The San Benito Haybalers may have a problem. After Wednesday’s
Tri-County Athletic League Jamboree, which took place at Toro Park
in Salinas, ‘Baler Frankie Rivera finished third (17:24), Adrian
Rodriguez finished sixth (17:43)
Hollister – The San Benito Haybalers may have a problem.
After Wednesday’s Tri-County Athletic League Jamboree, which took place at Toro Park in Salinas, ‘Baler Frankie Rivera finished third (17:24), Adrian Rodriguez finished sixth (17:43), Lance Villasenor took ninth (18:06), Curtis Wright placed 10th (18:06) and Erik Rodriguez rounded out the top five in 11th place (18:12).
The 5K race, which hosted the top cross country teams in the TCAL, also saw ‘Baler freshmen Luis Ruiz (18:27), Eddie Guzman (18:37) and Jose Castillo (18:40) take 16th, 17th and 18th, respectively, not to mention Andrew Yacovone in 21st.
“That’s a good problem to have,” said Jess Morales, boys cross country coach. “I think right now, I think we’re a stronger team this year. We have a set of seven guys that are bunched up pretty good. Most teams would like to have one through five and we have that.
“It’s good to have that problem with the boys … We’re looking pretty good to go to state. That’s our goal right now.”
The ‘Balers, who last season finished just seven points short from qualifying for the CIF State Championships, lost Cameron Hill, Eddie Trujillo and Rigo Vasquez, the squad’s lone state-qualifier, to graduation last year.
But in a sport where the lowest score wins, and coaches want their runners to be “bunched,” the ‘Baler boys placed their top five runners in the top 11 spots at the Jamboree.
Indeed, a good problem to have.
While the Jamboree is a difficult meet to gauge your team as well as the competition – a meet that is more or less a cross country exhibition – Morales was still pleased with his boys’ effort.
“We did what we expected to do,” the coach said. “We did good and I was really happy with the outcome.
“The other teams are pretty close, but Saturday will give us an idea as to where we stand.”
On Saturday, teams will be back at Toro Park for the season-opening Early Bird Invitational, which will again host TCAL teams for a 5K meet. Runners will be broken down by grade, and Morales said he’ll have a better understanding where his boys stack up after Saturday.
It will also provide additional insight as to where the Lady ‘Balers, who qualified for state last year, stack up as well. At Wednesday’s Jamboree, the girls weren’t as bunched as the boys were, but nonetheless, San Benito’s Courtney Allen took the top spot at 20:26.
Elizabeth Moreno (23:21), Kristina Vasquez (23:28), Vanessa Farias (23:33) and Janessa Gillies (24:00) occupied spots 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd, respectively, at the TCAL Jamboree.
“We have our work cut out,” Jess said. “Gilroy and Salinas did their homework over the summer. They’ll be the teams to go out and challenge. They got an eye-opener [on Wednesday].
“The good thing is we have a number one. We have a good start.”
Lady ‘Balers Coach Josh Morales related the same sentiment as Jess, but added that the season is young.
“The girls look like they need some work,” Josh said. “But the season hasn’t started yet, so we have some time to catch up to those other teams.”
As of right now, the teams to beat on the girls side appear to be Gilroy and Salinas. At the Jamboree, Gilroy individuals finished in second, third and fourth place, while Salinas occupied spots fifth, sixth, seventh, 11th and 12th.
“I think right now, they’ve got to come together,” Jess said. “Salinas is tough and Gilroy is tough … But I haven’t seen the ‘Balers turn their back and let it happen.”
The girls do, however, have first-year runners in Gillies and Farias, while Annmari Rich, Laura Villasenor and Sandy Meza look to return to top form.
“We have our work cut out for us,” Josh said. “We have our measuring stick … We have a lot of first-time girls. I think we did an all right job, but we need to step it up a lot more.”
As the season progresses, and as the runners look to peak at the TCAL, CCS, and CIF Championships, the cross country team will look to defend the Avis Kelly Trophy, which they won last year for being the top program in the league.
When asked what the goal was this year, Josh Morales responded, “Just to get back to where we were.”
