North Salinas boys track

 You can only slide under the radar for so long.
 When you're undefeated at the midpoint of the dual meet season, you've got an opponents attention.
 And while dual meets don't always provide an indicator of what could occur at the league finals, they can serve as a prelim -- particularly when the Gabilan Division finals are four weeks off.
 North Salinas hasn't beaten San Benito since a pair of former Olympic gold medalists took them to a state team title in 1993.
 If that run is to end on Thursday, it will have to come in Hollister, where its dirt track is a true home advantage.
 The Vikings are capable of winning eight of the 14 individual events. Which means the relays will be critical in determining an outcome.
 While scoring in a dual meet is 5-3-1 for the first three places in individual events, relays are 5-0, meaning a potential 10-point swing if you can sweep the two relay races.
 The strength of the Vikings starts in the field with Isaiah Guerra in the pole vault and long jump. The weight events will be huge with Fabian Hunkin and Arturo Garcia in the shot and discus.
 North Salinas has a sprinter this spring in Justin Robante in the 100 and 200 while Raul Barraza, a CCS finalist last year in the 800, will likely double and also run the 400.
 Ultimately this meet could come down to an unknown sneaking in and grabbing that third place and providing a key point that wasn't anticipated.