‘Baler boys’ and girls’ cross country teams eye strong seasons
with loaded lineups
Hollister – This season should be even better than last for the San Benito High cross country program. After both the boys’ and girls’ teams won the league championship and finished with top-four Central Coast Section rankings in 2005, their coaches feel they should fair even better this year.
“On any given day, our seventh guy could finish second,” boys’ coach Jess Morales said. “On paper, we’re better than last year.”
Said Josh Morales, the girls’ coach and Jess’ son: “This team is better than that team was last year.”
Improving on a third- and a fourth-place finish (girls and boys, respectively) in the section last season will be no small feat, but both coaches feel their teams have strong lineups from top to bottom. In high school cross country, a sport in which seven runners compete for each team and the top-five times count for the team score, depth is at a premium.
At face value, an observer could look at the Lady ‘Balers’ loss of two-time CCS runner-up Amanda Boyd to graduation and say the team will take a huge hit this season. Not so, Josh Morales said.
“Right now, we have a lot more girls that are more tightly bunched timewise this year,” related the girls’ coach, who has three returning varsity runners.
Morales expects freshman AnnMari Rich, sophomore Courtney Allen, junior Allison Meyer and senior Dana Balsley to all challenge for the ‘Balers’ best individual time at any given meet. “Pretty much, they run in a pack all the time,” he said. “They all push each other. They work together.”
Similarly, the ‘Baler boys have a stable of talented sophomores that will push the team’s upperclassmen leaders and compete for the No. 4-7 slots. In addition, the ‘Balers have star power at the top of their lineup with defending Tri-County Athletic League champion Eddie Trujillo and CCS track star Rigo Vasquez back for their senior seasons.
But Jess Morales was most eager to talk about sophomores Lance Villasenor and Adrian and Eric Rodriguez, who are quickly making an impact on the team and teaming with Cameron Hill and Andrew Yacobone to form an extremely deep roster.
“We have a mix of four guys that can be your fourth and fifth runner,” said the boys’ coach, who also expects sophomores Morris Stevens and Frank Rivera to challenge to crack the lineup. “Any of those guys are good enough to make a big impact on our team. It’s kind of crazy because it’s a good problem we have.”
Morales was also pleased that Trujillo and Vasquez were helping the up-and-comers develop, with the latter racing alongside Adrian Rodriguez at Wednesday’s TCAL Jamboree at Salinas’ Toro Park and encouraging the sophomore to his first-place finish, while Vasquez himself took second in the tune-up meet. “That’s what I like about our seniors,” Morales said. “They’re bringing up our young ones.”
Even though Josh Morales says his team has designs on at least equaling its 2005 performance – “We have improved, so we’re either looking for third place (in CCS) or better” – he allowed that the Lady ‘Balers will miss out on some of the leadership and other benefits Boyd brought to other runners. “Losing her, it doesn’t allow the girls to see what I guess is a measuring stick,” the girls’ coach said. “(Before), you can actually compare what you’re running to what she’s running, so you can push yourself to improve.”
Both San Benito teams look to be tested again by Carlmont, the defending CCS Division I champion in the boys’ and girls’ fields. In addition, the Lady ‘Balers should receive a strong challenge from Monta Vista, which has three straight runner-up finishes, while the boys need to keep Watsonville and Alisal on the radar screen.
The best recent finishes for the ‘Baler program are the boys’ CCS championship in 2003 and second-place finish in 2004.
San Benito opens its season with the Early Bird Invitational on Sep. 9 at Toro Park, a 65-team meet in which runners will compete in races divided by class.
