‘Balers send 7 runners to the Stanford Invitational Saturday,
including 4×400, 4×800 teams
Hollister
While actually getting into Stanford University – academically speaking – is still more difficult than qualifying for the Stanford Invitational, the exclusivity of the track meet should not be questioned.
Only the top 40 participants in their respective events are welcome at the rather particular invitational, leaving the notion that, while it may not require a review by an admission board, the elite Stanford invite still houses the best of the best track talent each season.
“It’s pretty big,” boys coach Iran White said. “Since we’re not going to Arcadia this year, this is probably our biggest invitational of the year.
“It’s big. Teams come from all over the place. It’s pretty huge that these athletes got in.”
San Benito will send seven runners to the invite, where they’ll be just one of hundreds looking to stand out among the rest, looking to clock personal best times, and looking to grab the attention of interested college recruiters.
“It’s a challenge to yourself,” said Ryan Shorey. “It’s as big a meet as there is. It’s a chance to get our names out there.”
San Benito’s 4×400 relay team of Shorey, Nik Soza, Ian Bambrick and Jamil Taylor is already making a name for itself as it’s well ahead of the pace this season. While recording a 3:33.19 and a 3:33.03 at the Mount Pleasant Relays and the St. Francis Invitational, respectively, the foursome cut some seven seconds off their time with a 3:26.69 at the West Valley Relays in Saratoga.
“That’s the fastest time we’ve ever run this early in the year,” White said. “That says a lot about what our potential is.”
A similar mark at Stanford Saturday could almost guarantee a top finish for the 4×400 team, as their 3:26.69 mark is currently the best recorded time in the Central Coast Section.
Evergreen Valley is second with a 3:28.23.
“It’s more of a challenge,” said Soza in regards to any interested colleges.
“But it’s just another day on the job.”
While providing a leg of the 4×400 team, Shorey will also compete as San Benito’s lone competitor in the 400 meters after he clocked his season best time of 50.91 at last weekend’s St. Francis Invitational in Mountain View.
Shorey’s time placed him second at St. Francis and sixth in the CCS.
The 4×800 relay team of Aaron Smith, Frankie Rivera, Israel Cisneros and Bambrick has only recorded one time this season – as the event is not necessarily typical for all meets – but the foursome’s time of 8:46.38 at the Mount Pleasant Relays earlier this year was good enough for an acceptance to Stanford.
“We don’t have as much experience with it,” White said of the 4×800. “We’re glad we get to run that event and that we made it in for that event, and it will be a good opportunity for the kids to push themselves.”
With the dual at Salinas on Thursday and Stanford on Saturday, the runners noted the lighter training regimen this past week from coach White. Joked Shorey, “It hasn’t been too bad this week … We knew he wasn’t going to kill us.”
The dual meet to invite, with only a day in between, seemed to be preferred by the group of runners, however.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Jamil “Swagger” Taylor. “As long as we’re in shape, it’s all good.”
Pressure may be heightened, though, based purely on the size and elitist-quality at Stanford this weekend. The invitational seconds as a top-notch college meet as well, where even if college scouts aren’t interested in the high school portion, they’ll most likely be watching nonetheless.
“I got trust in all of them,” said Smith, who is the only ‘Baler to have previously competed at Stanford. Smith ran for the 4×800 relay team last year.
“They know what to do,” he added. “It’s not their first time running.”
Stanford invite
The Stanford Invitational will take place at Cobb Track and Angell Field on Saturday.
The 4×800 relay race will take place at 11:01 a.m.; the 400 meters will take place at 1:47 p.m.; and the 4×400 relay race will take place at 4:49 p.m. All time are approximate.
