School was cancelled at San Benito High on Friday after the campus suffered extensive damage due to high winds. Damage included the press box and baseball fencing, while the new scoreboard at the Veterans Memorial Park softball field came down, too.
Principal Adrian Ramirez sent out an email to staff members just before 8 a.m. notifying them of the damage. The athletic facilities sustained some of the most extensive damage, as the press tower/announcing booth at Andy Hardin Field collapsed in a heap.
The baseball field’s outfield fences were uprooted.
“It’s pretty mangled,” said Leanna Morgan, who is a San Benito High P.E. teacher and coach of the cross-country and track and field teams.
The new scoreboard at the recently renovated softball field at Vets Park also came down.
Morgan, who lives on Panaroma Drive in Hollister, said there were several trees uprooted in her neighborhood. The school’s soccer and wrestling teams start Central Coast Section tournament play next week, while the spring sports teams have been practicing for the last two weeks.
“We’ll have practice next week unless they tell us otherwise,” Morgan said. “It’s a tough situation, but the most important thing is everyone is safe.”
