Page 10 June 17, 2021 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Eagles from page 3
Alexander Cole won the 200-yard freestyle at the CIF Southern Section Division 2 Championships. Photo courtesy of Marie Beetner. Molly Beetner, just a freshman, won the 100-yard breaststroke at the Pioneer League finals. Photo courtesy of Marie Beetner.
Justin Erbacci from front page
over leadership with all that entails in the wake
of travel and airports becoming a significant
point of focus associated with medical risks.
With the threat of Covid looming large,
Erbacci didn’t miss a beat. Taking federal
guidance and safety precautions into consideration,
he created a Covid task force to handle
everything from implementing new touchless
technologies all over the facility to implementing
new cleaning standards and training to keep
every employee up to date and on the same
page. This includes things like new UV light
sterilized handrails on escalators and buttons on
elevators. Many normal airport functions moved
over to a format usable on a mobile phone.
Erbacci worked in his office every day of the
pandemic to ensure the safety of all essential
workers still required to go to the airport and
begin working on a health and recovery plan
for the future.
As for what’s going on as we begin to exit
the pandemic, some exciting new projects are
underway. Erbacci explains some of the new
plans he’s approved and is developing with
the LAWA team.
“We have a $14.5 billion improvement
program going on,” he says. The project
he is most excited about is the construction
of a people mover train that will transport
travelers to and from the airport and all
terminals, effectively mitigating the need
for cars to be in the center of the airport.
Justin Erbacci, CEO of Los Angeles World Airports.
The new people mover train will have
three stations within the airport: a west stop
near the Bradley International Terminal, a
Central Terminal stop, and the third stop
between terminals 1 and 7. From here, the
train will continue eastward to a stop at an
intermodal transportation facility. This will
be a remote parking lot with about 4,300
spaces that will allow for parking, as well
as ride pickups and drop-offs.
Continuing east, the people mover train will
intersect with the Crenshaw metro line, allowing
access by metro to the airport. Finally, the
last station will be at the largest consolidated
rental car facility in the United States.
“It will be the second-largest cement structure
in the United States, second only to the
Pentagon,” says Erbacci. The idea with all
of this is that all rental car transactions will
happen at this final station, residents will have
an easier time accessing the airport sans car
via the metro, and all cars and hotel shuttles
can mostly use the remote parking lot, where
guests can then enter the airport by train.
With all of these measures, the flow of travel
through LAX will be much more ergonomic
for a city of this size.
In addition to the train, Erbacci is working
on the renovation of terminals, improvements
to the airfield to alleviate congestion experienced
on the ground, and adding more gates
and a new concourse. A new elevated roadway
system is also underway to replace the current
system of how cars enter the central terminal,
easing traffic on nearby streets and improving
circulation in and out of the airport.
As Erbacci looks to the future, these projects
are anticipated to be completed in total by
One of many mockups for the new LAX people mover train to be built in the next two years. A route map shows the exact location of the new train.
2023. Though he says these changes would
have happened regardless of the upcoming
Olympics, he says that he does want to make
a good impression as athletes from all over the
globe enter our city, which these new airport
modifications will help provide. His team has
set forth an ambitious sustainability plan with
the goal of being carbon neutral by 2045.
Through all of these goals, Erbacci makes it
clear that inclusion is a priority, making sure
that diverse groups and companies have the
chance to participate in these ongoing plans.
With participation in mind, Erbacci relates
his desire to be a good neighbor to El Segundo.
With all these plans being set forth,
he is making sure the community has time
to review them and reach out with any questions,
concerns, or suggestions. Feedback to
local elected representatives will make it on
his desk, and he encourages all local residents
to be informed.
Erbacci describes a sense of honor and
privilege in his role and focuses on serving
travelers the best experience possible.
“My personal goals are those for the airport…
We want to make sure that we are providing
a world-class airport for the citizens of
Los Angeles and those who are coming to
Los Angeles.” •
The boys did well in the 200-yard freestyle
relay. Rainer Reczer, Taisei Saito, Hirota
Inoki, and Alexander Cole combined to
win the event in 1:29.46. This same relay
team won the 400-yard freestyle in 3:12.46,
and qualified for the CIF Prelims meet in
both events.
On the girls’ side, they finished an impressive
second overall in the Pioneer League.
Only freshman Molly Beetner won an individual
league title when her strong surge at
the end was good enough to win the 100-yard
breaststroke in 1:08.62. The girls also won
the 200-yard freestyle relay that consisted
of Gabriela Crother-Collado, Molly Beetner,
Maya Viramontes, and Emery Arnold.
Others who fared well at the league finals
were freshmen Lucas Crother-Collado and
Emery Arnold, who finished second and third
respectfully in the 50-yard freestyle. Arnold
finished second and Luke Pohlman third in
the 100 fly, while Rainer Reczer was third
in the 100-yard freestyle. Taisei Saito swam
to a second-place finish with a 54.33 in the
100-yard backstroke. Kai Albertson was
nudged out of winning the 100-yard breast
and finished second in a time of 1:01.77.
On the girls’ side, Gabriella Crother-Collado
finished second in the 200-yard freestyle and
Molly Beetner’s 59. 92 was good enough
for a third-place finish in the 100-yard fly.
Both boys and girls JV teams finished third
overall at the Pioneer League finals. Andrew
Felix’s 1:06.07 in the 100-yard backstroke,
and Tyler Thomas won the 100-yard freestyle
in 56.37. Victor Ayaay, Patrick Wang, Andrew
Felix, and Julian Raymond took home the
200-yard freestyle relay crown
In a year where only the top 16 earned
the right to compete at CIF Prelims, due to
COVID restrictions, El Segundo was well
represented among the over 50 schools that
had qualifiers for CIF Southern Section Division
2. This year the Eagles were moved
into Division 2 up from Division 3, which
made the competition a little more daunting.
The girls finished a respectable 18th out
of 47 teams while the boys’ team finished
fourth overall.
The girls were seeded eleventh in the
200-yard freestyle relay and finished strong
and placed sixth, good enough for a medal.
Three freshmen led the Eagles, starting with
Emery Arnold, who got off to a good start,
followed by Molly Beetner, who swam a
team’s best 24.61. Maya Viramontes swam
a strong third leg while senior Gabriella
Crother-Collado anchored for the Eagles and
held off Trabuco Hills’ Taylor Lowe to give
El Segundo a medal.
Alexander Cole had a great meet by
winning the 200 free in a sizzling 1:39.25
and third in the 500 free (4:34.41). Taisei
Saito made it to the podium twice, including
one for finishing fifth in the 200IM in
1:54.18 and a sixth-place finish in the 100
backstroke (52.83. Hirota Inoki took home
a sixth-place medal in the 50-yard freestyle.
The Eagles (Inoki, Reczer, Saito, and Cole)
won the 400 freestyle relay by nosing out
Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks by six-tenths
of a second thanks to Cole’s anchor time
of 44.98.
With so many talented swimmers returning
next season, the Eagles have a bright future
and continued success ahead. •