Just two days after a strong showing at the Pacific Grove
Invitational, in which Vanessa Estrada finished in first place with
a time of 19:24.34, the San Benito cross country team returned to
Tri-County Athletic League action Monday to sweep visiting Gilroy
at the Baler River Course.
HOLLISTER
Just two days after a strong showing at the Pacific Grove Invitational, in which Vanessa Estrada finished in first place with a time of 19:24.34, the San Benito cross country team returned to Tri-County Athletic League action Monday to sweep visiting Gilroy at the Baler River Course.
Estrada again earned the top spot in the dual meet, finishing first with a time of 19:35, while teammate Maura Forbush followed with a second-place time of 20:21.
Both runners broke the previous course record of 20:28, which was set last year by San Benito’s Rachel Shimabukuro.
The top two spots, meanwhile, helped San Benito defeat Gilroy, 24-33.
Although the Mustangs went on to earn third, fourth and fifth place, Balers Megan Pape, Cynthia Trujillo, Dayna Casillas and Molly Lamanna rounded out the team in sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth place, respectively.
Pape clocked a 21:51 for San Benito, while Trujillo finished in 22:07, Casillas in 23:23 and Lamanna in 23:29.
The final results weren’t at all close on the boys side, however. San Benito dominated the dual meet against the Mustangs when it earned the top five spots.
The Balers won the meet over Gilroy, 15-48.
Anchored by Sergio Alcala, who finished first in 16:49, San Benito had three finishers record times in the 16-minute range, including second-place finisher Eddie Guzman in 16:58 and third-place finisher Omar Vasquez in 16:59.
It was Alcala’s time, though, that returned the Baler River Course record back to Hollister. The San Benito harrier’s 16:49 easily broke the 16:58 set last year by Salinas’ David Perez.
Meanwhile, Jose Castillo, who finished second overall at the Pacific Grove Invitational on Saturday with a time of 16:19.44, finished fourth for the Balers on Monday in a time of 17:11, while Said Hernandez rounded out the team with a fifth-place finish of 17:12.
Gilroy’s Timmy Williams took sixth in 17:29, although two more Balers followed — Ricky Esqueda in 17:36 and Steven Velarde in 17:39.
The Balers are off until Saturday when they are scheduled to visit Belmont for the Crystal Springs Invitational. Races begin at 9 a.m.
Pacific Grove Invitational
Girls 5K Varsity (San Benito Only)
1, V. Estrada, San Benito, 19:24.34; 4, M. Forbush, SB, 20:01.25; 5, C. Trujillo, SB, 21:09.03; 6, D. Casillas, SB, 21:16.66; 9, M. Pape, SB, 21:41.00; 25, L. Shorey, SB, 25:38.12; 26, L. Corina, SB, 25:57.69; 28, E. Kovach, SB, 27:34.12; 29, J. Martin, SB, 27:40.28; 30, A. Bautista, SB, 28:43.15.
Boys 5K Varsity (San Benito Only)
1, S. Hales, King City, 16:15, 88; 2, J. Castillo, San Benito, 16:19.44; 4, S. Alcala, SB, 16:34.90; 5, E. Guzman, SB, 16:41.72; 9. D. Vasquez, 17:14.69; 28, S. Hernandez, 18:29.12; 31, J. Aguilar, 18:39.53; 50, M. Burley, 19:31.87; 72, A. DeAlba, SB, 22:52.75.
