sophomore teammate Owen Lewicky in the eight-lapper.

“I tried my best but I didn’t have it,” said Fields, who traded leads with Lewicky for the final 400 meters before settling for the runner-up spot, three seconds behind. “My whole family was throwing up all day.”

Lewicky clocked a personal-best 9:34.08 and credited his teammate with establishing a pace that would ensure one of them would win.

“Max got sick today and wasn’t sure he’d even be able to run but he did and we made it an honest race. The kid who started in the lead [William Bujake of New West Charter] went out way too fast and we knew he’d slow down, which he did.”

Amari Yolas, who played football in the fall and is the center fielder on the Pali High baseball team, took second in the 100 meters in 10.87.