Another wild and crazy year in the sporting world has come to an
end. And what a year it has been.
Local fans have observed some of the best and worst of what
competition has to offer – moments that will live on forever and
moments that are best forgotten.
Another wild and crazy year in the sporting world has come to an end. And what a year it has been.
Local fans have observed some of the best and worst of what competition has to offer – moments that will live on forever and moments that are best forgotten.
The national scene was haunted by the Kobe Bryant case, and most of 2004 will be as well.
Both the A’s and Giants lost in the playoffs. San Francisco was defeated by the Marlins, who went on to win the World Series. Who would have thought such a scenario could be possible?
The San Jose Earthquakes pulled off a miracle comeback over Los Angeles to win the Major League Soccer Cup – their second in three seasons.
Both the Raiders and the Niners suffered through seasons they hope to forget. Local NFL fans have come to expect the best from both teams, and when they don’t win heads fly.
The Sharks and Warriors both suffered sub-par years but are on the rebound this season.
There have been some exciting and memorable events locally as well. Here are some of the top 10 stories from the year of local sports.
1 San Benito football runner-up in CCS
The top story of the year would have to be the success of the San Benito High School football team. Even though the Balers lost in the Division II final, the year was still a successful season because of the hard work put in during practice. The Balers were able to shrug off a lot of negativeity from fans after failing to reach the playoffs the year before.
San Benito used a well-balanced attack with few high profile stars to finish the season with a 9-3-1 record, losing 26-12 against Aptos in the CCS Division II finale. Not bad for a team that was predicted to be average at best coming into the season.
2 Coaching changes abound
The 2003 year saw many coaching changes at San Benito High School. The change that brought the most grief was the departure of the popular Neal Andrade. Andrade took over as the head baseball coach at Gavilan College and will be missed at San Benito. Derek Barnes is taking over for Andrade and will try to pick up where Andrade left off. But it won’t be easy.
Tom Dean came out of retirement to coach the girls basketball team. Dean took over for Richard Silva, who is now coaching at Live Oak. The Balers and the Acorns finished at the bottom of the league standings last year. But this year, San Benito is the front runner so far with a 9-4 record, while the Acorns have a record of 3-9 and are – yes you guessed it – in last place.
Chuck Schallhorn took over as girls volleyball coach for Larry Nabzeska, who retired after winning a share of the league title during each of his five years.
Scott Smith became the new softball coach after Marty Dillon was relieved of his coaching duties. Smith led his team to a 23-10 record, including a CCS Division 1 appearance. But in that game, the Balers lost to North Salinas, who they had beaten two of the previous three times.
Baler JV wrestling coach John Kiesewetter, who coached the team for 12 years, announced his retirement from coaching after the season ended last year.
3 Cross Country wins CCS championship
Jess Morales took over as head coach for the boys and girls cross country programs at San Benito High School this year and was able to guide the boys team to its first ever CCS win. The title was impressive because the Balers beat out Salinas, who gave San Benitio its only loss during the regular season.
The Balers then went on to finish 20th in the state. Many of the young group of runners, who race together in the summer in the local cross country club, will be back next year and are looking for even better things.
4 Kelsey Jeffries continues on a roll
Month by month, world champion Kelsey Jeffries has added to her impressive fight record, taking on nine opponents this year and winning eight of those matches.
Jeffries, who resides in Hollister and trains in Gilroy, recorded the second technical knockout of her career against Seattle’s Carla Wilcox.
It was Jeffries’ 24th career victory and eighth in 2003. Her active ring life was recognized when the IFBA named the 126-pound featherweight champion its Fighter of the Year.
Jeffries has defended her IFBA title twice this year, defeating both Rolanda Andrews and Kelli Cofer by unanimous decision. She plans to fight abroad either in January in Nigeria, Africa or in February in Japan.
5 Hollister National takes Division title
The Hollister National 9-10 ‘A’ All-Star team won the Division 2 championship after defeating Alameda 5-2 in a game of high emotions. The win capped off a strong season by the team that also won the District 9 and Section 5 titles as well.
6 New additions at
Vet’s Park
Veteran’s Memorial Park received a major facelift this year. New lights were installed and new sunken dugouts were added. The fields were upgraded to make them safer and better for players of all ages to compete in.
7 Baler baseball wins co-TCAL title
The Baler baseball team lost to Live Oak 10-1 in the first meeting but came back to win 5-1 as Nathan Rowe pitched a three-hit complete game. The Balers won the league co-championship after Gilroy upset Live Oak 1-0. The team was powered by the league-leading hitting of Eric Davis Jr.
8 Swim teams take TCAL titles
The Baler swim team claimed its first ever TCAL title, while the girls swim team finished second in the TCAL finals. But due to the CCS point system, the Baler girls team received a first-place finish by a margin of 32-31 over Live Oak in the overall points in the season.
9 Baler hoops has strong year
The San Benito boys basketball finished 21-8 last year. Kevin Zanella hit a layup to put the Balers ahead of St. Ignatius 39-37 in the quarterfinals, but the Balers lost to Serra 75-47.
10 Girls soccer returns to prime
The Baler girls soccer team returned to the CCS playoffs for the first time since 1995. San Benito, who finished 15-5-2, tied Live Oak at 2-2 and then lost in the second match 4-0 as the Acorns went on to win the league title. The No. 12 Balers lost 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs to No. 5 Leland.
No year-end review would be complete without predictions for the next year. So here they are. Neither the A’s nor the Giants will make the World Series.
The Giants will be without Barry Bonds again for a good part of the season, and he will start talking about retiring. The Sharks and Warriors will make the playoffs and will make some noise while there. Bryant will be acquitted, because the super star always wins.
There will be an earthquake greater than 6.0, and George Bush will retain the presidency.
Locally, at least one San Benito team will be competing for a CCS championship. And expect both Anzar softball and baseball teams to have solid years.
