Sports

Even after the San Benito High girls basketball team lost 46-28 to Los Gatos High in the quarterfinals of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs on Feb. 22, it didn’t dampen coach Mitch Burley’s spirits.  “I was totally satisfied with the season,” said Burley,...

Despite a 50-36 loss in the opening round of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs on Feb. 18, San Benito High boys basketball coach Bo Buller wasn’t too downtrodden afterward.  After all, the Haybalers had their best season in eight years and the future...

In the context of a high school sports season, rarely is a league championship and Central Coast Section playoff berth decided on the final day of the regular-season between the very two teams that are in contention for them. But that’s exactly the situation the...

For the first time in 13 years, the San Benito High girls basketball team has won a league championship. The Haybalers finished this season with a share of the title with North Salinas after both went through the 10-game league slate with 8-2 records.  San...

Melissa “Moe” Llanes knew something was up when Gavilan College men’s basketball coach Derek Jensen called her during the team’s Feb. 9 game-day shootaround.  Moments later, Gavilan Athletic Director Ron Hannon and trainer Erik Hilliker walked into the gym and Llanes, the team’s assistant coach,...

Ryen Ortiz and Laine Lowi are cherishing the last couple of games they have together playing on the San Benito High girls soccer team. Best friends since preschool, the two will go their separate ways after they graduate, Ortiz to the University of North Carolina-Greensboro...

As long as Derek Jensen is the coach of the Gavilan College men’s basketball program, the Rams should be in good shape.  Like his predecessor and brother, Dallas, who went on to become the coach at College of the Sequoias, Derek has shown to be...

If Arthur Parra ends up finishing in the top three in the upcoming Central Coast Section Championships—which would earn him a spot in the CIF State Tournament—he’ll point to the Gilroy Mid-Cals in late January as the turning point to his season.  The San Benito...

In a showdown game between two teams regardless of sport, the outcome often comes down to whichever squad has superior poise and execution, especially in the fourth quarter.  The San Benito High boys basketball team knows it was lacking on both those fronts in a...

Rance Hodge is in his fourth season coaching the Anzar High boys basketball team.  Chew on that for a minute. At a school where coaches often depart after a year or two, Hodge has doubled the average coaching tenure expectancy at the San Juan Bautista...