San Benito’s 4×400 team doesn’t set PR at Stanford invite, but
remains atop CCS
Palo Alto
Ryan Shorey’s hands were shaking from nerves as he placed his number on his chest.
Nik Soza felt the pressure as well, but once he stepped foot on Cobb Track, it ran away.
The pressure certainly heightened for the seven San Benito runners Saturday at the Stanford University Invitational in Palo Alto, but once the time came to perform, the ‘Balers shined.
“Once you hear the crowd, the people,” said Jamil Taylor, “it’s like, ‘all right.'”
San Benito sent their 4×400 and 4×800 relay teams to the elite event at Cobb Track and Angell Field, and certainly did not disappoint.
The 4×400 foursome of Shorey, Soza, Taylor and Ian Bambrick finished second in Heat 3, sixth overall, after they recorded a 3:28.33.
“It’s not our best, but we did pretty good,” said Soza, who ran the second leg of the 4×400.
San Benito’s time was two seconds off their record, which is 3:26.69, but the high mark still placed the relay team with the top time among Central Coast Section schools at the prestigious invite.
De La Salle (3:20.98), Rancho Verde (3:24.59), San Ramon Valley (3:26.33), Skyline (3:27.68) and James Logan (3:28.25) finished in spots one through five, while San Benito’s closest CCS competitors in Archbishop Mitty (3:28.59) and Evergreen Valley (3:28.93) finished in seventh and eighth, respectively.
San Benito’s PR in the 4×400 of 3:26.69, however, took place after they submitted their time to the Stanford invite. As a result, the relay team was put into Heat 3 instead of the faster-paced Heat 4.
Nonetheless, Shorey’s blistering start to the fourth and final leg of the 4×400 moved San Benito from fourth place to second place in the heat, and helped the ‘Balers keep their time tops in the section.
“As far as the entire team goes, I think it was pretty good – only two seconds off our PR,” Shorey said. “I think we stacked up pretty well. We’re only three seconds off from making the top 10 in the state.”
The Stanford invite came just two days after what was perhaps San Benito’s biggest league dual meet of the season at Salinas, in which the ‘Balers defeated the Cowboys 89-47.
“They gave a lot in Salinas,” boys coach Iran White said. “They’re fresh, but not 100 percent fresh. Even a meet as big as this, it’s still part of their training. It was a good day.”
It was a good day for San Benito’s 4×800 team of Frankie Rivera, Israel Cisneros, Aaron Smith and Bambrick. The team qualified for Stanford with just a single recorded time to their name – an 8:46.38 at the Mount Pleasant Relays – but they managed to PR after taking some 15 seconds off their time.
“I was impressed with the way we did,” Bambrick said. Teammates Cisneros and Rivera both set PR’s on their legs, as the team’s 8:31.29 was good enough for 23rd place at Stanford.
Earlier in the day, Shorey ran in the 400 meters and clocked a 51.09 to take 16th overall. Shorey’s best time of the season, though, was 50.91 at the St. Francis Invitational.
“I didn’t do as well as I had hoped,” Shorey said. “I didn’t run it the way I should have … I’m not taking it out the way I want.”
The sprinter noted a lack of acceleration at the start of the race, saying the first 200 meters were rather slow.
The ‘Balers are off until Thursday when they host Palma and Notre Dame at San Benito High School, supplying the squad with a few non-meet days off.
Said Soza, “Two big meets in a row is pretty tough.”
