San Benito wins at each level: Lady ‘Balers top Gilroy 90-46,
‘Baler boys win 109-26, JV girls 123-0, and JV boys 67-47
HOLLISTER
As Gilroy High head coach Jeff Myers said, “It’s never fun to lose to your rival.”
In one of the final dual meets of the Tri-County Athletic League season, in perhaps one of the final league dual meets between the two rival schools (Gilroy is expected to move to the Monterey Bay League in 2010), host San Benito swept Gilroy Thursday in Hollister, from the varsity to the junior varsity ranks.
The ‘Baler boys topped the shorthanded Mustangs, which were without the services of Peter Guenther, the Central Coast Section’s top hurdler, 109-26; while San Benito’s JV boys pushed across a 20-point victory with a 67-47 victory.
“I thought they were gonna come at us more, but they were without some kids,” San Benito boys coach Iran White said. “That’s the way it is.”
In what was expected to be a far closer result on the girls side, though, the Lady ‘Balers remained undefeated in the TCAL with a comfortable 90-46 win, in which the Mustangs moved each and every member of its JV team up to the varsity level.
“We wanted to give Hollister our best run,” Myers said. “One united team. One united effort, to try and beat them.”
Myers said he was expecting a 20-point gap, not a 50-point gap in the final results. San Benito, though, perhaps capitalizing on its home field advantage, took first place in 12 of the 16 events.
“My girls, I was worried,” San Benito girls coach Laurie Cottrell said. “I have confidence in all my girls. But Gilroy is our rival and this would be the last time we’d be playing them at home.
“They came together as a team to win as a team.”
One of those victories came in the one mile, where Courtney Allen cruised to an unofficial time of 5:21.
Approximately five seconds behind was Gilroy’s Athena Alarcon, who ran a 5:26 to take second place. The run, though, was some 10 seconds off her personal record this season.
“I think I did pretty good, but it was difficult,” said Alarcon, a freshman. “It was hard with the dust and the wind, but it was fun.”
Alarcon was sandwiched between Allen in front and teammate Kathleen Miller in back, a trio of state qualifiers who have advanced to the state meet in either track or cross country.
“The way she ran, I didn’t think it was too bad,” Alarcon said of Allen. “But then she had the kick.
“Right before the third lap. I was just hoping to stay with her. But in the end, I was surprised by how big of a kick I had in the end. It seemed very tiring.”
Allen took two other top spots in the 400 (59.21) and the 800 (2:24), while Kelsey Russell won the 100 (12.8) and the 200 (27.09). Krystal Alnas took the shot put (32-8); Natalie Becker won the discus (96-10); Melissa Castro earned first in the high jump (4-06); Chelsea Freitas won the triple jump (32-1); and Sophie Coelho was tops in the pole vault (9-0).
The 4×400 relay was also first in 4:17.
The Lady ‘Balers knew early on of Gilroy’s increase in numbers at the varsity level, with the Mustangs looking to capitalize on depth by moving up its JV team.
Without opposition, the Lady ‘Balers JV program won 123-0.
“They’re our team to beat,” said Melisah Cortez, who ran the final leg of the 4×100 Thursday, among other events. “They’re trying to put more girls up to varsity, but we won’t let that beat us.”
Cortez ran a 13.8 split on the final leg of the 4×100, which was slightly longer than normal after she took on a few added meters from her teammates. Battling Gilroy down the stretch, though, Cortez managed to stave off Mustang Lindsey Foster in the end.
San Benito clocked a time of 51.69.
“I saw how fast she took off before me,” Cortez said of Foster, who received her baton slightly ahead of Cortez. “But when I got the stick, I didn’t see her at all.”
Complete results were unavailable at publication.
The Mustangs are scheduled to compete at the 18th Annual North Salinas Frosh/Soph and Varsity Track and Field Invitational Saturday, where the first event is slated for 9 a.m., at North Salinas High School.
Gilroy is expected to rebound, especially with the return of several tracksters who missed Thursday’s dual meet due to a prior engagement.
“We didn’t perform well,” Myers said.
“But I give them credit. They were the better team today.”
San Benito will head north Saturday with a select group to the Sacramento Meet of Champions at Hughes Stadium, where Courtney Allen (1,600), Frankie Martinez (discus), Ryan Shorey (400) and the boys 4×400 relay team will compete.
The ‘Balers will return to TCAL action on Tuesday at North Salinas.
“We thought they were gonna come at us more, but we came prepared,” White said. “We don’t take any competitor for granted.”
