San Benito holds its own at prestigious track
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amp; field meet; Schroder, Vasquez, Weltz
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amp; Brigantino among standouts at SJCC
San Jose – A handful of standout individual performances and a solid performance by the team overall? The San Benito track and field team accomplished exactly what it set out to do in its maiden appearance at the Hampton-Phillips Invitational on Saturday.
“We did a good job. This was the time we needed to take the next step. I liked what I saw,” Haybalers head coach Iran White said. “It confirms the hope that I had that we’re on the right track.”
With the Tri-County Athletic League Trials, the first installment in the sport’s month-long postseason, just weeks away, Hampton-Phillips marked one of the last opportunities San Benito athletes have to improve their marks against top-flight competition. And a number of ‘Balers excelled in that setting at San Jose City College.
At the top of that list stood Josh Schroder, Rigo Vasquez and Jeff Weltz. Schroder and Vasquez finished first overall in the pole vault and 1600-meter race, respectively, while Weltz posted his season-best mark in the 100-meter dash.
Just a week after setting his PR at the Arcadia Invitational, Schroder broke that mark. The San Benito junior cleared the bar at 14-6, three inches better than his previous best, to narrowly beat teammate Todd Merrigan.
“That was pretty huge for him,” White said of Schroder’s accomplishment.
Said San Benito girls coach Julio Trinidad, who also works with the ‘Baler pole vaulters: “He pretty much cleaned house.”
In a race of 54 runners, Vasquez also topped his season best. Finishing at the exact moment that Alisal’s Diego L crossed the finish line, Vasquez shared winner’s honors at 4:25.40. He also placed eighth in the 800.
Weltz, a Central Coast Section finalist in the 200-meter race as a junior, appears to be well on his way to achieving that goal in the 100 this season. The ‘Baler sprinter posted a strong time of 11.36 in the Hampton-Phillips finals, good for fifth place.
After sustaining numerous injuries that delayed his start to the season, Weltz is rounding into form at just the right time. The senior also placed 14th in the 200-meter preliminaries at 23.75.
“He’s for real, you know,” White said. “It’s just taken him a little time to get back into it. He took the step he needed to.”
Top honors for the San Benito girls went to senior Amanda Boyd. Competing in her third top-notch competition in three weeks on the heels of racing in the Stanford and Arcadia Invitationals, Boyd placed second in the 3200-meter race. At 11:25.78, she trailed only Leland freshman Stephanie Barnett, who won the event in 11:21.72. Boyd also took sixth in the 1600, finishing in 5:16.01.
Carly Brigantino, a first-year track athlete, continued her remarkable emergence, placing in a tie for sixth in the pole vault at 8-6. The junior also finished 18th in the packed preliminaries of the 100-meter dash.
“She’s really stepped it up and become one of our key players,” Trinidad said. “She’s just a tremendous athlete. She’s got all the key components: strength, speed, desire to win and being hungry. It’s kind of rare to get that.”
San Benito again showed why the pole vault is the team’s deepest event. On the boys’ side, Merrigan gave the ‘Balers a 1-2 finish by joining Schroder in clearing 14-6. Because Merrigan did so on a later attempt than teammate Schroder, the school record holder was relegated him to second-place status on this day. Josh Liem followed up by taking eighth at 12-0. In addition to Brigantino’s mark in the girls’ competition, Ashley Patton and Ashlyn Gonzalez finished in a tie for 12th at 7-6.
Haybaler athletes posted numerous other solid marks at Hampton-Phillips, including four additional top-ten individual finishes. Senior Kyle Bambrick took seventh in the 800 at 2:04.68, finishing .06 ahead of teammate Vasquez. For the Lady ‘Balers, Morgan O’Laughlin placed ninth in the shot put, recording a best of 87-08.50. And though the 400-meter hurdles is a collegiate event which is only featured in select high school competitions, two ‘Balers enjoyed good showings in it on Saturday. Austin Schmidt took ninth on the boys’ side, finishing in 1:04.70, while freshman Courtney Allen placed 10th for the Lady ‘Balers at 1:15.91.
Francisco Faria narrowly missed finishing in the top ten in the high jump, clearing the bar at 5-10 to take 11th.
Schmidt was one of a number of ‘Balers that competed in multiple events. Along with running the 400 hurdles, the sophomore took 17th in the long jump. Freshman Ryan Shorey took 16th in the 400-meter dash and 32nd in the 200, while sophomore Chris Koroluk placed 14th in the long jump and 33rd in the 100-meter dash preliminaries.
In addition to commending his team’s performance, White noted an important benefit of competing at San Jose City College, site of the CCS Finals next month.
“Anytime you have a chance to run at that track, it’s a good opportunity,” White said.
San Benito returns to action at home tomorrow in a Tri-County Athletic League dual meet against North Salinas.
“It should be interesting,” White said. “They’ve got some good athletes. We don’t take anybody lightly.”
The San Benito-North Salinas meet starts at 3:30pm.
