The San Benito High boys and girls swimming teams didn’t
disappoint this past weekend at the Central Coast Section finals
held at Stanford University. Both teams finished in the top 15,
with the boys taking ninth.
By Tatiana Getty
Special to the Free Lance
Stanford – The San Benito High boys and girls swimming teams didn’t disappoint this past weekend at the Central Coast Section finals held at Stanford University. Both teams finished in the top 15, with the boys taking ninth.
The ‘Balers boys qualified for five of Saturday’s final heats and senior David Smith had a stellar performance in his final high school meet.
He narrowly missed a first-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle, finishing second with a time of 21.37, right behind Valley Christian freshman Shayne Fleming, who finished with a time of 21.19.
Smith once again narrowly overtook Fleming in the 100 freestyle, but it wasn’t enough, as Smith took the second place finish with a time of 46.49. Fleming finished first in 45.85.
Smith’s time in the 50 earned him All-American consideration, while his time in the 100 earned him automatic All-American status.
Senior diver Jason Andrade also found his way on to the medal stand, taking seventh with a score of 354.55 . That was less than a point shy of a sixth-place finish, but did place him ahead of league rival Sam Figueroa of Salinas, who took eighth.
The ‘Balers 200 freestyle relay team, made up of seniors John Kaplanis, James Schafer, Blaine Curtice and Smith, finished eighth with a time of 1:30.29.
Sophomore Brandon Drogemuller participated in the 500 freestyle consolation finals and took 13th overall with a time of 4:48.67. Bellarmine senior Taylor Smith won that event with a CCS record time of 4:22.37.
The final event for San Benito boys was the 400 freestyle relay, where they competed in the consolation finals and finished 12th with a final time of 3:21.30.
The ‘Balers finished with 86 points, second only to Saratoga (141) among public schools. Bellarmine Prep earned the team title with 401 points. Palo Alto and Sacred Heart Prep tied for second place with 194 points overall. Saratoga was fifth.
The ‘Balers girls qualified for four events on Saturday and secured the 15th place spot with a total of 55 points.
Sophomore Shelli Reed finished fifth in the 100 freestyle with a time of 52.45. Reed also took the 12th place spot overall in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:00.57.
San Benito’s 200 freestyle relay team, made up of swimmers Megan Geary, Katie Buzzetta, Demi Gatrell and Reed, finished a solid sixth with a time of 1:41.58.
In San Benito’s final event, the 400 freestyle relay, the team of swimmers Lacey Larson, Buzzetta, Gatrell and Reed finished 12th with a time of 3:42.36.
To see the complete final results from the CCS swimming and diving preliminaries and finals, visit www.cifccs.org.
