The best of the best make their sports dreams come true, and
amaze the rest of us along the way
It’s hard to believe that this little section of mother earth
where we live generates such an array of amazing sports stories
each and every year.
And 2006 was no different than any other year
– though some 2006 stories were arguably more impressive than
any of the previous year-end stories that have ever made our Top 10
Sports Stories of the Year.
The best of the best make their sports dreams come true, and amaze the rest of us along the way
It’s hard to believe that this little section of mother earth where we live generates such an array of amazing sports stories each and every year.
And 2006 was no different than any other year – though some 2006 stories were arguably more impressive than any of the previous year-end stories that have ever made our Top 10 Sports Stories of the Year.
Boxed in
One story that fit into that category was Gilroy’s Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero’s capturing of the International Boxing Federation featherweight championship of the world back in September.
The 23-year-old Guerrero, who first stepped into the ring when he was 9 years old, defeated Eric Aiken at the Staples Center in Los Angles to win the coveted title belt.
As fate would have it Guerrero, would lose the title in his first defense of it to Mexico’s Orlando Salido in a 12-round decision in November only to learn just days after the fight that Salido tested positive for steroids, meaning that the belt was vacated and Guerrero will get the first crack at winning it back in March in a bout in Denmark against Spend Abazi.
The reason we placed the Guerrero story at the top of our list is simple. Guerrero, a graduate of Gilroy High, was the champion of the world, however briefly. And he is expected to reclaim his title in March.
The bottom line is how many other cities in America, even the major ones, can even claim to be the home of a world champion? Not many. Yet here we have the city of Gilroy, the city just up the road that Hollister shares a common border with, being home to a world champion. Impressive? We thought so.
A first time for everything
It was definitely a great year for sports at San Benito High School. In fact, it was so great that twice last year the Balers did something they had never done before.
The first came in May when the San Benito High softball team ousted Watsonville High by a 1-0 margin to earn the school’s first-ever section championship for softball.
Prior to their historic win, the Balers had made the championship game in four of the last six years only to come up short in their quest for the title. But last year, thanks to dominant pitching by freshman Marissa Ibarra, the Balers walked off the field the victors in the biggest game of the year.
While the victory was special, the one thing that prevented it from being perfect was the absence of head coach Scott Smith, who was unable to attend the game as he was celebrating his daughter’s wedding in Texas. He pointed out that he was more nervous about the game than the wedding and threw up a handful of times thinking about it, which shows how important it was to Smith, his team and the school.
Volleyball victory
Another story that took place locally and stuck out at us like a sore thumb as we weeded through the many stories that graced our pages in ’06 was the Baler girls varsity volleyball team winning the Central Coast Section Championship.
Winning a section title is a sure-fire way to ascend to the top of the list at any community paper but this 25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 25-19 over Homestead High School in the section’s Division I title game was extra special because it marked the first time in school history that any Baler volleyball team had won CCS.
Taking it to the mat
Another local feat that couldn’t be over looked happened in Gilroy while the Pinnacle was still distributed in South Valley. We’re talking about the sheer domination of the Gilroy High School Wrestling team that captured its fourth consecutive CCS championship last February.
The Mustang wrestling team’s total of 274.50 bested Sunnyvale’s Fremont High by more than 100 points and broke a decade-long points record of 269.5 set by San Jose’s Independence High in 1996.
A quarterback comeback
And who can forget Gilroy’s Jeff Garcia – the quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles.
After accepting the backup role to franchised-player Donovan McNabb, the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback patiently watched from the sidelines. Then in November Garcia got his shot to take over the reigns again when McNabb suffered a season-ending injury to his right knee.
At the time the Eagles were on the verge of being eliminated from the NFL playoffs. After Garcia took over the starting role, Philly dropped its first game to Indianapolis then proceeded to rip off five wins in a row.
Today the Eagles are 10-6 and are champions of the NFC East. They will face the New York Giants Jan. 7. Should the Eagles win the Super Bowl it’s a no-brainer that the former quarterback at Gilroy High would make next year’s list too.
Throwing pitches
Another athlete who could make our list for years to come is Major League prospect Daniel Barone. A graduate of San Benito High in 2001, Barone has been on the fast track to the Major Leagues since he was first drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 11th round in 2004.
In just the past year, the right-handed pitcher has moved from low-A ball to the organization’s AA team, the Carolina Mudcats.
In the Marlin’s current media guide Barone is projected to make his Major League debut some time this year.
Water domination
It’s tough to keep anybody off the list who earned All-American honors and that was the case with Hollister’s Britta Nordstrom. A two-meter defender on the University of California-San Diego, Nordstrom was one of the top defenders in the nation.
Her play also helped propel UCSD to the top ranking of all NCAA Division II schools in the country. And what made her feat even more impressive was that she accomplished it despite breaking her nose twice.
Although they didn’t win a section title like the volleyball and softball teams, the 2006 San Benito High varsity boys water polo team had the best season ever to date.
In addition to dominating league play to the tune of a 7-0 record and cruising to a Tri County Athletic League title, the Balers advanced beyond the opening round of the section playoffs for the first time in school history courtesy of their 17-4 win over Lynbrook High.
Although the No. 7 seeded Baler boys team would lose the next game to No. 2 seeded Menlo-Atherton, their season did not go unnoticed. When the TCAL All-League team was announced just a few weeks later, every player in the starting lineup made the list. Six of them earned First Team honors and one made the Second Team. Two-meter offensive standout Dave Smith was also named the league’s MVP.
Never in the history of the TCAL had so many players from one team made the All-Star team, which just added to the reasons why the 2006 Baler boys varsity water polo team made our list.
Skating by
While the boys team made it for their play in the pool, Amanda Dobbs made the list for her performances on top of frozen water.
Last year the 13-year-old figure skating phenom from Hollister captured the ladies singles event in the novice division at the Central Pacific Regional Championships in Oakland.
The win at the regional event qualified Dobb’s for last month’s Pacific Coast Sectional Championships in Seattle, making her just one of 36 girls from across the country to advance to compete at the sectional level.
Dobbs goal is to one day win Olympic Gold, and she appears to be right on track to do so.
A need for speed
Although he doesn’t reside in Hollister anymore, A.J. Allmendinger is still listed as being from this neck of the woods in the Champ Car World Series media guide. Recognized as on of the top open wheel race car drivers in the world, Allmendinger finished third in overall standings in this year’s Champ Car Series.
And this year he hopes to parley his skyrocketing rise to the top of the Champ Car Series into a career in NASCAR.
The 24-year-old Allmendinger, who will be one of Team Red Bull’s two Cup drivers next year when the Toyota-powered team joins Nextel Cup full time, is very aware of the steep learning curve he’ll face as he tries to translate his skills as an open wheel racer into a successful career at NASCAR’s highest level but considering how quickly he has risen to the upper echelon of the sport, is reason enough to make our list. And as long as his mother still lives in Hollister, making the local connection complete, something tells us that Allmendinger will grace these pages again in the coming weeks, months and years.
