Lady ‘Balers finish first for second straight week, boys fourth
at Bill Kearney Invitational in Salinas
SALINAS
It’s just three weeks away now; three weeks from the Tri-County Athletic League Trials – and subsequently the track and field postseason – and when teams begin to make some noise at this point, others start to listen.
Despite the timing – spring break may have left some teams scant of their top runners – the last two invitationals have certainly turned the San Benito High girls track and field team into contenders.
Behind strong performances from Kelsey Russell, Courtney Allen and Rachel Shimabukuro, not to mention Melisah Cortez, Melissa Castro and Natalie Becker, the Lady ‘Balers took their second straight first-place finish Saturday when it topped runner-up Santa Cruz, as well as some 24 other teams, 62.33 to 56 at the Bill Kearney Invitational in Salinas.
“We were surprised and (girls coach) Laurie (Cottrell) was surprised,” SBHS boys coach Iran White said. “But it was a pleasant surprise and not necessarily a shock.”
Fresh off their top spot at the Don Bell Quicksilver Classic in San Jose, where they cruised by Los Gatos and some 25 others at Leland High School, the Lady ‘Balers once again shined, scoring big points in the long distance races.
In the 800, Allen (2:18.86) finished runner-up to Santa Cruz’ Elle Sanders (2:18.39) by approximately 47 one-hundredths, but took first overall in the 1,600 with a 5:12.12, beating Paso Robles’ Maddie Cline (5:17.38) by some five seconds.
“I think the girls will be in there,” White said. “With Courtney in there as the centerpiece of that team, they’re pretty strong.”
Shimabukuro, meanwhile, took third in the 3,200 with an 11:58.85, while Russell was second in the 100 with a 13.13.
The ‘Baler boys took fourth place overall at the Kearney invite, which was held at Hartnell College, after compiling 36 points. San Benito finished behind Paso Robles (53), Madera (47) and Scotts Valley (44).
“We did really well considering we weren’t necessarily trying to win,” said White, who was short several runners Saturday.
“We gave people a break that day,” he said. “We were just going to get some competition.
“The goal of the week was to escape Saturday without any injuries, and we did that.”
And San Benito stayed ahead of Tri-County Athletic League rivals Palma (5th, 28 points), Everett Alvarez, (6th, 27), Salinas (10th, 19), Gilroy (11th, 18), North Salinas (18th, 12) and Alisal (19th, 10) in the process.
White also moved some runners around to different events, including Justin Williams, who competed in the 200 and “ran really well.”
After clocking a 23.65 in the prelims to take seventh, Williams recorded a 23.23 in the finals and finished fourth overall.
Meanwhile, Ryan Shorey, who officially returned from a hamstring injury last week, ran his first open 400 Saturday and took second overall in 50.78, just behind Monterey’s Joel Kemper (50.19).
The boys 4×400 team took first place overall with a 3:28.10, and not only beat second-place Madera by some four seconds, but eclipsed their best time of the season by approximately one second.
The Haybalers will return to TCAL action Thursday when they compete against Palma and Notre Dame at Palma High in Salinas at 3:30 p.m. One day later, on Friday, San Benito will compete at the exclusive Top 8 Track and Field Classic at Los Gatos High at 3 p.m.
BILL KEARNEY INVITATIONAL
TEAM (TOP 10 OF 24 TEAMS)
1, San Benito, 62.33; 2, Santa Cruz, 56; 3, Paso Robles, 43; 4, Scotts Valley, 29; 4, North Salinas, 29; 6, Monterey, 28.33; 7, Salinas, 27.33; 8, Shafter, 26; 9, Santa Clara, 20; 10, San Lorenzo Valley, 19.
INDIVIDUAL (SAN BENITO ONLY)
100 Prelims – 1, C. McLin, Monterey, 13.11; 5, K. Russell, San Benito, 13.37; 10, S. Coelho, San Benito, 13.69. 100 Finals – 1, C. McLin, Monterey, 12.90; 2, K. Russell, San Benito, 13.13. 200 Prelims – 1, S. Edwards, San Lorenzo Valley, 26.74; 8, M. Cortez, 28.23. 200 Finals – 1, S. Edwards, SLV, 26.27; 5, M. Cortez, San Benito, 27.16. 400 – 1, E. Venable, Santa Cruz, 59.45; 6, M. Cortez, San Benito, 63.29. 800 – 1, E. Sanders, Santa Cruz, 2:18.39; 2, C. Allen, San Benito, 2:18.86; 18, M. Duarte, San Benito, 2:48.83. 1,600 – 1, C. Allen, San Benito, 5:12.12; 2, M. Cline, Paso Robles, 5:17.38; 7, R. Shimabukuro, San Benito, 5:29.95; 10, M. Duarte, San Benito, 5:44.05. 3,200 – 1, C. Mendoza, Madera, 11:43.79; 3, R. Shimabukuro, San Benito, 11:58.85. 100 Hurdles Prelims – 1, S. Unadia, Gilroy, 16.12; 10, A. Banuelos, San Benito, 18.79. 100 Hurdles Finals – 1, S. Unadia, Gilroy, 16.19. 300 Hurdles – 1, C. Ristow, Westmont, 46.30; 14, A. Banuelos, San Benito, 55.81. 4×100 – 1, San Benito, 51.35; 2, Scotts Valley, 51.87. 4×400 – 1, Santa Cruz, 4:09.26; 2, San Benito, 4:11.41. High Jump – 1, T. Rountree, Paso Robles, 5-02; 4, M. Castro, San Benito, 4-08. Pole Vault – 1, C. L’Heureux, Santa Clara, 10-03; 4, N. Becker, San Benito, 8-06; 6, S. Coelho, San Benito, 8-0. Long Jump – 1, G. Tinetti, Santa Cruz, 16-10 1/4; 5, C. Emilio, San Benito, 14-11 1/2; 12, L. Adamek, San Benito, 13-10 1/4. Triple Jump – 1, G. Tinetti, Santa Cruz, 35-07 1/2; 11, L. Ademek, San Benito, 28-05 1/2. Shot Put – 1, M. McKee, Santa Teresa, 41-09; 11, T. Bugarin, San Benito, 29-10 1/2. Discus – 1, A. Jelmini, Shafter, 179-08; 8, N. Becker, San Benito, 86-04; 13, T. Bugarin, San Benito, 75-03.
TEAM (TOP 10 OF 28 TEAMS)
1, Paso Robles, 53; 2, Madera, 47; 3, Scotts Valley, 44; 4, San Benito, 36; 5, Palma, 28; 6, Everett Alvarez, 27; 7, Willow Glen, 21; 7, Seaside, 21; 9, Santa Clara, 20; 10, Salinas, 19.
BOYS
INDIVIDUAL (SAN BENITO ONLY)
100 Prelims – 1, Z. Sanders, Santa Cruz, 11.01; 23, B. Mazzone, San Benito, 13.43. 100 Finals – 1, D. Zamora, Santa Clara, 10.98. 200 Prelims – 1, Z. Sanders, Santa Cruz, 22.79; 7, J. Williams, San Benito, 23.65; 24, B. Mazzone, San Benito, 27.41. 200 Finals – 1, D. Zamora, Santa Cruz, 22.21; 4, J. Williams, San Benito, 23.23. 400 – 1, J. Kemper, Monterey, 50.19; 2, R. Shorey, San Benito, 50.78; 8, J. Williams, San Benito, 53.20. 800 – 1, J. Arellano, Madera, 1:56.43; 8, D. Kret, San Benito, 2:03.08; 15, R. Shorey, San Benito, 2:06.47. 1,600 – 1, V. Julien, Willow Glen, 4:25.40; 8, F. Rivera, San Benito, 4:37.16; 13, J. Castillo, San Benito, 4:43.37; 17, E. Guzman, San Benito, 4:46.09. 3,200 – 1, J. Arellano, Madera, 10:02.15; 3, F. Rivera, San Benito, 10:14.30; 8, E. Guzman, San Benito, 10:32.83. 110 Hurdles Prelims – 1, P. Guenther, Gilroy, 15.10; 8, S. Medina, San Benito, 16.87. 110 Hurdles Finals – 1, P. Guenther, Gilroy, 14.78; 8, S. Medina, San Benito, 16.74. 300 Hurdles – 1, M. Skinner, Everett Alvarez, 38.27; 7, S. Medina, San Benito, 42.95. 4×100 – 1, Everett Alvarez, 43.54; 5, San Benito, 46.93. 4×400 – 1, San Benito, 3:28.10; 2, Madera, 3:32.06. High Jump – 1, M. Staab, Madera, 6-0; 8, S. Medina, San Benito, 5-06. Pole Vault – 1, J. Prader, Salinas, 15-04; 9, E. Valencia, San Benito, 10-06. Long Jump – 1, D. Upson, Paso Robles, 20-02 1/2; 17, B. Lenoir, San Benito, 16-09; 19, D. Coates, San Benito, 15-09. Triple Jump – 1, K. Fernandez, Alisal, 42.06; 13, B. Lenoir, San Benito, 35-02. Shot Put – 1, M. Darr, Frontier, 57-09 1/2; 16, F. Martinez, San Benito, 38-04. Discus – 1, J. Budwig, Fowler, 185-0; 6, F. Martinez, San Benito, 160-08.
