In what could come down to which team has the most depth, the
San Benito boys’ track and field team, which fell all of three
points shy of rival Salinas in last year’s Tri-County Athletic
League Finals, qualified 23 individuals in 36 events on Tuesday in
the TCAL Trials at North Salinas High. Only those who finished in
the top nine Tuesday will advance to Friday’s TCAL Championships,
slated for Gilroy High School at 4 p.m., while those competitors in
both the boys and girls’ 4×100 and 4×400 relays, as well as those
individuals in the 3,200 meters, automatically advance to Friday’s
finals due to a lack of competitors.
SALINAS
In what could come down to which team has the most depth, the San Benito boys’ track and field team, which fell all of three points shy of rival Salinas in last year’s Tri-County Athletic League Finals, qualified 23 individuals in 36 events on Tuesday in the TCAL Trials at North Salinas High.
Multi-event participants will include Michael Bocksnick (100, 200), Jason Roascio (200, 400), David Kret (200, 800), Jose Castillo (800, 1,600), Eddie Guzman (800, 1,600), Taylor Lothman (400, 300 hurdles), Justin Rendon (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles), Scott Medina (300 hurdles, high jump), Lucas Haro (110 hurdles, long jump, triple jump), Cole Clayton (100, long jump), Jayjoel Fernandez (110 hurdles, triple jump), Emmett King (shot put, discus), and Zack Szyndrowski (shot put, discus).
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Only those who finished in the top nine Tuesday will advance to Friday’s TCAL Championships, slated for Gilroy High School at 4 p.m., while those competitors in both the boys and girls’ 4×100 and 4×400 relays, as well as those individuals in the 3,200 meters, automatically advance to Friday’s finals due to a lack of competitors.
The 23 individuals on the boys’ side is a slight uptick from last year, when 20 individuals from San Benito qualified.
Other qualifiers from Tuesday include Paris Edwards (100), Steven Hernandez (400), R.J. Collins (800), Ricky Esqueda (1,600), Alex Garratt (high jump), Eddie Valencia (pole vault), Ricardo Gonzalez (triple jump), Enrique Ramos (shot put) and Justin Power (discus).
First-place finishers on Tuesday included Jason Roascio’s 50.99 in the 400 meters, Scott Medina’s time of 38.68 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles, and Enrique Ramos’ heave of 47-06 in the shot put.
Having gone undefeated during the regular season, San Benito will enter Friday’s TCAL Championships with six additional points added to its score.
Meanwhile, on the girls’ side, San Benito qualified 14 individuals in 24 events, which is again an increase from last season’s 11 competitors.
Multi-event qualifiers will include Savanna Wilson (100, 200, long jump), Jessi Pfeifer (200, 400), Vanessa Estrada (800, 1,600), Maura Forbush (800, 1,600), Darian Maroney (100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, triple jump), Marieke Liem (high jump, pole vault), Elizabeth Reikowski (long jump, triple jump) and Krystal Alnas (shot put, discus).
After winning the TCAL three years in a row, the Baler girls finished in fifth place last year, behind Salinas, North Salinas, Notre Dame and league champion Gilroy.
Other qualifiers for San Benito on Tuesday included LeNae Stevens (100), Jessica Cook (400), Melissa Castro (high jump), Tawne Haynish (high jump), Sarah Chao (pole vault) and Breanna Lowther (shot put).
Vanessa Estrada recorded a first-place time of 5:18.44 in the 1,600 meters on Tuesday, while Savanna Wilson also took first in the long jump in 16-09 ¾.
For complete results from Tuesday’s TCAL Trials, go here.
