Scott Medina, Vanessa Estrada and both the boys’ and girls’
4×400 relay teams led the San Benito track and field squads last
Saturday at the St. Francis Invitational in Mountain View. The
Baler boys compiled 68 points and finished runner-up to host St.
Francis (79) out of 32 teams, while their female counterparts
earned 58 points and took second place behind St. Francis (96) out
of 26 teams.
HOLLISTER
Scott Medina, Vanessa Estrada and the 4×400 relay teams led both the San Benito boys’ and girls’ track and field squads last Saturday at the St. Francis Invitational in Mountain View.
The Baler boys compiled 68 points and finished runner-up to host St. Francis (79) out of 32 teams, while their female counterparts earned 58 points and took second place behind St. Francis (96) out of 26 teams.
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Medina took first place in the 300 hurdles with a time of 38.67 seconds, easily defeating Prospect’s Kamara Biawogi (40.18) for the top spot, and also taking fourth in the high jump (6-0) event.
Medina also ran a leg of the 4×400 relay, which finished first in 3:23.23 — roughly six seconds faster than runner-up St. Francis (3:29.98). Taylor Lothman, Jason Roascio and David Kret also ran a leg of that race.
As an individual, Kret finished second in the 800 meters when he clocked a time of 1:59.84, narrowly falling to first-place finisher Drew Azevedo of Leland (1:59.18).
Roascio, meanwhile, took fourth in the 100 with an 11.24.
Distance runner Said Hernandez was also fourth in the 3,000 (9:25.37), while Lucas Haro took fourth in the 110 hurdles (16.31). Teammate Jayjoel Fernandez followed Haro in fifth place in a time of 16.35 seconds, while Hernandez, competing in the mile, finished fifth in 4:34.28.
As for Estrada, she took second in the mile in 5:15.22 and third in the 800 in 2:22.67. Teammate Maura Forbush wasn’t far behind either, finishing fifth in the mile in 5:28.87 and sixth in the 800 in 2:25.57.
Both Estrada and Forbush were a leg in the 4×400 relay, which took second place in 4:23.77. Jessica Cook and Darian Maroney made up the other two legs.
In the 300 hurdles, Maroney took seventh in 51.79, while the 4×100 relay team of Savanna Wilson, Bree Casas, Jessica Cook and LeNae Stevens also finished seventh in 52.99.
In the field, Krystal Alnas took second in the discus with a heave of 116-01, while Tawne Haynish tied for second in the high jump with a leap of 4-08.
Last Saturday’s invitational at St. Francis followed the Balers’ performance at the Stanford Invitational, where San Benito’s 4×400 boys relay team finished second in its heat with a 3:21.78 — just four one-hundredths of a second off the school record.
The Balers finished runner-up to St. Mary’s, which clocked a meet-best 3:21.01.
Still, San Benito’s time in the 4×400 was a season-best, and only improved upon their previous best time in the Central Coast Section. The Baler foursome now owns roughly a seven-second lead on Gilroy, which currently holds the No. 2 spot in the CCS with a 3:28.23.
Furthermore, the 3:21.78 is the fifth fastest time recorded in the state this year.
Other top performances at Stanford included the boys’ 4×800 relay team taking third in its heat with a 8:01.48, which is the sixth fastest time recorded in the state; and a second-place finish for Vanessa Estrada in the mile event, as she recorded a 5:18.06.
With a league dual meet slated for Thursday at Everett Alvarez, San Benito is also scheduled to compete this Saturday at the Quicksilver Invitational at Leland High.
However, a select group of individuals also qualified to the elite Arcadia Invitational on Friday and Saturday as well. San Benito is expected to send three relay teams to the Los Angeles-area track meet, including the boys’ 4×800 (Sergio Alcala, David Kret, Scott Medina, Jose Castillo), the boys’ 800 Sprint Medley (Michael Bocksnick, Zack Nitzel, Scott Medina, Jason Roascio) and the boys’ 4×400 relay team (David Kret, Scott Medina, Taylor Lothman, Jason Roascio).
Check out Friday’s edition of The Weekend Pinnacle for a preview of the Arcadia Invitational.
For complete results of the St. Francis Invitational, go here.
For complete results of the Stanford Invitational, go here.
