SALINAS—Amy Quinones was sitting down on a chair when she looked to her right and saw a pack of girls with red uniforms sprinting to the finish line.
The third through sixth-place finishers were all from the San Benito High cross-country team, and Quinones knew right at that moment the team had repeated as Monterey Bay League champions.
Quinones repeated as the individual champion from Saturday’s MBL Gabilan Division Championships at Toro Park, no small feat considering she had missed two races in mid-October after being injured for the first time in her career.
The fact that the Haybalers dominated the team event made it all the more rewarding.
“We just really found what we were striving for, and that was another championship,” said Quinones, whose time of 19 minutes, 9 seconds on the 3.0-mile course was a whopping 57 seconds faster than the second-place finisher. “We wanted this so bad that we were going to do whatever it took to win.”
Indeed, the tradition-rich San Benito program produced one of its finest performances in school history, totaling 19 points to runner-up Salinas, which finished with 56.
Quinones was one of four San Benito runners who set a PR (personal record) at Toro Park. Freshman Samantha Cortez finished in third (20:24), senior Gabby Alvarez in fourth (20:34), freshman Kira Emma in fifth (20:35), junior Katherine Monteon in sixth (20:35) and sophomore Brianna Martin in 17th (21:57).
The team’s remarkable finish—it’s rare for a squad to place five of its top runners in the top 6 in the league championships—has the Balers thinking sky high.
On Nov. 15, San Benito competes in the Central Coast Section Championships at Toro Park, where it will attempt to reach the CIF State Championships for the first time in school history. The Balers need to finish in the top three to earn a berth to state.
“It’s a hope for sure to try to make state,” said Ryan Shorey, who is the co-coach along with Leanna Morgan. “We certainly hoped for a win today, but by no means did we expect it to be as decisive as it was.”
A month ago, the Balers went into a couple of meets without Quinones and Cortez, who was only able to run in the team’s last two races leading up to the league championships due to an injury she suffered before the season started.
But here’s why the San Benito program has been a juggernaut: In Cortez and Emma, the Balers have two freshmen who will be competing for individual league titles in the coming years.
Simply put, every couple of years a precocious talent arrives on the scene, eager to run for championship glory.
“The girls put it all out there, and they solidified who they are and what type of things they could do,” Morgan said. “We’ve had our ups and downs this season, but the girls were just exceptional today.”
Especially Quinones, who added another accomplishment to her storied high school career. Saturday’s result was never in doubt, as Quinones took the lead at the halfway point before running away from the field.
When Quinones missed a league race and an invitational meet several weeks ago due to an injury, all she wanted to do was immediately get back on the course. But her coaches and parents implored her to rest up and recover for the league championships, and it turned out to be great advice.
Looking rested and 100 percent healthy, Quinones beat her previous best time at Toro by 10 seconds.
“It was really hard not being able to race, but I just had to suck it up and focus on recovering,” she said. “As a runner, you just want to be out there, and you feel like you can push through anything. I’m just glad I’m healthy again, and that things worked out.”
Did they ever. Quinones had an inkling of what the team was capable of prior to the league championships.
“I’m so proud of the team, just really blown away,” she said. “From our last league meet I could see what the girls could do.”
In the days leading up to the league championships, Quinones told her teammates they just needed to replicate everything they had done in practice. Then the Balers went out and did it.
