Although it was about a second and a half off the school-record
time set in 2009, the San Benito boys’ 4×400 relay team of David
Kret, Steven Hernandez, Scott Medina and Jason Roascio nevertheless
recorded a 3:23.36 on Saturday at the Kiwanis-Bellarmine Track
Classic in Los Gatos
— the fastest time recorded in the Central Coast Section this
year, the third fastest in the state, and one that figures into the
top 20 nationally.
LOS GATOS
Although it was about a second and a half off the school-record time set in 2009, the San Benito boys’ 4×400 relay team of David Kret, Steven Hernandez, Scott Medina and Jason Roascio nevertheless recorded a 3:23.36 on Saturday at the Kiwanis-Bellarmine Track Classic in Los Gatos — the fastest time recorded in the Central Coast Section this year, the third fastest in the state, and one that figures into the top 20 nationally.
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Again, it’s slightly off the school record — a 3:21.74 set at the CCS Championships two years ago — but Saturday’s impressive time is faster than the Balers’ best 4×400 time set last year (3:24.74), and it came in just the second invitational of the season.
“We’re actually running a second faster …,” San Benito boys coach Iran White said.
“It’s early and there’s a lot of [teams] out there,” he added. “But we’re hoping to maintain that level over the course of the season, in the rankings.”
The 3:23.36 by the Balers set in Los Gatos on Saturday was, of course, good enough for first place at the Kiwanis-Bellarmine Track Classic, otherwise known as the K-Bell Invitational.
Scott Medina, running third for San Benito, recorded the fastest split time with a 48.57 on Saturday, while the anchor leg, Jason Roascio, clocked a 49.12. Lead runner David Kret then followed with a 50.91 split time, and Steven Hernandez rounded out the team with a 54.72 on the second leg.
“And it’s not our normal team,” White added.
Hernandez, in fact, was filling in for an injured Taylor Lothman, who sat out last week after suffering a bruised heel while competing in a hurdles event. Still, the fill-in lineup was good enough for first place in Los Gatos, good enough for the top time in the CCS.
Second place Saturday was awarded to the foursome from Gilroy, although its 3:28.23 was roughly five seconds behind San Benito.
Gilroy’s runner-up finish, nonetheless, is the second fastest recorded time in the CCS this season.
The Balers’ top finish in the 4×400 on Saturday wasn’t the lone first-place standing for San Benito, which finished in third place overall out of 39 teams.
Roascio, too, earned the top spot in the 200 with a 22.06, which is also the fastest recorded time in the CCS this season.
Meanwhile, David Kret took fifth in the 800 (2:00.29); Jayjoel Fernandez and Justin Rendon were both sixth in the 110 hurdles (16.50) and 300 hurdles (42.80), respectively; while both Said Hernandez and Lucas Haro took eighth place in their respective events, the 3,200 (9:52.74) and the 110 hurdles (16.53).
On the girls side, Vanessa Estrada took a pair of sixth-place finishes in the 800 (2:24.50) and the 1,600 (5:18.50) at Los Gatos, while Maura Forbush trailed in the 800 meters with an 11th-place finish of 2:27.42.
The San Benito girls took 13th overall out of 28 teams on Saturday.
Its best showing came by Krysal Alnas, who grabbed a runner-up spot in the discus event when she recorded a 103-10. Alnas also placed sixth in the shot put with a 34-00.
Also in the field, teammate Savanna Wilson was ninth in the long jump when she lept 15-06, while Lucas Haro was seventh in the triple jump (39-09 ½) and 11th in the long jump (19-07 ¾).
Emmett King, meanwhile, recorded a ninth-place finish in the shot put with a 44-06.
San Benito will return to Tri-County Athletic League action on Thursday when it will host Gilroy at 3:30 p.m. The Balers will then travel to Gilroy’s Garcia-Elder Sports Complex on Saturday to compete in the first annual Christopher Garlic Classic Track Invitational.
Field events will begin at 8:30 a.m., while running events will follow at 9 a.m.
For complete results from Saturday’s meet, go here.
