It’s still too early to tell, of course, but when the San Benito
boys golf team carded a 229 at a recent Tri-County Athletic League
Tournament
— one of the highest team scores in the last three years for the
Balers — it may have actually been a good thing.
HOLLISTER
It’s still too early to tell, of course, but when the San Benito boys golf team carded a 229 at a recent Tri-County Athletic League Tournament — one of the highest team scores in the last three years for the Balers — it may have actually been a good thing.
The season high came at the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch on April 14 in Monterey, where each of the six Balers carded a 42 or higher. San Benito finished in fourth place as a result, after having not finished lower than second place at any point during the last three seasons.
Afterward, San Benito head coach Chris Branon said coaches from Salinas, Everett Alvarez and Gilroy all came to him with a singular question: What happened?
“That was a negative day,” Branon said.
The Baler head coach recalled asking the same question to his players on the ride home from Monterey that day, and captain Will Cross, who shot a 44 at Laguna Seca, responded, “I don’t know what happened, but I’m gonna work my butt off tomorrow.”
From Branon’s perspective, a fire was lit.
“It was for this coach,” he said.
With San Benito averaging a team score of 212 this season, the 229 shot at Laguna Seca could have been a mere aberration, or it could have been a trend toward the Balers’ middle-of-the-season slump.
While some described the year as a rollercoaster, with tournament play resulting in up-and-down scores throughout the season, San Benito’s response to its 229 fit the thrill-ride analogy perfectly.
In their sixth and final TCAL Tournament of the season, held at the Salinas Fairways Golf Course on April 22, the Balers recorded a 198, their lowest score of the spring.
“That was huge,” Branon said. “That gets us geared up and gets us prepared for TCALs. It’s what we’re capable of doing.”
It was also one of the team’s initial goals at the start of the season. But going from a 229 to a sub-200 score in one week may have provided the Balers with the right amount of confidence entering Monday’s TCAL Championships, scheduled for the Quail Lodge Resort and Golf Club in Carmel.
“I think it was a big step,” Cross said. “It shows that we can turn it around.”
The San Benito junior felt it was a little disappointing to compile the sub-200 score in the very last TCAL Tournament of the season. He was pleased, though, to have reached the goal not only prior to Monday’s finals, but also before next season as well.
“We’re a really young team,” added Cross, noting the team’s one senior in Taylor Weatherly. “Most of our team, it’s their first year on varsity and it’s a rollercoaster in itself for them.
“But I feel like we’re gonna do good. I feel like we’re gonna do really good. I think mentally we’re in a really good spot right now, coming off that sub-200.”
With only the top two teams from the TCAL advancing to the Central Coast Section Regional tournament, the Balers will enter Monday’s TCAL Championships with a headstart after finishing the regular season in second place. Although the points will double in the final TCAL tournament, San Benito can ensure a bid to CCS if it is able to finish ahead of third-place Everett Alvarez.
“It’ll be easier to get a spot in CCS now,” Weatherly said.
To ensure he has the best-performing team entering TCALs, though, Branon conducted a series of qualifiers this past week. With Cross, Nathan Winn and Weatherly all set to compete in Monday’s round, three spots remain on the varsity roster with seven players vying for a spot, including Darren Hopkins, Dalton Destefanis, Jade Kimura, Jacob DeLeon, Andrew Colton, Tony Ramos and Jared Lantis.
Whichever three players post the best score through 27 holes earns a shot of competing at TCALs.
“It keeps the momentum going,” Branon said.
Which is exactly what the Balers want right now. Although defeating top-dog Palma would be the be-all, end-all for some, posting a strong score at TCALs and advancing to CCS — simply to get their feet wet — is what the youthful Balers need entering next season.
“But it’s just golf,” Kimura added. “It’s just you and the course and no one else. Golf is a game where you can have your best shot one day and blow up the next.
“But I think a lot of us have tried to practice a lot. Golf takes practice and we’ve put a lot of practice in.”
Although he hadn’t qualified to TCALs at press time, Darren Hopkins was confident he’d be playing on Monday. The sophomore golfer was part of the 229 team, shooting a 51 at Laguna Seca, but also a part of the 198 team, carding a 41 at Salinas Fairways.
In other words, that’s golf. Anything can happen in any given round.
“And hopefully by next year,” Hopkins said, “we’ll eliminate those bad scores.”
The Tri-County Athletic League Championships will be held Monday at the Quail Lodge Resort and Golf Club in Carmel. Tee time is 1 p.m.
