There were a lot of statements being made Thursday and Friday in
San Benito’s first Tri-County Athletic League swimming and diving
meet of the season.
There were a lot of statements being made Thursday and Friday in San Benito’s first Tri-County Athletic League swimming and diving meet of the season.
The defending champion boys team showed why it’s the team to beat, the girls team showed it can compete with the league’s best and Jason Andrade showed that he may be the best diver the league has to offer.
Andrade highlighted the boys competition with his performance Thursday against Salinas at Hartnell College.
The senior recorded a score of 232, bettering the 226 of three-time defending TCAL champion Sam Figueroa to knock off the Cowboys talented swimmer for the first time ever. The Central Coast Section qualifying score is 180.
“Sam is a very talented diver so I’m sure he’s going to take that and use that as fuel to step up his diving for the rest of the season,” San Benito coach Leif Nordstrom said. “But jason’s very excited about that win and he still has room to improve.”
The boys team, which last year beat out its top rival Live Oak to win the league crown, opened the season by downing the top remaining competition with a 127-57 win over the Cowboys on Friday at Hartnell. The ‘Balers won 10 of the 11 events.
Blaine Curtice took first in the 100 and 200-yard freestyle, Brandon Drogemueller won the 200 IM and 500 freestyle, David Smith claimed the top spot in the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke and Steven Shattuck won the 100 breastroke.
San Benito also swept the relays races.
On the girls side, the ‘Balers proved to be nearly equal to Salinas, but dropped a tight 93-90 decision.
“There were a couple (races) that it wouldn’t have taken much to affect the outcome, but it really was a mix of a lot of little things,” Nordstrom said. “I could see ways I could’ve organize the meet better to help us win.”
Still, the team was happy with its performance and to know that it has a chance to compete with Salinas, which, along with Notre Dame, figures to be the top competition for the TCAL title.
“We do feel good about that,” Nordstrom said. ” When we look at how deep we are as a team, when I look at TCALs, we’re still very, very optimistic.”
Shelli Reed, Katie Buzzetta and Demi Gatrell paced the girls efforts. Reed took first in the 50 and 200 freestyle, Buzzetta won the 100 freestyle and 100 breastroke and Gatrell snagged first-place finishes in the 200 IM and 100 backstroke. The girls also won the 200 freestyle relay.
Valerie Nicolaysen took second in the diving competition for the ‘Balers.
“She dove a little bit her sophomore year but this is really the first year she’s been serious about diving so she was really excited about that,” Nordstrom said of Nicolaysen.
