The start of the Central Coast Section playoffs for the winter sports season is underway.
San Benito High qualified all of its winter sports teams to the postseason with the exception of girls’ basketball. The boys’ basketball team earned the top seed in the Division I bracket, and won’t play until Saturday in the quarterfinals against an opponent to be determined at Piedmont Hills High-San Jose.
The boys’ soccer team earned its first CCS playoff berth in 31 years. The girls’ soccer team (10-5-3), champions of the Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division, received the No. 6 seed in Division I, and hosts MBL Pacific Division co-champ and No. 11 Alvarez (14-4-2) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. (the result wasn’t available when this edition went to press, but a full game report can be found at sanbenitocountytoday.com).
San Benito’s wrestling squad, coming off a successful run at last week’s MBL Championships, starts CCS action on Friday at Independence High-San Jose. The Balers have two seeded wrestlers: Eric Loredo, who earned the No. 5 seed in the 113-pound weight class, and Patrick Ippolito, who earned the No. 6 seed at 138.
The Haybalers finished second to state powerhouse Gilroy in the Monterey Bay League Championships on Feb. 22 at Gilroy High.
The Haybalers had 191.5 points to Palma’s 185 to clinch the second-place spot. Gilroy ran away with the team title with 331.5 points. Out of the 14 weight classes, San Benito qualified 11 to this week’s CCS Championships.
However, the Balers have three wrestlers who will be competed in challenge-off matches on Wednesday — the results weren’t available when this edition went to press — for the right to advance to CCS. That means San Benito could qualify its entire starting lineup to CCS.
“I’m pretty doggone confident we’ll qualify 13, if not all 14 to CCS,” Balers coach Brian DeCarli said.
The Balers received a number of top-notch performances in the championship meet of the MBL, which is widely acknowledged as the top wrestling league in the section. Loredo, J.J. Melo and sophomore Tristan Medina all had runner-up finishes at the 113, 220 and heavyweight divisions, respectively.
Jaime Aleman (132), Ippolito (138), Simon Coelho (160) and Mario Morales (195) all had third-place finishes. Although San Benito has a number of standouts, Medina wasn’t one of them at the start or even the middle of the season. However, he came on strong near the end of the season, winning his dual match against Gilroy.
“Tristan was just one of the masses at the start of the year, and through attrition and hard work, he ended up being the man at the end of the year,” DeCarli said. “I asked him what the biggest difference was with him from the beginning of the season to now, and he said, ‘Confidence.’ It’s amazing what confidence will do for you.”
The top three finishers in each division advance to the CIF State Tournament in Bakersfield. No matter what happens at CCS, the Balers have had a successful season.
They’ve rebounded from last year’s disappointing 3-3 finish in league, enjoying a rebirth when they were one of the section’s dominant programs in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
San Benito should be solid next season, too, as it returns a number of top underclassmen.
“We’re looking to have a sustained period of excellence,” DeCarli said. “There’s a lot of pride around this program, and it’s something you don’t take for granted.”
