Visiting Salinas edged San Benito 71-65 in a meet decided by the
final race; the Lady ‘Balers, meanwhile, downed the Cowboys
89-47
HOLLISTER
It was San Benito-Salinas – the type of meet where ‘Balers middle-distance runner Ryan Shorey couldn’t help but tabulate points in his head after each and every event.
It was going to be close; that much was for certain. Just how close was anybody’s guess.
When the ‘Baler boys swept the 200 meters – from Jason Roascio to Mitchell Cook to Justin Williams – coaches and athletes couldn’t help but voice their optimism in the slight edge they just received.
“That was big,” long distance coach Jess Morales said.
But when Salinas later returned the favor, sweeping past San Benito in the 3,200 meters, it became evident the Tri-County Athletic League powerhouses would decide their dual meet in the day’s final event: the 4×400.
Said San Benito boys coach Iran White, “They’re making it exciting.”
Indeed. In an epic relay event that should only set the stage for the TCAL Championships in mid-May, the ‘Balers held a narrow five-foot lead for all of 100 meters before Salinas’ David Perez, who finished 11th overall in the Central Coast Section Cross Country Championships earlier this season, passed Nik Soza in the home stretch and provided the visiting Cowboys with a 71-65 victory.
It was just six points in the end, but really, it came down to approximately five feet.
“I gave it my best. It just wasn’t good enough to kick it at the end,” said Soza, who suffered a dislocated hip during soccer season and was competing in his third race of the day. Soza also ran in the 800 and 400, where he finished second overall behind teammate Justin Williams.
“But it was a good race,” he added. “I felt great. I know I ran good. He just had more than me.”
The meet, though, wasn’t necessarily supposed to be as close as it was. Some had the Cowboys as 20-point favorites with their noticeable depth, coupled with San Benito’s mounting injuries.
“And if we performed like we did against Alvarez, they would have beaten us by 40 points,” White said. “But our kids came to play today.
“There is nothing bad about this loss … I’m extremely proud of my team.”
White was forced to jumble his lineup with injuries to, among others, Ryan Shorey (hamstring) and Frankie Rivera (hamstring), who both competed but saw limited events.
Shorey, for instance, the team’s lone returning state qualifier, didn’t compete last weekend at the Stanford Invitational. White instead placed Shorey, who is known for the 400, in the longer-distance, lesser-impact 800 on Thursday.
Shorey took second overall, just in front of teammate David Kret but behind Salinas’ Perez.
“Considering I’m not in that great of shape because I’ve been taking it easy (due to the injured hamstring), I think I did well,” said Shorey, who clocked splits of 25 seconds after 200 meters and 57 seconds after 400.
“The hammy’s not bothering me, at least I won’t have to worry about that. But I’m glad I have the weekend off … even though it’s not affecting me. You can never take a chance.”
The Lady ‘Balers, meanwhile, enjoyed a far more convincing victory when they defeated Salinas 89-47 behind strong first-place finishes from Kelsey Russell in the 100 (12.68), Melissa Castro in the 300 hurdles and high jump, Tara Bugarin in the discus (87-10) and Meya Alnas in the shot put (32-08 ½).
San Benito’s Courtney Allen shined on both the track and the field when she easily finished first in the 3,200 meters (11:57) as well as the long jump (15-04 ½).
“I think we performed really well as a team,” said Allen, who also ran the final leg of the 4×400 and closed a 100-meter gap to just 10 meters in the last lap.
“I felt relaxed (in the 3,200) and maybe it’s because I’m getting stronger, I don’t know,” added Allen, whose participation in the long jump is one year after she competed in the triple jump.
Girls coach Laurie Cottrell said the team’s strong practices this past week led to their 42-point victory.
“Our girls pulled it off today,” Cottrell said. “It was a great day to be a Lady ‘Baler.”
San Benito also saw strong performances in the 400, where Melisah Cortez and Lauren Adamek took second and fourth place, respectively, as well as the 800, where Rachel Shimabukuro and Michelle Duarte took second and third for the Lady ‘Balers.
Said Cottrell, “We went against a good team with some strong athletes and my girls knew that and they came out to win.”
San Benito, both the boys and girls, will have some time off to rest and repair their injuries. The team will return the following weekend for the Don Bell Quicksilver Classic in Leland on April 11, which will kick off the last month of the season before the TCAL Trials and TCAL Championships begin on May 13 and 15.
“We’ve just got to do better,” Soza said. “This is just more motivation for us to do better.”
Complete results will be posted when available.
JV Note:
The San Benito boys junior varsity track and field team lost to Salinas 89-42, while the Lady ‘Balers narrowly defeated the Cowboys 68-67.
