In this most individual sport, San Benito’s boys golfers have put a team goal above all others. The Haybalers want to advance to the Central Coast Section Championships as a program.
With four seniors in the team’s top-six competitors and a pair of freshmen making an immediate impact, San Benito looks to make that postseason hope a reality.
“Last year, a couple of individuals made it, but we really want to make it as a team this year,” said ‘Balers head coach Andy Parra.
Two teams from the Tri-County Athletic League will receive automatic bids for CCS, meaning that the ‘Balers need to find a way to top Palma or Salinas this season. San Benito has lost three times to the Chieftains already, but Palma’s margin of victory shrunk to a mere six strokes in the most recent competition. The Haybalers also lost to Salinas by nine strokes at Laguna Seca late last month in the teams’ first meeting.
After losing by 10 and then 15 strokes to Palma in the teams’ first two meetings, San Benito pulled within 198-204 in a three-team competition with Live Oak on Wednesday.
Freshman Gene Park, San Benito’s No. 4 golfer, shot a 1-over-par 38 on the front-nine of Ridgemark’s Diablo Course to lead the ‘Balers, and star senior Chris Shackleton fired a 39.
No. 2 golfer Diego Navarro, also a freshman, drew praise from Parra as the team’s most consistent golfer to date, but Parra emphasized that the team as a whole has been shooting good rounds, posting scores in the low 200’s in each competition this season.
“The kids are really happy with their early season numbers,” said Parra, a first-year coach whose players told him they were already shooting 10-15 strokes better than last season.
Shackleton and Derek Stone, the team’s No. 4 golfer, bring the experience of being CCS qualifiers last year to a team that is loaded with freshman.
“Both of those guys are definitely leaders,” said Parra, who program includes nine freshmen and two sophomores. “They’re showing the young guys how to play and what’s expected of them when they compete.”
On Monday, San Benito gets its next crack at Palma, the defending league champion, when the teams play at Eagle Ridge with Gilroy at 2:30pm. After hanging with the Chieftains until the end on Wednesday, Parra was eager to see if his ‘Balers can take the next step toward their postseason goal.
“We were right there with them,” said Parra of the six-stroke loss. “We’re going to have to be able to beat Palma sometime this season to have a chance at making CCS.”
