When asked what having the 2028 Olympics Beach Volleyball games take place in Santa Monica meant to him, Pacific Palisades native Miles Partain said he’s already made some plans for the occasion.
"If there’s no red lights, it’d probably be like a four minute drive, maybe five-six minute drive from my house … I definitely could bike there, AirBnB the house, and make a bunch of money or something," Partain said with a smile. "We’ll see what our family does with that, but it’ll be cool. I grew up playing at that beach."
The 22-year-old volleyball phenom’s light-hearted but confident answer echoes the maturity process for Team USA’s youngest-ever men’s beach volleyball athlete. Although Partain and Rancho Palos Verdes native Andy Benesh didn’t grace the medal stand in the Paris Olympics, taking fifth for the US, the duo became closer as a unit and will vie to represent both their country and home area in 2028.
Benesh added that it would be "iconic" to play in Santa Monica with the Pier in the background, but the road to 2028 will have them staving off other contenders on the national circuit.
"It’s a long ways away, but we’ll try our hardest to be able to be in that position to represent our country again," Benesh said.
The two first met when Partain was still at Palisades High, serving as a true student-athlete. At Palisades, not only was the athlete a three-time California Interscholastic League All-City Division 1 Team member, he also was named the Valedictorian for the school’s class of 2020. Partain stated that he knew the track of classes he needed to take for the honor, maximizing the probability of being rewarded for his academic excellence, and added that AP Chemistry was the class that stuck with him.
"I had some really good teachers along the way, [had] some clutch test scores that helped … I didn't feel like I was naturally the smartest kid there, but the way I planned it helped tremendously," Partain said.
Benesh took note of his younger counterpart’s dedication both in the classroom and on the court, eventually teaming with the high schooler to great success.
"He’s obviously very talented," Benesh added. "I think he approaches the game in a really mature way, and I think that obviously, as a partner, that’s attractive … you could see him getting better every single year."
The Rancho native said it was "pretty easy" to build chemistry both in and out of the sport, stating he’s "fortunate" to have Partain as a partner.
"We share very similar thoughts in terms of volleyball, so that was easy [and] it fit well together pretty naturally," Benesh said. "Off the court, it’s good, we share a hotel room probably for 20 weeks out of the year … we’ve grown really close as friends, too, off the court, so I think that’s been probably the coolest part of the journey."
That journey led them to Paris as one of two men’s beach volleyball duos, alongside Miles Evans and former basketball pro Chase Budinger. After a preliminary stage loss to Cuba in their first outing, Partain and Benesh turned it around with a straight-set victory over Morocco and a three-set win over Brazil to clinch a spot in the single-elimination field. The duo didn’t just have to beat Morocco in the second contest, but beat the heat as well, with an air temperature of 92 degrees Fahrenheit and the sand sizzling at 110 degrees.
"It’s just one of the environments we had to learn how to play in," Benesh said. "We’re playing in rain sometimes, cold weather, and play when it’s really sunny or really windy or really hot, so I think it just comes with building experience playing on the court … you can always dump water on yourself."
Outside of the sometimes-scorching conditions, the duo had the ultimate praise for the volleyball venue, a stadium adjacent to the worldwide landmark Eiffel Tower. Partain added that training courts were even closer to the Eiffel with no obstructions, and that the atmosphere in the stadium peaked at night with the tower lit up.
"I think we’re still digesting [the experience] a little bit … [but] playing in front of that many people was really cool, I think as the tournament went on, we adjusted well to kind of block out some of the chaotic noise around it and just play volleyball," Benesh said.
The duo is truly around-the-clock with the sport, immediately signing up to play the Manhattan Beach Open this past weekend. Losing in the championship contest, Partain said it was "a hard tournament to pass up" as the biggest annual domestic gathering of volleyball professionals, and "was an easy decision" to play considering still being in Olympics shape.
Partain and Benesh also made time for their fans in Manhattan Beach, signing merchandise and representing the Skechers brand at its store by the beach. Benesh said that having a worldwide company sponsoring them "is pretty surreal," and thanked the apparel company for their support in the team’s worldwide travels.
They won’t have to travel far in 2028, however, if the duo indeed represents the US in Santa Monica. Though they didn’t offer up many tips on what Los Angeles could do to put on an event rivaling the Paris Olympics, they both put their excitement behind the opportunity.
"I think in Paris, they did a good job of holding [events] in really cool places … [its] such a historic city, but LA I think rivals [it] in that sense … I think it’ll be a really great overall Olympics being here at home," Benesh said.
thomas@smdp.com
