Boys tie for first; girl ties for second place
The San Benito High boys track and field team tied for first in the Bill Kearney Invitational on Saturday at Hartnell College in Salinas, and the girls team finished second.
The Balers used a balanced team effort like they have had throughout the year, punctuated at the end by a good showing by the 4 by 400-meter relay team.
But the Balers saw how tough the rest of the season will be with a first-place tie against fellow TCAL rival North Salinas, who they face on May 6 in Hollister.
Palma, the league opponent Hollister faces on Wednesday, was fourth. Salinas finished sixth.
Chris Stephens, who had the only San Benito blue ribbon of the day, won the discus with a toss of 145′ 11″. Presaging this coming Wednesday’s dual meet, he out tossed Palma’s Joe Newman by four feet.
Siljef Tabancay bounced back from an early season slump to finish second in the 300 hurdles with a strong time of 42.43.
The boys 4 by 400 meter relay team of Willie Sanchez, John DiSalvo, Jesse Rice and Tamar Elbanhawy placed second.
Jonathan Rivera was third in the 1600 meter with a time of 4:28.9.
The Baler girls tied for second with San Lorenzo Valley at the meet with 50 points, well behind first place Paso Robles. Salinas was fifth with 39 points.
The Baler girls were carried by Danielle Andrewson, who won the triple jump with a leap of 34′ 4 1/4″, her finest leap of the year. Kristen Para placed second in the high jump with 4′ 10″.
The 4 by 100 meter relay team tied for second with a good time of 52.03. And the 4 by 400 meter team placed third.
The boys team should have a close meet with Palma on Wednesday. The meet was originally scheduled for Thursday but had to be moved because of transportation conflicts.
Palma’s star is Luke Lippencott, who is ranked third in CCS at 400 meters, about a second faster than Hollister’s Jesse Rice, who is ranked 17th in CCS.
The Baler long sprinters (Rice, Chad Tungate, Elbanhawy and Sanchez) will have their hands full in both the 400-meter and 200-meter races.
Jessie Grace and Stephens will continue their battle with Palma’s Newman in the weight tosses.
Tabancay and DiSalvo should have strong competition in the hurdles, and Rivera will face a good opponent in the 800- and 1600-meter races.
Palma’s 4 by 400 team typically finishes within a few meters of the Balers, and the end of the meet could be very exciting, particularly if the teams are close in points.
The girls also should have a good meet against Notre Dame Salinas on Wednesday.
Notre Dame’s best performer won the high jump last Saturday, and they also have a good hurdler.
