‘Balers take third in Atwater Invitational; top TCAL rivals
Gilroy
&
amp; Salinas in 24-team tournament
Atwater – The San Benito boys golf team is coming on strong. And the Haybalers’ surge couldn’t be coming at a better time.
With the end of the Tri-County Athletic League regular season just four days away, San Benito made a decisive statement it has every intention of securing a spot in the Central Coast Section Championships. The ‘Balers tackled both a talented field and the elements yesterday at the Atwater Invitational, and emerged with a most encouraging result.
Despite a gusty wind and intermittent rain that sent scores skyrocketing left and right, San Benito kept its composure and shot the second-lowest score of the 24 teams that played Stevenson Ranch.
With four individual golfers’ scores counting toward each team’s composite round on this 18-hole, par-72 course, the ‘Balers shot 324 – a score topped only by Grace Davis High’s 319. Bishop O’Dowd tied San Benito’s score, but took second via tiebreaker (the teams’ No. 5 golfer’s score).
No. 1 Chris Shackleton led the ‘Balers with a 5-over-par 77 – the third-lowest score among the 120 golfers. San Benito senior Derek Stone carded an 81, and Ryan Wood and Diego Navarro shot 82 and 84, respectively.
Among the foes that the ‘Balers defeated were TCAL rivals Gilroy and Salinas, both of whom lead San Benito in the league standings.
Asked whether this was his team’s best performance of the season, ‘Balers coach Andy Parra said, “Absolutely. Yeah. Definitely. As the scores came in, they were really excited.”
Parra called the conditions atrocious and was pleased that his team adjusted to the circumstances better than most.
“I didn’t expect their scores to be that low,” said Parra, who guessed each player might have shot five strokes better on a balmy day.
Even though yesterday’s results have no bearing on the league standings, the ‘Balers doubtless picked up an emotional boost by defeating Salinas and Gilroy. With the TCAL Finals weighing heavily in determining which two teams will represent the league at CCS, San Benito showed it has the horses to compete.
If need be, topping Salinas at Atwater can only help San Benito in petitioning for an at-large CCS bid. Moreover, the ‘Balers have now defeated the Cowboys in two of the teams’ past four meetings.
“I think we’re peaking at the right time,” said Parra. “All the important tournaments are coming up and our kids are playing their best golf.”
Gilroy shot 339 and was led by senior Stephen Freeth’s 80 – the 10th-best individual round on the day. Salinas finished right behind the Mustangs with its score of 340.
The Atwater Invitational marked the first time this season that San Benito competed in an 18-hole setting. The ‘Balers will have two more of those such opportunities before the TCAL Finals – the King of the Mountain Tournament at Atascadero’s Chalk Mountain Golf Course and Seascape’s Aptos Invitational.
San Benito returns to action tomorrow by hosting Salinas and North Salinas at Ridgemark at 3:00pm, and wraps up the TCAL regular season by playing Live Oak and North Salinas at Gilroy Golf Course on Friday.
