Sports

Before the season started, San Benito High football coach Bryan Smith said Adam Mendoza’s name will be called early and often. It only took the first game of the 2017 campaign to see why. The versatile senior did it all last Friday in the...

Back-to-back Monterey Bay League championships, including an outright title last year. A 2017 California Interscholastic Federation Northern California playoff victory. Sixty-three—count, ‘em, 63—wins in the last two years, the most in any two-year stretch in program history. The San Benito High girls volleyball team is...

Jonny Gonzalez had a succinct response when asked about the outlook for the upcoming season. “Everybody is doing their job—period,” said Gonzalez, a senior running back who is one of the team’s top returners and leaders. “That’s the Baler way, and how football is supposed...

Former San Benito High and Gavilan College standout Erica Chapa has already started practice for the Cal State University Monterey Bay women’s volleyball team. In fact, this week the Otters have been engaged in some serious training, with two practice sessions each day to...

Perhaps it’s only appropriate former Haybalers standout Davonte Butler has earned a scholarship to play baseball at Cal State University Bakersfield—their nickname is the Roadrunners. And as Baler fans have witnessed the last couple of years, Butler is swift on the basepaths. On Aug. 7,...

Rising boxing sensation Sammy “Trouble” Torres has continued his upward trajectory this summer, earning gold medals in the Golden Gloves and Desert Showdown to go along with a silver medal in the prestigious Junior Olympics. That makes the Rancho San Justo seventh grader a...

For the first time in history, a travel ball softball team from the South Valley and Central Coast has won a title at the Premier Girls Fastpitch (PGF) National Championships at the 18-and-under level. The Salinas Storm 18s team—which featured four players from this...

Every once in a while, Christina Cunningham—a fifth grader at Southside School—will wake up her dad, Chris, so they can start working out. What’s unusual about this? Christina is only 10 years old. And Chris is certainly no slouch, as he is a firefighter...

When the University of Seattle baseball program first started showing interest in Mason Marquez at a showcase tournament at the end of May, the San Benito High senior didn’t think much of it. After all, several college coaches have come up to Marquez after...

When Emily Tonascia played at San Benito High School, she was known for her enthusiasm and positivity. The former Haybalers’ standout looks to bring that same mojo as the new coach of the girls volleyball team. Tonascia takes over for Ruth Testman, who stepped...