High School Sports

The San Benito High football team participated in the second annual USA Football/Max Preps Media Day presented by the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on July 13. In all, 33 teams from Northern California and as far away as central Oregon took the stage in a press conference setting to answer questions from a dozen media members.

When the San Benito High boys cross country team made the CIF State Championships two years ago, coaches Ryan Shorey and Leanna Morgan had a feeling the girls team wouldn’t be that far behind. Their intuition proved to be spot on.

The days of high school athletes simply relaxing in the summer are long gone. Take incoming San Benito High sophomore Kami Brewer-Pozzi, for example. She recently attended an intensive five-day junior golf camp at Stanford University. The typical day for Pozzi included three to four hours of hitting balls, walking the course and finishing with non-golf games and activities that lasted until 8 or 9 p.m.

Although high school football games are contested in the fall, the real work goes on in the winter and summer months. That’s when players get bigger, stronger and faster through months of conditioning, strength-training, drills and camps. San Benito High has prided itself on its work ethic over the years, and new coach Bryan Smith has plans to make sure the school’s tradition of outworking their opponents continue.

At Anzar High School, beneath the shade of a sparkly orange mortarboard with a drawing of Frida Kahlo, San Juan Bautista resident Adeline Martinez prepared to graduate.

Few athletes in any sport have made a meteoric rise to the top as Nolan Sanchez just did in his recently completed junior season competing for the San Benito High track and field team. Before the Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division Championships on May 6, Sanchez was running well but short of his own goal and expectations.

Back in the CIF State Track and Field Championships for the second straight year, Marisa Villegas enjoyed her experience every bit as much from last season. Villegas, who just completed her junior year, ran the 1600-meter race in a time of 5 minutes, 2.71 seconds to take 16th overall last Friday at Buchanan High in Clovis.

Last Saturday, the San Benito High baseball team advanced to a section final for the third time in the last six years. However, the Haybalers were denied that elusive first-ever Central Coast Section championship, as they lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to St. Francis in the Open Division playoff title game at San Jose Municipal Stadium.

Pain evident after their races, Nolan Sanchez and Marisa Villegas knew all the training and suffering was worth it. The San Benito High juniors earned berths to the CIF State Track and Field Championships after their performances last Friday in the Central Coast Section Finals at Gilroy High.

When the San Benito High softball team fell behind by four runs entering the bottom of the second inning in the Central Coast Section Division I playoff championship game on Saturday, the Balers had no doubt they would come back and win. In fact, first-year Balers coach Andrew Barragan told his players they had them right where they wanted them—no joke.