High School Sports

It wasn’t that long ago when the San Benito High wrestling team regularly competed for Central Coast Section championships and had individuals vying to reach the CIF State Meet. First-year coach Steven Salcedo believes the program can get back to its once coveted position as one of the elite teams in the section.

The San Benito High girls soccer team opened the season with a 2-0 non-league loss to Leigh on Dec. 1. Despite recording just two shots on goal in the second half, the Haybalers showed flashes of potential that gave fourth-year coach Becky Bonner-Leland plenty of reason for warranted optimism.

A year ago, the San Benito High boys basketball team had a season to forget. The Haybalers finished 6-18 overall and 3-9 in the Monterey Bay League’s Gabilan Division. Only Seaside had a worse mark in the Gabilan. A rash of injuries and other issues exacerbated San Benito’s problems, making for a long season.

Despite returning just one starter from a team that finished second in the Monterey Bay League’s Gabilan Division a year ago, San Benito High girls basketball coach Mitch Burley expects good things for the upcoming season.

The San Benito High football team had a chance to measure itself against one of the best teams in Northern California on Friday in a Central Coast Section Open Division I playoff semifinal at San Jose City College.

ATHERTON — Lesser teams might have wilted, but not San Benito.

The San Benito High girls volleyball team won 30 matches for one of the few times in school history, including their first league championship since 2007. But the Haybalers simply ran into a buzzsaw in Menlo-Atherton on Wednesday in a Central Coast Section Division I playoff semifinal at Piedmont Hills High in San Jose.

For Elijah Changco and Angel Garcia, the realization of earning a state berth was overwhelming. Changco, a San Benito High senior, and Garcia, a Anzar High junior, produced strong performances in the Central Coast Section Cross-Country Championships on Nov. 14 at the rugged 2.95-mile Crystal Springs Course in Belmont.

Another close game, another agonizing loss for the San Benito High football team. The Haybalers suffered a 22-20 home defeat to Monte Vista Christian on Nov. 13, and this one was somewhat costly. Rather than hosting a home game in the opening round of the Central Coast Section Open Division I playoffs, the No. 5 seed Balers (6-4) travel to play at No. 4 Menlo-Atherton (6-4) on Friday at 7 p.m.

The last time the San Benito High girls volleyball team was involved in a five-game match, it let a lead slip away. On Saturday, the Haybalers weren’t about to let it happen again. Not with so much on the line. San Benito won a thrilling 24-26, 25-17, 25-18, 18-25, 15-12 thriller over Palo Alto in a Central Coast Section Division I playoff quarterfinal, christening the newly renovated Mattson Gymnasium.