Boys squad in rebuilding mode
Expectations for the San Benito High swim team have flip-flopped
this season after the two-time defending-champion boys team lost 11
competitors to graduation while the girls squad starts its 2008
campaign with all but one swimmer from a season ago.
Boys squad in rebuilding mode
Expectations for the San Benito High swim team have flip-flopped this season after the two-time defending-champion boys team lost 11 competitors to graduation while the girls squad starts its 2008 campaign with all but one swimmer from a season ago.
“I expect the girls team to have what the boys had in 2006 and 2007 (league championships),” said San Benito High swim coach Leif Nordstrom. “They should have a two-year run of domination. The boys’ team is definitely in a rebuilding mode, and there is going to be a lot of work in store if the boys are to win the league again this year. Last year, it came almost too easy for the boys and they goofed off a bit because of that. This year, I expect them to reestablish their focus.”
This year the Baler boys team enters the pool with only one senior on the roster, Steven Shattuck, who is expected to qualify for the Central Coast Section championships in the breaststroke.
The other returning upperclassman is junior Brandon Drogemuller, who will try to anchor the team in the distance events.
“Both of them are returning varsity swimmers, hard workers and well disciplined,” Nordstrom said.
Another swimmer to keep an eye on is junior Matt McCullough – a strong sprinter who competes in both the 50 and 100 freestyle competitions.
“He’s a very active student and he has a lot of academic commitments on his plate. But I see big things out of him this year,” Nordstrom said.
Nordstrom’s hopes for the boys squad this season are to qualify as many individuals as possible to the Section championships as well as send one or two relay teams to CCS.
On the girls’ side, the bar is set much higher. Winning a league title is expected to be a mere formality, especially now that the Balers were able to cruise past Salinas – their projected fiercest competitors – in the league opener last Friday.
“The girls are incredibly strong this year,” Nordstrom said. “Our top girls swimmers are very focused.”
One of those swimmers is Shelli Reed – a junior who has already posted qualifying times for CCS in every individual event.
“She is very easy to work with,” Nordstrom said. “She reminds me of David Smith (boys team member graduated in 2007). Both of them started off feeling like the backstroke was going to be their strongest event and then evolved to include the freestyle events. This year in the 100 free, I think Shelli will finish in the top two in CCS.”
Another member of the girls’ team who is expected to qualify for the Section championship in every event is sophomore Demi Gatrell; and junior team captain Lacey Larson is also expected to qualify in a number of individual Section events.
“All of our relay teams have already qualified for CCS,” said Nordstrom. “I think we should also have six individuals at CCS.”
With that many girls having such impressive credentials the first goal is to win league and the second is to be the highest finishing public school in the entire Section.
“That’s the same goal that we had for the boys team last year,” Nordstrom said. “The individual spots can’t really beat the private schools as most of those schools are already performing at a junior college level.”
