Although it hadn’t made the trip to the Arcadia Invitational in
roughly six years, San Benito certainly picked the right year to
finally attend. With three relays and two individuals in
attendance, the Balers set school records in the 300 hurdles and
4×400, and a Central Coast Section record in the 800-meter Sprint
Medley.
ARCADIA
Although it hadn’t made the trip to the Arcadia Invitational in roughly six years, San Benito certainly picked the right time to finally attend.
With three relays and two individuals in attendance, the Balers set school records in the 300 hurdles and 4×400, and a new Central Coast Section record in the 800-meter Sprint Medley relay.
“Not bad,” San Benito boys’ coach Iran White jokingly said of the weekend at the Los Angeles-area meet, considered one of the largest in the nation as it welcomes teams from other states, Canada and even Europe.
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The Balers clearly didn’t let the overall size of the invitational affect them on the track, though. That much was certain on Friday afternoon, moments after the Sprint Medley relay team, comprised of Michael Bocksnick, Zack Nitzel, Jason Roascio and Scott Medina, finished in second place overall in a time of 1:33.97.
Not only was the time nearly two seconds faster than San Benito’s seed time of 1:35.68, but, according to dyestatcal.com through Lynbrook High School, it’s also the fastest time ever recorded in the CCS.
Watch video of each of San Benito’s races at Arcadia here.
“I was surprised by that one,” said White, who was unaware of the record until he received a text message from fellow track coach Gustavo Ibarra of North Monterey County, notifying him of the new CCS mark. The previous top time was set by Santa Clara in 2004, although that mark was unknown at press time.
“A few seconds off in that race is a lot,” White added. “I didn’t know we were that close to the record. It’s not something that I thought about at all. But of all the times run in the CCS, that’s the fastest.”
It wasn’t an ideal situation for San Benito, however. The team competed in the outside lane — lane 9. Ideally, White said, he would have preferred the Balers to have competed in lane 4 of a nine-lane race.
“But it’s Arcadia,” he added. “We would have run in lane 15 if we had to.”
The Baler foursome, with Bocksnick and Nitzel both running in the 100 meters, Roascio in the 200 and Medina in the 400, finished behind the Southern Section’s Serra High of Gardena, which earned the top spot with a 1:32.84.
Third place went to Sheepshead Bay of New York, which clocked a 1:34.47, while Central finished fourth among nine teams in 1:34.69.
“The whole weekend was pretty crazy,” White said.
And San Benito’s performance in the Sprint Medley was just the beginning.
On Saturday, Scott Medina took first place in the seeded race of the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 38.39 seconds — a new school record, although it was a record he previously set earlier this month. At the St. Francis Invitational on April 2, Medina set a then-school record in the 300 hurdles with a 38.67.
White said Medina clocked the top time while competing in lane 1 — again, not an ideal lane for the competition, but one that San Benito handled well.
“That was impressive being in lane one because the turns are tight,” White said.
Medina was also part of the 4×400 relay team that set a new school record on Saturday as well. Comprised of David Kret, Taylor Lothman and Jason Roascio, the relay foursome shaved time for the third time this season. Recording a 3:19.88, San Benito placed sixth overall, but shattered the previous school record of 3:21.74, set in 2009 at the CCS Championships.
“Just like we hoped,” White said.
Again, it is the third time this season the 4×400 team has cut its time. The 1,600-meter relay clocked a 3:23.36 at the K-Bell Invitational on March 12, which at that point was the fastest time in the Central Coast Section. It then shaved the time down to a 3:21.78 two weeks later at Stanford.
Saturday’s time at Arcadia, meanwhile, positions the Balers with a nearly 10-second lead over rival Gilroy (3:28.23) among the top CCS marks of the season.
Meanwhile, Roascio competed by himself in the 200 meters, where he recorded a 22.50 to take third place in his heat, while the boys’ 4×800 relay team of Sergio Alcala, David Kret, Jose Castillo and Scott Medina clocked an 8:15.37 to finish in 15th place.
Ironically, despite the amount of talent the Balers had competing in Arcadia on Friday and Saturday, the rest of the San Benito boys’ track and field team still managed to take first place at the Quicksilver Classic in Leland on Saturday.
Notable performances included that of Steven Velarde (2nd in 1,600, 4:42.82), Jayjoel Fernandez (3rd in 110 hurdles, 16.32), Justin Rendon (3rd in 300 hurdles, 42.43), Alex Garrat (3rd in high jump, 5-10), Enrique Ramos (3rd in shot put, 48-02) and Emmett King (3rd in discus, 132-04).
The 4×400 relay team, meanwhile, finished first in 3:41.70.
The Balers compiled 72 team points to defeat runner-up Leland (37).
On the girls side, which took sixth out of 21 teams, notable performances included that of Maura Forbush (5th in 800, 2:24.76; 5th in 1,600, 5:34.37), Savanna Wilson (2nd in long jump, 16-03) and Krystal Alnas (2nd in shot put, 36-03; 2nd in discus, 115-0).
The Balers will host Salinas in its final Tri-County Athletic League meet on Thursday. Meet time is 3:30 p.m.
For complete results from the Arcadia Invitational, go here.
For complete results from the Quicksilver Classic, go here.
