It all came down to this. The San Benito girls track & field team needed to win the 4×400-meter relay in order to beat host Gilroy. And well into the final lap, the Haybalers were trailing the upstart Mustangs.
But then San Benito anchor Amanda Boyd took over.
Flying past Gilroy’s standout freshman Ariana Vera with an aggressive move on the inside lane, Boyd took the lead just before the last corner and burned down the final straightaway to cement the victory for the ‘Balers.
“I like it when it comes down to that,” said Boyd. “All my adrenaline was pumping. When you get the baton under the lights, you get that 4×4 feeling.”
Thanks to that first-place finish in the dual meet’s final event, the San Benito girls team squeezed out a narrow victory, topping Gilroy by a score of 64-63.
The Haybalers had built up a double-digit lead with victories in the 4×100-meter relay, the distance races, the shot put and discus, but saw the Mustangs come roaring back with sweeps in the sprints, the hurdles and the jumps.
Boyd, the bedrock of the girls team, posted three individual victories to put San Benito up early. The senior won the 1600-meter in 5:31.96, the 400-meter in 1:04.52 and the 800-meter with a time of 2:31.93.
Junior transfer Dana Balsley figured heavily in the outcome as well, posting second-place finishes in the 1600-meter and 3200-meter races and snagging third in the 800-meter. She also ran the second leg of the decisive 4×400-meter relay.
Balsley, who was competing despite feeling the effects of a sickness, spoke of her mindset running down the stretch in the eight-lap 3200-meter race.
“I forgot all about my pain or anything,” said Balsley, who narrowly missed defeating Gilroy’s Kathleen Miller. “You lose all your feelings at the end. You just become numb.”
With Melissa Sandoval, a top CCS challenger, out with a knee injury and Laura Smith fighting off an injury sustained in the meet, San Benito saw the Mustangs close the gap and take a narrow lead heading into the final relay.
But ‘Balers coach Julio Trinidad said the end-of-the-meet dramatics, complete with athletes running across the infield and screaming encouragement to their teammates on the track, were what the sport is all about.
“When it’s a situation like this, that’s when track & field is the most exciting,” said Trinidad. “Everybody’s going nuts. It’s just great.”
After San Benito’s relay team of freshman Courtney Allen, Balsley, senior Jamilla Saqqa and Boyd won the show-stopping, back-and-forth race, Trinidad could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“Oh man, that was crucial,” said San Benito’s coach. “We needed that. If we drop [the meet] to them, there’s no way we could win league.”
Shortly after putting the finishing touches on the ‘Balers’ victory, Boyd grinned.
“Save the best for last,” said the San Benito senior of the climactic event. “It was awesome.”
