2026 XC South SJS Distance Week 7 Preview

This week the CCC and CCAL have their 2nd cluster meets and some of the top teams and athletes will be competing against some of the best runners in the State at the Clovis Inv.

 

WED 10/7 CCAL 2 @ River Bluff, Ceres

The competing South SJS teams are Turlock, Pitman, Modesto, Downey, Gregori, and Enochs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It will be interesting to see if the second round for the CCAL is any different that the first where Turlock dominated both varsity races. This is an afternoon meet and there is no doubt that heat will be an issue

 

WED 10/7 CCC 2 @ O'Neill Forebay, Los Banos

The competing South SJS teams are Los Banos, El Capitan, golden Valley, Merced, Buhach colony, and Atwater.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It will be interesting to see how the GV v Atwater battle goes in the VB race over a neutral and much tougher course than CCC 1.

 

 

FRI/SAT  10/9 and 10/10 CLOVIS INV @ Woodward Park, Fresno

The competing South SJS teams are Hilmar, Atwater, Beyer, Golden Valley, Livingston, Modesto, Oakdale, and Sonora.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It will be interesting to see how the top individuals and teams in the South SJS fair against the best in the State over the same course run for the State Championship. 

 

SAT 10/10 WILDCAT FORWARD MOTION @ Dougherty Valley HS

The competing South SJS teams are Ripon Christian, Orestimba, and Denair

 

 

 

SAT 10/10 CRYSTAL SPRING INV @ Crystal Springs Reservoir 

The competing South SJS teams are Hughson and Patterson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2026 XC South SJS Distance Week 6 Runners of the Week

This was a busy week and I'd normally be looking at a bunch of strong PRs when comparing Cluster meet 1 to Cluster meet 2 BUT the unseasonable heat on both Wednesday and Saturday put a damper on a lot of individual performances. But even given all of that, it was the differences between those two league meets that I was analyzing. There were some athletes who did improve. I also want to say that there were also some athletes who had BIG improvements, but I deemed in some cases that was due to such a below standard race at the first cluster meet.

 

MATHEW MCGUIRE (Grace Davis)--sometimes I am reminded that this sport is not always about who wins and where someone stands on the all time list. Mathew runs for Grace Davis. He never fails to say Hi to me, even back before I knew his name. I had seen that Mathew ran with a brace on his left leg. He says "I have a mild form of Cerebral Palsy in the left side of my body, affecting the muscles and tendons on my left side, so the brace was needed until I actuality started to seriously strength train." He ran up to me after his race Wednesday and was really excited by his performance. He had placed 55th and run 23:02. It was not a performance that I had really taken note of, but after his excitement I dug a little deeper. I noticed that he no longer needed the brace that he had worn since he was 7. That Wednesday's race was his first 3 mile race ever and his time was almost exactly the same as he had run for 2 mi his Frosh year. I knew that this story is a personal one for Mathew and I didn't want to embarrass him, so I asked him. He said,  "That sounds like a good opportunity to empower others with similar situations." Sometimes I need to be reminded that XC is really about so much more than running. Mathew, thank you for your strength. You are a great role model.

 

EMMA LYNN HOGAN (Central Catholic)--at Amanda Garcia she placed second in the Championship race in 18:48.5 which was her first time breaking 19 for 3 miles. She also placed 2nd at VOL 2 running 19:58 which was a 17 sec improvement from VOL 1

 

CARMELO RODRIGUEZ (Ripon)--in maybe his best race of the year he placed 2nd in 17:25.7 at TVL 2 which was an improvement of 5 places and almost 30 secs. Additionally he placed 3rd in the Championship race at Amanda Garcia  in 15:48. 

 

ISAIAN VARGAS (Atwater)--placed 2nd in the Championship race at Amanda Garcia in 15:37 which was a 14 sec PR and helped the Falcons win the team title

 

OTHERS I CONSIDERED 

MADISON VIDES (Beyer)--ran 20:19 at WAC Cluster 2 to place 4th and help Beyer overwhelm the rest of the league. Her time ranks her #15 on the Forebay course.

RILEY MCCABE (Beyer)--ran 20:26,2 (#16 all time) to place 5th. Her time improved about 1:30 between cluster 1 and 2.

VICTORIA FREGOSO (Beyer)--placed 8th at WAC Cluster 2 in 21:07 which was an improvement of more than 2:30.

ALEXIS RODRIGUEZ (Johansen)--placed 7th at WAC Cluster 2 in 17:37.5 which was about a 2:30 improvement.

ALVINA HARRINGTON (Manteca)--placed 8th at VOL 2 in 21:39.6 which was an improvement of 42 sec between cluster 1 and 2

ALYSSA RODRIGUEZ (Sierra)--placed 9th at VOL 2 in 21:44.8 which was an improvement of about 1:20

ALVIN VARGHESE (Sierra)--ran 17:06.4 at VOL 2 to place 8th. That was an improvement of 10 places and 1:20 from VOL 1. 

PRANAV NITTALA (Mountain House)--placed 9th at VOL 2 in 17:09.5 which was an improvement of 14 places and 1:33 from VOL 1 

MARITZA GONZALEZ (Hughson)--improved 7 places and and 41 secs from TVL 1 to TVL 2.

PAIGE THOMAS (Ripon)--she improved 5 places and 25 secs between TVL 1 and 2 

ISAIAH HILL (Sonora)--when most runners ran slower he improved 13 secs and 5 places between TVL 1 and 2 to help Sonora to the team win. 

AARON GABRIE (Riverbank)--placed 5th at MLL 2 in 18:08 which was an improvement of 23 secs (when almost everyone else ran slower) and 6 places. 

SANTOS MENDOZA (Atwater)--At Amanda Garcia he placed 8th in the Championship race in 16:20 which was a 37 sec PR on that course.

 

 

2026 XC South SJS Distance Week 6 (WAC 2; MLL 2; VOL 2; TVL 2; Capitols Inv; Amanda Garcia; Bulldog Inv)

A much busier week that the last one with four league clusters, Amanda Garcia, and the Bulldog Inv.

 

WED 9/30 WAC 2 @ O'NEILL FOREBAY, Los Banos

The competing South SJS teams were Beyer, Grace Davis, Ceres, Central Valley, Johansen, Lathrop, Livingston, and Pacheco. It was warn with intense sun.

VB

1-BEY23; 2-CV 59; 3-LIV 88; 4-LATH 114; 5-JOHO 116; 6-PACH 138

 

Mejia-Hidalgo

1. Alex Mejia Hidalgo (Beyer) 16:36.7 (#11 all time)

2. Ethan Samulski (Beyer) 16:49.5

3. Eli Catzlaco (Grace Davis) 17:24.2

4. Maddox Young (Beyer) 17:29.2

5. Claude Matos (Livingston) 17:29.7

6. Enoc Reyes (Central valley) 17:34.3

7. Alexis Rodriguez (Johansen) 17:37.5

8. Carlos Castaneda (Central Valley) 17:37.5

9. Ali Rahimi (Beyer) 17:42.8

10. Kayden Simao (Beyer) 17:42.8 

 

VG

1-BEY 18; 2-LIV 67; 3-LATH 78; 4-PACH 97; 5-CV 120

 

Servin, Badea, Ruiz-Velasco

1. Anahi Ruiz Velasco (Beyer) 18:29.6 (#1 all time--new course record)

2. Tyleah Badea (Beyer) 19:15.5

3. Daisy Rojas (Livingston) 20:04.4 (#14 all time) 

4. Madison Viodes (Beyer) 20:04.4 (#15 all time)

5. Riley McCabe (Beyer) 20:26.2 (#16 all time) 

6. Annie Servin (Beyer) 20:49.8

7. Terra campos (Pacheco) 21:04

8. Victoria Fregoso (Beyer) 21:07.7

9. Karen Magallon (Central Valley) 21:11

10. Ava Medrano (Beyer) 21:15 

 

RESULTS

 

PHOTOS (FS, JV)

PHOTOS (VAR)

 

WED 9/30 MLL 2 @ Calaveras HS, San Andreas

The competing South SJS teams were Calaveras, Bret Harte, Linden, Summerville, Big Valley, and Riverbank.

 

VB

1-RBK 22; 2-SUM 54; 3-BVC 87; 4-BH 98; 5-CAL 111; 6-LIN 141

 

1. Armando Garcia (Riverbank) 17:07.4

2. Thomas Whitcomb (Summerville) 17:25.7

3. Brandt Moes (New Geneva) 17:26.0

4. Giancarlo Reyes (Riverbank) 18:07.7

5. Aaron Gabrie (Riverbank) 18:08.1

6. Yael Montesinos (Riverbank) 18:11.1

7. Landon Ponce (Big Valley) 18:14.4 

8. Amanpal Dhaliwal (Calaveras) 18:25.7

9. Jaden Lucich (Summerville) 18:41.5

10. Spencer Osako (Riverbank) 18:44.8 

 

VG 

1-RBK 26; CAL 50; 3-BH 56

 

1. Zuri Golding (Riverbank) 22:07.7

2. Josie Rael (Bret Harte) 22:26.8

3. Lesliee Valdez (Riverbank) 22:46.5

4. Lisa Lee (Calaveras) 23:04.7

5. Antoinette Wilkerson (Riverbank) 23:36.9

6. Lillian Faul (Calaveras) 23:48.8

7. Kendra McGee (Calaveras) 23:50.0

8. Crystal Vigil (Riverbank) 24:35.8

9. Yanely Soriano-Guzman (Riverbank) 24:37.3

10. Margherita Majer (Riverbank) 25:26.4 

  

RESULTS

 

WED 9/30 VOL 2 @ Mistlin Park, Ripon

The competing South SJS teams were Oakdale, East Union, Manteca Sierra, Central Catholic, Patterson, and Mountain House.  It was warn with intense sun. Oakdale was clearly holding back saving their legs for The Bulldog Inv on Saturday.

 

VB

1-OAK41; 2-SIE 54; 3-PAT 66; 4-MH 104; 5-MAN 137; 6-MAM 150; 7-CC 155

 

McGhee

1. Weston McGhee (Oakdale) 16:36.4

2. Sebastien Paterson (Sierra) 16:39.6

3. Max Perez (Sierra) 16:46.7

4. Ramon Ramirez (Patterson) 16:54

5. Aden Cavanaugh (Oakdale) 17:00.7

6. Jorge Hernandez Alcala (Patterson) 17:00.7

7. Thiago Carneiro (Mountain House) 17:01.7

8. Alvin Varghese (Sierra) 17:06.4

9. Pranav Nittala (Mountain House) 17:09.5

10. Quinn Baca (Oakdale) 17:19.6 

 

VG

1-OAK 29; 2-SIE 51; 3-MAN 85; 4-CC 102; 5-MH 134; 6-PAT 136

 

Dittman

1. Anna Dittman (Sierra) 18:38.1

2. Emma Lynn Hogan (Central Catholic) 19:58.8

3. Alysia Sinclair (East Union) 20:09.5

4. Taylor Reams (Oakdale) 21:28.8

5. Kylie Fast (Oakdale) 21:29.0

6. Tensley Wylie (Oakdale) 21:29.0

7. Addison Wylie (Oakdale) 21:29.2

8. Alvina Harrington (Manteca) 21:39.6

9. Alyssa Rodriguez (Sierra) 21:44.8

10. Paisley Coenenberg (Manteca) 21:58.4 

 

RESULTS

 

PHOTOS (FS)

PHOTOS (VAR)

PHOTOS (JV) 

  

WED 9/30 TVL 2 @ Wildcat Ranch, Sonora

The competing South SJS teams were Hughson, Hilmar, Ripon, Ripon Christian, Sonora, Orestimba, and Escalon. According to Hughson's coach they (Hughson) held some varsity kids out on both sides BUT the Sonora boys ran great and totally earned the VB win. The varsity races were 5K.

 

VB

1-SON 26; 2-HUGH 42; 3-RIP 68; 4-RC 130; 5-ESC 135; 6-OREST 137; 7-HIL 169

 

1. Landon Wilson (Sonora) 17:10.3

2. Carmelo Rodriguez (Ripon) 17:25.7 (#20 all time)

3. Asher Berg (Sonora) 17:26.0 (#21 all time) 

4. Mason Hoyle (Hughson) 17:30.8 (#22 all time)

5. Manny Ruiz (Hughson) 17:43.0

6. Grady Brians (Sonora) 17:53.6

7. Isaiah Hill (Sonora) 18:01.3

8. Sam Alvarado (Hughson) 18:02.4

9. Matthias Dickson (Sonora) 18:30.1

10. Joseph Garcia (Orestimba) 18:38.0 

 

VG 

1-HUGH 40; 2-RIP 63; 3-OREST 65; 4-HIL 78; 5-ESC 121; 6-RC 145

 

1. Grace Benitez (Hughson) 20:02.2 (#5 all time)

2. Sadie Thompson (Sonora) 20:31.0 (#10 all time)

3. Maggie Becchetti (Hughson) 21:11.4 (#22 all time)

4. Sophia Jung (Ripon) 21:15.0 (#23 all time)

5. Jade Carmona (Orestimba) 22:06.9

6. Samantha deLaCruz (Orestimba) 22:52.8

7. Breahna Alves (Hilmar) 23:21.3

8. Paige Thomas (Ripon) 23:30.5

9. Maritza Gonzalez (Hughson) 23:43.0

10. Carson Dickey (Hilmar) 23:56.5 

 

RESULTS 

 

WED 9/30 CAPITALS INV @ Sacramento Adventist Academy

The competing South SJS teams were Denair and Central Valley Christian Academy (Sonora). The varsity races are 5K

 

VB

3-DEN 94; 7-CVC SON 160

 

4. Jose Ponce (Denair) 20:02.4

10. Nate Trujillo (Central Valley Christian, Sonora) 21:03.9

14. Jorge Flores (Denair) 21:16.3

 

VG

3. Alizey Gonzalez (Denair) 26:29.3 

7. Alondra Anguiano-Vargas (Denair) 28:07.7 

 

RESULTS 

 

SAT 10/3 AMANDA GARCIA INV @ Atwater HS, Atwater

The competing South SJS teams were Atwater, Delhi, Big Valley, Buhach Colony, Denair, East Union, El Capitan, Golden Valley, Hilmar, Livingston, Merced, Ripon, Waterford, Turlock, Manteca, Modesto, and Central Catholic. The varsity races are 3 mi. 

 

VB (Champ)

1-ATW 26; 3-RIP 110; 4-MOD 127; 5-MER 163; 6-LIV 165; 8-EU 181; 9-DEL 195; 10-HIL 204

 

Vargas and Gonzalez leading the way

1. Yair Gonzalez (Atwater) 15:21.1

2. Isaian Vargas (Atwater) 15:37.1

3. Carmelo Rodriguez (Ripon) 15:48.1

5. Michael Garcia (Atwater) 15:55.9

7. Charles Griffith (Modesto) 16:11.3

8. Santos Mendoza (Atwater) 16:20.5

10. Francisco Medrano (Atwater) 16:26.1

11. Lucah Sherman (Atwater) 16:29.5

12. Landon Ponce (Big Valley) 16:33.6 

  

VB (Open)

1. Mariano Ibarra (El Capitan) 16:16.8 

  

VG (Champ)

1-ATW 48; 2-HIL 60; 3-RIP 64; 4-LIV 77; 5-MER 97

 

Hampton with Jung trailing

1. Eleanor Hampton (Merced) 18:15.6

2. Emma-Lynn Hogan (Central Catholic) 18:48.5

3. Sophia Jung (Ripon) 18:58.5

4. Daisy Rojas (Livingston) 19:34.8

5. Alysia Sinclair (East Union) 19:45.6

6. Breahna Alves (Hilmar) 20:23.3

7. Alexa Gutierrez (Livingston) 20:28.0

8. Ilene Aguilar (Atwater) 20:28.2 

  

RESULTS

PHOTOS (Champ Boys)

PHOTOS (Champ Girls)

PHOTOS (Open Boys)

PHOTOS (Open Girls and Middle School) 

 

SAT 10/3 BULLDOG INV@Willow Hills, Folsom

The competing South SJS teams were Central Valley, Golden Valley, Mountain House, Pitman, Oakdale and Sierra. There are both large and small school divisions over the same 5K course used for the SJS championship meet. But there were no S SJS Distance teams in the Small Schools division. Also maybe due to the heat most of the Oakdale and GV runners did not have their best races.

 

VG LS

6-OAK 155; 7-GV 166; 14-SIE 396; 20-PIT 544

 

3. Fernanda Cortes (Golden Valley) 18:35.5 (#7 all time)

10. Anna Dittman (Sierra) 19:27.3

12. Addison Wylie (Oakdale) 19:35.4

25. Kylie Fast (Oakdale) 20:23.5

28. Taylor Reams (Oakdale) 20:29.7

31. Tenley wylie (Oakdale) 20:46.7

35. Gabriela Hicks (Golden Valley) 21:01.0

37. Chelsea Chavez (Golden Valley) 21:08.1

41. Aubri Villa (Golden Valley) 21:13.6

55. Katerin Ortiz Nunez (Golden Valley) 21:54.6

64. Elise McGhee (Oakdale) 22:07.0

 

VB LS

6-GV 169; 9-OAK 217; 12-SIE 303; 16-PIT 432; 18-MH 496; 21-CV 552

 

4. Weston McGhee (Oakdale) 16:18.4 (#23 all time)

7. Dominic Urteaga (Golden Valley) 16:23.4

9. James Barajas (Golden Valley) 16:24.4 (#31 all time)

27. Eli Pimentel (Pitman) 17:20.5

30. Sebastien Paterson (Sierra) 17:24.5

31. Max Perez (Sierra) 17:24.8

44. Aden Cavanaugh (Oakdale) 17:51.3

47. trevor Powell (Oakdale) 17:54.6

52. Manuel Elizarraraz Pedraza (Golden Valley) 18:03.4

53. Quinn Baca (Oakdale) 18:05.6

65. Melvin Leon (Golden Valley) 18:19.1

67. Eli Scott (Pitman) 18:19.4

68. Thiago Carneiro (Mountain House) 18:21.0

75. Alvin Varghese (Sierra) 18:30.5 

 

RESULTS 

2026 XC South SJS Distance Fabulous Frosh Girls

Each year there is at least one frosh girl that makes a big splash during XC. I had already noticed a few girls that seemed to making an impact on their teams, so I thought I would do some research and send some love their direction.

 

First I want to add some perspective, I haven't seen anyone who started the year at the level of Natalie Arriaza, Elle Williams, Zoe Leach, Maddison Kackley, Giselle Fernandez... did during their Frosh years. And to be completely honest the top incoming Frosh I identified before the seson began was Riverbank's Hailey Ramirez (who ran a 5:43 1600m last year), and she is injured and has yet to run in a single meet. Even after saying that, there are some very capable and solid ladies out there that are already helping their teams. Please note that these runners have run very little so far...in some cases only one or two races.

 

ILENE AGUILAR (Atwater)--has run 21:21 for 3mi and placed 10th at CCC 1 in the varsity race.

 

BREAHNA ALVES (Hilmar)--has run 22:02 for 3 mi and 22:15 for 5K. She placed 7th at TVL 1 in the varsity race.

 

SOPHIA DONOVAN (Atwater)--has run 20:59 for 3 mi and placed 15th in the varsity race at CCC 1 

 

ZURI GOLDING (Riverbank)--has made the biggest splash so far of these girls as the #1 Bruin finisher in their early meets. She ran 19:51 for 3mi and 21:06 for 5k. She placed 1st at MLL 1 in the varsity race. 

 

AVA MARRONE (Ripon)--has run 22:56 for 5K. She would have placed 6th at TVL 1 but was ultimately DQ'd for taking a wrong turn (that had little impact on her over all place)

 

ELISE MCGHEE (Oakdale)--has run 20:16 for 5K and was 12th at VOL 1.

 

VANESSA MORALES (Central Valley)--has run 21:06 for 5K and placed 1st in the LS FS race at Frogtown.

 

KIERA PATTERSON (Orestimba)--has run 22:42 for 3mi and 23:13 for 5K. She placed 8th in the Varsity race at TVL 1 

 

 ISABEL RICHTER (Turlock)--has run 21:05 for 5K and was 6th in the varsity race at CCAL 1.

 

VALENTINA SAENZ (Enochs)--has run 21:05 for 5K and was 2ns at CCAL 1 in the FS race

 

MONSERRATH SANTILLAN (Lathrop)--has run 21:23 for 3 mi and placed 14th in the varsity race at WAC 1

 

ANNISTON STAPLES (Modesto)--was 1st at CCAL 1 and Kim Duyst in the FS races. Although she hasn't run a 3mi or 5K race she dominated her only two FS races and may be the best runner on this list 

CRYSTAL VIGIL (Riverbank)--has run 21:32 for 3 mi and placed 9th at MLL 1 in the varsity race 

 

 

2026 XC South SJS Distance Week 6 Preview

 A much busier week that the last one with four league clusters, Amanda Garcia, and the Bulldog Inv.

 

WED 9/30 WAC 2 @ O'NEILL FOREBAY, Los Banos

The competing teams will be Beyer, Grace Davis, Ceres, Central Valley, Johansen, Lathrop, Livingston, and Pacheco.

 

 

 

 

It will be interesting to see Beyer compete as they have run very little this season. CV wants another shot at the Beyer boys but this is a much tougher course than River Bluff where WAC 1 was contested.

 

WED 9/30 MLL 2 @ Calaveras HS, San Andreas

The competing South SJS teams will be Calaveras, Bret Harte, Linden, Summerville, Big Valley, and Riverbank.

 

1st mile

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It will be interesting to see how RBK fairs on a less familiar course. At MLL 1 their depth carried the way, but it was basically a home meet for them.

 

WED 9/30 VOL 2 @ Mistlin Park, Ripon

The competing South SJS teams are Oakdale, East Union, Manteca Sierra, Central Catholic, Patterson, and Mountain House.

 

  

It will be interesting to see if Oakdale will be as dominant as they were at VOL 1 and how much they will hold back to save for Saturday. 

 

WED 9/30 TVL 2 @ Wildcat Ranch, Sonora

The competing South SJS teams are Hughson, Hilmar, Ripon, Ripon Christian, Sonora, Orestimba, and Escalon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It will be interesting to see how the Sonora boys fair against Hughson on this course where Sonora definitely has a "home course" advantage. 

 

WED 9/30 CAPITOLS INV @ Sacramento Adventist Academy

The competing South SJS teams are Denair and Central Valley Christian Academy (Sonora). The varsity races are 5K

 

 

 

SAT 10/3 AMANDA GARCIA INV @ Atwater HS, Atwater

The competing South SJS teams will be Atwater, Delhi, Big Valley, Buhach Colony, Denair, East Union, El Capitan, Golden Valley, Hilmar, Livingston, Merced, Ripon, Waterford, Turlock, Manteca, Modesto, and Central Catholic. The varsity races are 3 mi. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It will be interesting to see how many of the top teams run their top athletes, and how they fair against each other. 

 

SAT 10/3 BUULDOG INV@Willow Hills, Folsom

 The competing South SJS teams will be Central Valley, Golden Valley, Mountain House, Pitman, Oakdale and Sierra. There are both large and small school divisions over the same 5K course used for the SJS championship meet.

 

 

 

 

It will be interesting to see how Sierra, Golden Valley and Oakdale are able to compete on a difficult course against some of the best teams in the SJS.

 

 
 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

2026 XC South SJS Distance Week 5 Runners of the Week

The racing by local teams was pretty light this past week but there still were some notable performances. They two ROW recipients have been pillars of consistent performances this season. So that is what I noting more so than any one specific race.

 

ADDISON WYLIE (Oakdale)--she placed 2nd at the Golden Eagle Inv at Woodward with a 5K time of 19:27. She has led the Mustangs since stepping onto campus just over 2 years ago. 

 

 

PORTER PETTY (Turlock)--he placed 2nd at the Monterey Bay Inv in a 3mi time of 16:07.5. He has been the model of consistent excellent performance this season.