Girls and boys teams lead the league
The San Benito High School boys swim team is so far ahead of
every other team in the league both in talent and standings that
the Balers coach doesn’t even know or care what school is in second
place heading into tomorrow’s Tri County Athletic League Swimming
Championship.
Girls and boys teams lead the league
The San Benito High School boys swim team is so far ahead of every other team in the league both in talent and standings that the Balers coach doesn’t even know or care what school is in second place heading into tomorrow’s Tri County Athletic League Swimming Championship.
That’s why when the championship gets under way at Everett Alvarez High School, coach Leif Nordstrom’s biggest challenge is keeping the defending league champions focused.
“We’re going to have to set personal and other goals to keep them interested,” said Nordstrom, who is wrapping up his fourth season at the helm of the Baler program. “This is the most talented team that I’ve ever had. The first few years we had really hard workers without much talent. This year, we are stacked with talent, and it’s been a struggle to keep the team interested.”
Heading into the TCAL championship, the Baler boys’ squad is a perfect 6-0 in league while the Baler girls’ team is 5-1, losing only to Salinas High School by three points.
“The team’s goal is to see if we can sweep all of the events,” Nordstrom said. “That is the overall goal. After that, it will be to do well at CCS (Central Coast Section Championship).”
In all, there are 12 events, and both the Baler girls and boys squads have a number of swimmers that are expected to cruise to victory in each of them.
On the boys’ side, seniors Blaine Curtis and David Smith are favored to win a number of events. Smith is expected to win both the 50 and 100 freestyle events and Curtis is favored to capture the 200 IM and the 100 butterfly. Sophomore swimmer Brandon Drogemuller is the favorite in both the 200 and 500 freestyle races.
On the girls’ side, Shelli Reed is expected to come out of the pool the victor in both the 100 backstroke event and the 100 butterfly. Demi Gatrell is favored to win the 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke while speedster Katie Buzzetta looks to lead the way in both the 50 and 100 freestyle events.
In the longer freestyle events, Lacey Larson is expected to hold down the fort for the Balers.
“All of those swimmers are the favorites,” Nordstrom said. “So we are looking really good.”
Nordstrom also believes that the girls’ squad will be able to slip past Salinas to claim the girls’ team title as well.
“In our dual meet with Salinas we lost it in the relays,” he said. “I think we kind of overlooked them a bit. This time, we are hoping to sweep the relays for the girls, which should put us over the top.”
The Baler boys team heads into the TCAL championship with 10 seniors on its team, meaning that next season the competition could get a little tighter for them. But the girls’ squad is made up of a number of underclassmen that should bode well in the years to come.
“If the girls win it this year, it will get real exciting,” Nordstrom said. “The strength of the girls’ team right now is the freshmen and sophomores. If they win it this year they could be looking at a potential run of league titles.”
Although the boys won league last year, in most past years the one school that has kept both squads from tasting victory has been the Acorns of Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill – a perennial aquatic public school powerhouse for decades.
“This was the first year that Live Oak wasn’t in our league. We (boys) beat them last year and would have beaten them this year, too, but I really miss the competitiveness we had with Live Oak,” Nordstrom said.
The rest of the teams in the TCAL would probably like to see the Balers move to another league as well. Unfortunately for those teams, that plan is not in the cards.
The TCAL swimming championship begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
