Depth, depth, depth.
The winning margins may have been at different ends of the spectrum, but the theme of the victorious performances by the San Benito girls and boys varsity track teams was the same in a dual meet with Notre Dame and Palma Thursday at home.
The ‘Baler girls swept seven events en route to a 92-21 romp of the Spirits. The boys also won, but by a much smaller margin, 73.5-65.5 over the Chieftains, a team which the ‘Balers beat by just one point last year.
“It was kind of a spread the wealth kind of day,” said San Benito boys head coach Iran White. “Our depth saved us today.”
Kyle Bambrick, Todd Merrigan and Austin Schmidt all had first-place finishes for the ‘Balers. Bambrick was a two-time winner, taking first in the 1600 meters (4:47) and the 800 meters (2:10). Bambrick’s time in the 1600, an event in which he doesn’t regularly participate, was just over a second better than teammate Rigo Vasquez (4:48.22), who took second.
Merrigan’s height of14-6 in the pole vault won him that event. Schmidt, a sophomore competing in four varsity events, was first in the triple jump with a length of 39-11. He also took second in the 300-meter hurdles (36.08), second in the 110-meter hurdles (16.68) and tied for third in the long jump (17-9).
“He’s good at everything I put him in,” White said.
Another notable performance was that of Josh Liem, who set a new personal best in a second-place performance in the pole vault. He vaulted 12-6, a foot and a half better than his previous top mark.
According to White, the win was a big one for the ‘Balers in the Tri-County Athletic League race. In addition to Palma, the coach also anticipates Salinas to be strong as usual.
“We still have to face Salinas, but (the meet against Palma) will probably be our toughest dual meet of the year,” White said.
On the girls side, the ‘Balers took first, second and third in the shot put (Jackie Perrin 35-3 1/2; Lyla Yolde 33-8; Sarah Yolde 32-21/2), the discus (Morgan O’Laughlin 105-9; Perrin 99-11, Sarah Yolde 84-5), the 100-meter hurdles (Angelica Bañuelos 19.88; Samantha Patten 19.88; Ellen Dungy 21.20), the 300-meter hurdles (Dungy 1:00; Patten 1:01.37; Bañuelos 1:03.91), the triple jump (Laura Smith 30.00, Katie Smith 27.22, Dominique Flores 25.10), the 800 meters (Amanda Boyd 2:30; Dana Baldsley 2:41; Jamilla Saqqa 2:44) and pole vault (Carly Brigantino 7-6; Ashlyn Gonzalez 7-0; Audra Martinez 7-0).
“The theme of the night was sweep,” said San Benito girls head coach Leo Trinidad. “That’s how most of the points came right there.”
Boyd and Baldsley took first and second in the 1600 as well with times of 5:26.04 and 5:48.75, respectively.
“(The meet) turned out pretty good. The girls picked it up better than from last week’s Gilroy scare,” Trinidad said. “This was a big step from last week.”
Brigantino also won the 100 with a time of 13.6, but took a bad fall as she leaned in at the finish.
“She took a nasty, blood-shedding spill at the end,” Trinidad said. “But she still came back and won pole vault.”
The ‘Balers also had a strong showing in the 400, getting a first-place finish from freshman Courtney Allen and a third-place finish from Laura Villaseñor.
Trinidad felt the performance showed the ‘Balers should stack up well against perennially tough Salinas, which beat Notre Dame by a roughly 70-40 margin.
“This shows how strong we can be and hopefully it paves the way to a league title,” Trinidad said. “It sends a message over to Salinas. We haven’t beaten them in a long time.”
The boys’ Frosh/Soph (72-63) and the girls’ JV (63.5-40) teams were also victorious.
Both varsity ‘Baler teams head to Berkeley this weekend to compete in the Bay Area Blast-Off, an annual college invitational that is hosting high school competition for the first time.
“We’ll see if it’s as good as we’ve heard,” White said.
