Behind Vanessa Estrada and Amy Quinones the San Benito girls cross-country team continued it’s early season dominance inside the Monterey Bay League, cruising to an easy victory during Wednesday’s meet in Gilroy.
The boys team, though, continued to search for depth behind Steven Velarde and Ricardo Esqueda, placing fourth out of seven teams.
Velarde and Esqueda ran well, placing first and second for San Benito. Velarde continued to run like a No. 1 runner, earning the best time by 30 seconds at 17:06. Teammate Esqueda finished in second place at 17:36 by eight seconds as Salinas’ Alex Adams placed third at 17:44.
Depth wise, San Benito struggled to find the right formula. Elijah Changco (19:10) placed 25th, Javier Azcona (19:19) finished in 28th and Juan Gutierrez (19:21) placed 29th.
All were young runners trying to build experience, head coach Jess Morales said.
“We are young but they are getting the experience,” Morales said. “They are just getting their feet wet.”
On the girls team, San Benito placed three runners inside the top five, highlighted by Estrada’s time of 19:10. Estrada beat teammate Quinones (20:43) by more than a minute.
Maura Forbush (20:57) placed fifth for San Benito. Gabriella Alvarez’s (22:18) 11th place finish and Bernadette Forbush’s (23:04) 17th place finish rounded out the Balers times.
San Benito’s season continues Saturday at the Hollister-hosted Earthquake Invitational. Varsity races begin at 10 a.m.
SBHS Tennis
The San Benito girls tennis team’s seven-game winning streak came to an end Tuesday after the Balers fell 4-3 to Alisal.
San Benito lost three tie-breakers in the loss.
No. 1 singles player Audrey Marshall started the bad luck for San Benito, losing 4-6, 6-2, 10-8 in a close match.
“It was a really close match,” head coach Ed Cecena said. “It could have gone either way.”
No. 2 singles player Ally Triolo also fell in a third set, losing 3-6, 6-4, 10-1.
San Benito’s individual wins came from No. 3 singles player Kelsey Slavich (6-0, 6-2) and No. 4 player Amanda Marshall (6-1, 6-2).
On the doubles side, Berenice Bribiesca and Kathy Frusetta combined for a 6-1, 7-6 sweep.
SBHS girls water polo
In a high-scoring affair, the San Benito girls water polo team fell to San Lorenzo Valley 20-14.
The loss gives San Benito a 5-4 record inside the Monterey Bay League’s Gabilan Division. It’s the Balers second-straight loss.
In the game, San Lorenzo Valley scored 13 first-half goals to control the game.
The Balers season continued Tuesday when they host Stevenson at 4 p.m.
SBHS boys water polo
The San Benito boys water polo team fell to 1-7 inside the MBL on Tuesday, falling 11-5 to Santa Cruz.
After the first quarter ended in a 1-1 tie, Santa Cruz scored four goals in the second quarter to gain control of the game. Santa Cruz outscored San Benito 10-4 over the final three quarters.
The Balers season continues Tuesday when they travel to Monterey at 4 p.m.
