Morgan Hill – The San Benito boys swimming team got off to a quick start in its quest for a Tri-County Athletic League championship over Live Oak thanks to a second and third-place finish in the diving finals at Sobrato on Wednesday.
Jason Andrade, a junior, will be returning to the Central Coast Section Championships that begin on May 12 at Stanford. Jeff Scibuola, a freshman, will be making his first appearance at CCS.
The ‘Baler boys will already have 25 points going into Friday’s TCAL finals.
“We definitely have never scored this many points going in,” said ‘Balers coach Leif Nordstrom. “It is nice not to have to play catch up right from the start. The boys are fired up and focused. Their goal from the start of the year has been not just beating Live Oak, but being league champions.’
Andrade recorded a score of 368, just 12 points shy of the amount required for All-Americans.
“I feel I could have done a couple dives better, but I’m happy overall,” Andrade said.
Andrade said he focused on doing several harder dives during the meet to help him earn extra points.
“What he does better than any other diver in the league is his height off the board and how tight he keeps himself in the rotations,” Nordstrom said. “He didn’t have his best finishes, but his height and approach were so good, it was hard not to give him the extra points. He is such a focused diver, I have no doubt he’ll be ready to go at it again next year.”
Andrade said he didn’t do as well as he would have liked on his first dive – a forward one-and-a-half turn pike.
“I really try to stack up my dives,” Andrade said. “I usually do double what everyone else does. But that really puts a lot of pressure on me. I really wish I could have nailed one more dive. I am usually money on the first dive. More than half of diving is mental and the jitters just got to me. Last year (in CCS), I was really nervous. This year, I am really confident.”
Scibuola scored a 306. A score of 280 is needed for CCS.
“He is a fearless diver because of his gymnastics background,” Nordstrom said of Scibuola. “For him, I am just excited he will get his first experience at CCS and get those jitters that come with it out. That way he can focus on doing well the next three years.”
The TCAL swimming finals start on Friday at 2pm at Live Oak.
