Sports

Despite entering the Sumo World Championships in Tokyo with a crushed ring finger, Roy Sims finished 3-2, with all of his victories coming in the team portion of the event. Sims lost his only individual match before going 3-1 in team competition, helping the U.S. to a top-eight finish.

Roy Sims has been competing in sumo for only 13 months, but he could be on the cusp of making history. The longtime Hollister resident competes in the Sumo World Championships in Osaka, Japan on Aug. 30. The 6-foot-5, 370-pound Sims is coming off a historic performance in the U.S. Sumo Open, as he became the first American to win a gold medal in the open weight division.

Even by its lofty standards, the San Benito High cross-country program had a memorable 2014 season. The boys advanced to the CIF State Meet by virtue of a third-place finish in the Central Coast Section Championships at Toro Park.

San Benito High School trustees voted 4-1 in favor of approving a roughly $2.6 million lease-leaseback agreement for tennis courts and a new parking lot with some qualifications. Trustee Evelyn Muro cast the lone dissenting vote at the regular board meeting last week.

Gia Felice bubbled with excitement as she talked about her performance in the Premier Girls Fastpitch (PGF) Softball National Tournament from July 24 to 31 in Irvine. A sixth-grader at Southside School, Felice hit a robust .643 in the tournament playing for the Salinas Storm, the second best average among all players in any age division.

When Tessa Chapman became the coach of the inaugural San Benito High field hockey program, she wanted to make sure her girls would have the best possible chance of success.

Taylor Fabing had no inclination to play softball again. Fabing, a 2013 San Benito High graduate who played two years at Pima Community College in Arizona, didn’t receive any offers after the 2015 season ended in early May. That was OK, though, because Fabing had a terrific season, as she ranked among the team’s leaders in several offensive categories.

Three weeks ago, Tommy Hernandez was still deciding on whether to enroll at Gavilan College or Hartnell College to play baseball. Jacob Trujillo’s future was a bit clearer, as he had enrolled at Gavilan after playing a year at Mission College in Santa Clara.

Fatigued mentally and physically, Roy Sims contemplated whether he should continue.