Sports

In last year’s Monterey Bay League Finals, Zander Bonnet finished in second place in the 100 backstroke by two-tenths of a second. That moment provided even more fuel for the already motivated Bonnet to get faster.

Marisa Villegas needed a mental boost as the track and field season hit the halfway point a couple of weeks ago. And that’s exactly what the San Benito High junior got when she competed in the prestigious Arcadia Invitational on April 8-9. Villegas earned a medal by placing first in her heat and sixth overall in the Open Division of the mile run in 5 minutes, 2.02 seconds.

With the exception of one game, an 11-9 win over Watsonville on March 15, the San Benito High baseball team has limited opponents to five runs or less in every contest. The pitching staff has no doubt been the strength of a team that was 8-4 overall and 6-2 in league play in advance of Thursday’s home game against Palma.

Every time Chris Gonzalez has taken the court this season, he’s done it with a heavy heart. Last summer, Gonzalez’s father, Armando, died in a motorcycle accident. He was 37.

Notre Dame-Salinas pitcher Vanessa Gonzalez had already retired Callee Heen three times before San Benito High’s star shortstop came up to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning in Tuesday night’s game at Veterans Memorial Park. With a base open, the Spirits had a chance to intentionally put Heen on first.

When presented with the opportunity to play with his older brother, Joseph, Will Gularte couldn’t pass on the moment. That was the deciding factor in Gularte’s decision when he signed his letter of intent last Friday to play football at Presentation College, a NAIA program located in South Dakota.

Kenton Kpeglo usually knows if a good performance is in order during his warm-ups. So when the San Benito High senior felt great warming up at the Avis Kelly Invitational at Gilroy High on March 26, Kpelgo knew something special was in order. He just didn’t know how special.

Josh Corrigan was an above-average swimmer a couple of years ago when he experienced what could be labeled as a transcendental moment. The San Benito High sophomore was 12 or 13 at the time and swimming in a race for his club team when swimming finally became mind over matter.

As Annie Breger was in the middle of the high jump competition with teammates Camille Finley and Bernadette Forbush, she couldn’t help but think about how far everyone has come. The three all attended Southside School, as did junior running standout Marisa Villegas.

Chris Godbout isn’t going to apologize for his antics on the court. The San Benito High senior and No. 1 player on the boys tennis team freely admits he tries to get under the skin of his opponents.