San Benito boys race past rival Cowboys to extend perfect start
to TCAL season; ‘Baler girls hang with Salinas but fall by 10
points
The competitive juices were certainly flowing yesterday. Especially for a midseason Tri-County Athletic League dual meet.
The San Benito track and field team brought perfect records in both the varsity boys and girls divisions into Salinas, but only the Haybaler boys emerged undefeated.
San Benito fended off a pesky Salinas boys team to pocket a methodical 77-59 victory, but the ‘Baler girls fell 73-63.
“I’m definitely happy,” said San Benito head coach Iran White of the boys result. “I’m pleased with the end result.”
With six San Benito athletes scheduled to compete in this weekend’s Stanford Invitational, some of the star ‘Balers knew they would competing two, or even three, days in a row. How those athletes and their coaches would attack yesterday’s meet remained in question will into the competition.
The girls team faced the toughest dilemma, with senior runner Amanda Boyd – the team’s bedrock and biggest point-getter – the only Lady ‘Baler headed to Palo Alto. Salinas also posed the biggest threat of the season to San Benito’s hopes for an undefeated run in the girls division.
The Lady ‘Balers started the meet off with a bang – racing to a comfortable win in the 4×100-meter relay and then seeing Boyd roll to a dominant victory in the 1600-meter race.
“I think we’re making our statement early,” said Boyd after the 1600. “I like how we just came out here and ‘Boom!'”
The San Benito girls kept pace with the talented Cowboys throughout the meet – trailing by a slight margin as the afternoon wound down. A victory in the 4×400-meter relay would have made a big difference, but the ‘Balers fell short with a re-vamped team that featured Boyd running in the second slot.
Junior Dana Balsley made a valiant effort to hold down the long-distance fort in the 3200, but Salinas’ Susanne Andersen edged her out on the last lap.
San Benito’s Jackie Perrien again bolstered her team in the throws, winning the shot put and taking second in the discus.
On the boys side, the ‘Balers received a sweep in the 1600 – with Rigo Vasquez, Kyle Bambrick and Cameron Hill beating out the Cowboys.
Slated to take the Stanford track at 4:00pm the next day for the 1500-meter race, Vasquez nonetheless was ready to keep running.
“I felt great in the mile,” said the senior. “I was ready to go another one. I can’t wait for tomorrow night.”
The trio of San Benito boys pole vaulters – Todd Merrigan, Josh Schroder and Josh Liem – made quick work of their Salinas counterparts in sweeping the event and should be in great shape for their 4:45pm start at Stanford today.
The ‘Baler boys capped their win with a thrilling victory in the 4×400-meter relay. San Benito anchor Randall Lopez held off his Salinas counterpart down the stretch to ensure victory for his team.
“It just comes down to the guts,” said Lopez. “The last breath. The last 100.”
Walking toward the boys team’s victory celebration, Lopez said the meet was a job well done, but that the ‘Balers should keep their eyes on the big prize.
“It feels good, but we can’t get too confident,” said Lopez. “We’ve got to finish strong and get ready for TCALs.”
Seeing his team’s undefeated record fall by the wayside, San Benito girls coach Julio Trinidad was eager to get another crack at Salinas come league finals.
“We’re hoping that this is a positive note for league,” said Trinidad. “[My girls] are going to be ready to go. They’re going to be fired up.”
