Sports

San Benito High girls tennis coach Ed Cecena didn’t know what to expect entering the fall 2021 season. After all, some players who would’ve usually participated last year opted out in the Covid spring season.  But Cecena and trusted assistant coach Rick Espino have been...

In a span of two weeks, the Hollister football team has gone from the valley to the mountain top. Two weeks ago, the Haybalers were in the pits after having been bested by Salinas, one of the best teams in Northern California. On Friday night,...

Since Rachel Smithee graduated from San Benito High in 2015, the girls water polo team has endured one of its toughest stretches in program history. The Haybalers couldn't even field a team for the 2016 and 2017 seasons because of a lack of numbers,...

San Benito High dual-threat quarterback Tyler Pacheco was on the brink of orchestrating a come-from-behind victory against Salinas on Thursday night, scrambling away from defenders and doing everything he could to get them down field.  But, there just wasn’t enough gas left in the tank...

Sometimes, what looks like a major disappointment turns into something much greater than one can imagine. So it is for San Benito High junior McKenzie Heckman, who turned to field hockey only after failing to make the final cut for the girls volleyball team...

After longtime women’s volleyball coach Kevin Kramer left Gavilan College to become the athletic director at Chabot College in 2018, Tyson Norton assumed the responsibilities for the 2019 season.  But Norton was gone after just one season, taking a job as an assistant coach at...

Before the season started, San Benito High girls volleyball coach Emily Burley didn’t know how the year would unfold. After all, the Haybalers didn’t have a Covid spring season and as such only had one returning player in Mia Villegas.  Turns out, all is still...

For as long as she can remember, Kendra Melching has liked running. But once she entered her freshman year at San Benito High in fall 2020, Melching started to love running.  “When I got to high school everything changed,” she said. “Practices became more focused...

Through the first four games of the season, San Benito High’s defense has stood tall. The Haybalers pitched their second shutout with a 38-0 win over visiting Alisal on Friday night.  “The defense is playing stellar,” Balers coach Bryan Smith said. “They’ve allowed three points...

Now in her sixth season as the coach of the San Benito High girls golf team, Molly Orsetti is more excited than ever. The reasons are plenty, starting with the makeup of the current crop of Haybalers. “This is a really good group of girls,...