South SJS Distance/Stanislaus County Distance

Monday, September 14, 2026

2026 XC South SJS Distance Week 4 Preview

Four league cluster meets, Frogtown and Woodbridge will make for a busy week

WED 9/16 CCC 1 @ Atwater HS, Atwater

The competing South SJS teams will be Atwater, Buhach Colony, Merced, Golden Valley, El Capitan, and Los Banos. The varsity races are 3mi

It will be interesting to see how GV and Atwater boys stack up against each other when there is something meaningful at stake.

WED 9/16 VOL 1 @ Mistlin Park, Ripon

The competing South SJS teams will be Mountain House, East Union, Sierra, Manteca, Patterson, Central Catholic, and Oakdale. The varsity races will be 5K

It will be interesting to see how the whole league fits together. Also I am curious is there is any dullness in the effort after most of the top runners competed at Kim Duyst.

WED 9/16 CCAL 1 @ TRRP (Legion), Modesto

The competing South SJS teams will be Turlock, Pitman, Modesto, Downey, Gregori, and Enochs. The varsity races are 5K

It will be interesting to see if Ivan Rodriguez (Modesto) who had the fastest CCAL male time at Kim Duyst can hold off the Turlock Pack. Where will Vince Wu (Enochs) and Eli Pimentel (Pitman) fit into the mix. On the girls side Will Roselynn Dominguez (Modesto) take the individual win. Compared to The VOL and the CCC the CCAL competition seems to be on a down turn.

WED 9/16 MLL 1 @ Jacob Meyers Park, Riverbank

The competing South SJS teams are Riverbank, Big Valley, Linden, Summerville, Bret harte, and Calaveras.

It will be interesting to see how all of the teams and individuals match up

FRI/SAT 918 and 9/19 WOODBRIDGE @ Great Park, Orange County

The entered South SJS teams are Sonora, Hughson, Riverbank, Merced, Atwater, and Patterson

SAT 9/19 FROGTOWN INV @ Calaveras County Fairgrounds, Angels Camp

The competing South SJS teams will be Atwater, Bret Harte, Buhach Colony, Calaveras, Central Catholic, Central Valley, Ceres, Chesterton, East union, El Capitan, Escalon, Hilmar, Hughson, Johansen, Los Banos, Manteca, Mountain House, Oakdale, Orestimba, Pitman, Ripon, Ripon Christian, Sierra, Sonora, Vanguard, and Waterford. There are a lot of big name teams listed here that won't be running there "Big Guns" for one reason or another.

SAT 9/19 TOM LEIKANE INV @ Pinto Lake Co Park, Watsonville

The competing South SJS teams are Pacheco and Lathrop.

2026 XC South SJS Distance Week 3 Runners of the Week

With two league clusters and the big Kim Duyst meet, there were a lot of top-notch performances and huge improvements this week.

GRACE BENITEZ (Hughson)--placed 1st at the TVL 1 cluster in 19:48 (#10 all time) leading the Huskies to the team victory.

KAREN MAGALLON (Central Valley)--placed 7th at WAC 1 in a time of 22:32 which was an improvement on the course of 3:13

WESTON MCGHEE (Oakdale)--he led the Mustangs to 4th place in the invitational portion of Kim Duyst (they were the fastest local team) on their season debut. He was the fastest local finisher in 6th place with a time of 15:18.2--about a 2 min PR for this race

KYLIE FAST (Oakdale)--placed 14in the Invite race at Kim Duyst in 18:43.8 helping Oakdale place 3rd in a very competitive race. The real story here is that one year ago at this meet Kylie collapsed just before the finish line and didn't finish. This began a series of races where this happened a couple more times and led to a very long XC season where she sometimes could and sometimes could not compete. It definitely put a smile on my face to see her out there...finishing

TREVOR POWELL (Oakdale)--He finished 36th in the Invite race at Kim Duyst in 16:13...last year he ran 18:33...a 2:20 improvement

OTHERS I CONSIDERED

MANNY RUIZ (Hughson)--placed 2nd at TVL 1 in 17:10 (#24 all time) leading his team to first place.

ETHAN SAMULSKI (Beyer)--placed 2nd at WAC 1 in 17:52 which was a 32 sec improvement on that course. He also placed 5th in the Small School race at Kim Duyst in 16:26.5

TRISTIN RAMIREZ (Lathrop)--placed 9th at WAC 1 in 18:51, a 1:02 improvement. Also was the top male finisher for the South SJS at the Jackie Henderson Inv

MARK GARCIA (Johansen)-- placed 8th at WAC 1 in 18:38, a 33 sec improvement

IVAN RODRIGUEZ (Modesto)--won the large school VB race at Kim Duyst in 15:42 a 59 sec improvement from last year.

ELLIE HAMPTON (Merced)--placed 5th in the Invite race at Kim Duyst with an 18 sec improvement on that course

ADDISON WYLIE (Oakdale)--placed 9th in the invite race at Kim Duyst. Her time of 18:08 was a full minute improvement over last year.

TAYLOR REAMS (Oakdale) placed 17th in the invite race at Kim Duyst in 18:56, which was a one min improvement over last year

YAIR GONZALEZ (Atwater)--placed 14th at Kim Duyst in 15:41 which was 34 sec faster than last year

QUINN BACA (Oakdale)--placed 23rd in the invite race at Kim Duyst in 15:57 wich was an improvement of 36 secs from last year.

2026 XC South SJS Distance Week 3 (WAC 1; TVL 1; N. Tahoe; Lowell; Jackie Henderson; Kim Duyst)

By the end of week 3 I think all of the local teams will have finally seen action. The big meets this week were league clusters for the WAC and TVL (both at River Bluff on the same day allowing some direct comparisons) and the Kim Duyst meet on Saturday right next door at River Oaks. I attended the two cluster meets and the Kim Duyst meet.

WED 9/9 WAC 1 @ River Bluff Park, Ceres

The competing South SJS teams were Beyer, Ceres, Central Valley, Grace Davis, Pacheco, Livingston, Lathrop, and Johansen. Although the Varsity results and times are correct. the F/S and JV girls combined race was a mess. The girls collectively took a wrong turn that led to most of them running about 2.4 miles

VARSITY GIRLS

1-BEY 24; 2-LIV 70; 3-LATH 72; 4-PACH 86; 5-CV 119

Ruiz Velasco, Servin, and Emery

1. Anahi Ruiz Velasco (Beyer) 19:33.75 (#7 all time)

2. Annie Servin (Beyer) 20:39.27 (#23 all time)

3. Daisy Rojas (Livingston) 20:55.90

4. Riley McCabe (Beyer) 21:55.73

5. Morgan Emery (Lathrop) 22:10.90

6. Terra Campos (Pacheco) 22:21.67

7. Karen Magallon (Central Valley) 22:32.39

8. Ava Medrano (Beyer) 22:36.98

9. Zoi Ann Moraitis (Beyer) 22:44.52

10. Alexa Gutierrez (Livingston) 22:48.12

VARSITY BOYS

1-BEY 28; 2-CV 37; 3-LIV 104; 4-LATH 105; 6-JOH 112; 7-PACH 142

Mejia-Hialgo, Young, Samulski, Ibrahimi, and Catziaco

1. Maddox Young (Beyer) 17:34.75

2. Ethan Samulski (Bey) 17:52.13

3. Alex Mejia Hidalgo (Beyer) 17:56.81

4. Eli Catzlaco (Grace Davis) 18:17.90

5. Ansauudin Ibrahimi (Grace Davis) 18:29.14

6. Eliseo Madrigal (Central valley) 18:33.89

7. Enoc Reyes (Central Valley) 18:34.76

8. Mark Garcia (Johansen) 18:38.74

9. Tristin Ramirez (Lathrop) 18:51.34

10. Diego Gutierrez (Central Valley) 18:57.03

What I found interesting was that even though is was cooler for the WAC meet, the TVL collectively ran faster than the WAC. Maddox Young is no fluke. The two Davis boys had their best race ever as did CV as a team

RESULTS

PHOTOS (Non-Varsity)

PHOTOS (Varsity)

WED 9/9 TVL 1 @ River Bluff Park, Ceres

The competing South SJS teams are Hughson, Ripon, Ripon Christian, Escalon, Hilmar, Sonora, and Orestimba. Due to the extreme heat predicted for the day of the meet the first race has been moved back to 5PM. The JV girls 2mi, just like with the WAC meet earlier in the day managed to run the wrong course...so those time in the official results are suspect.

VARSITY GIRLS

1-HUGH 26; 2-HIL 69; 3-RIP 77; 4-OREST 84; 5-RC 122; 6-ESC 139

In this race Ripon's #2 runner was DQ'd. Why do I mention any of this? With her in the results Ripon would have placed 2nd and Hilmar 3rd.

Benitez

1. Grace Benitez (Hughson) 19:48.01 (#10 all time)

2. Sadie Thompson (Sonora) 20:19.37 (#16 all time)

3. Maggie Becchetti (Hughson) 20:41.19 (#24 all time)

4. Sophia Jung (Ripon) 21:30.59

5. Jade Carmona (Orestimba) 21:47.66

6. Sophia Aguiar (Hughson) 22:13.21

7. Breahna Alves (Hilmar) 22:15.27

8. Kiera Patterson (Orestimba) 23:23.53

9. Allison Landeverde (Hughson) 23:29.82

10. Samantha DeLaCruz (Orestimba) 23:37.25

VARSITY BOYS

1-HUGH 31; 2-SON 63; 3-RIP 77; 4-OREST 85; 5-HIL 122; 6-ESC 149; 7-RC 180

Wilson

1. Landon Wilson (Sonora) 16:39.23

2. Manny Ruiz (Hughson) 17:10.44 (#24 all time)

3. Asher Berg (Sonora) 17:29.40

4. Mason Hoyle (Hughson) 17:38.52

5. Juan Palas (Hughson) 17:41.84

6. Joseph Garcia (Orestimba) 17:46.44

7. Carmelo Rodriguez (Ripon) 17:52.06

8. Benjamin Cerna (Orestimba) 17:52.26

9. Samuel Alvarado (Hughson) 17:58.51

10. Mattias Dickson (Sonora) 18:04.53

What I found interesting was that Sonora was missing one of their better runners. With him available at the next two TVL meets the competition between the Sonora and Hughson boys should be very close. Also it was about 10 degrees warmer for the TVL meet compared to the WAC meet...but on the whole the TVL competitors ran faster. Hughson's Grace Benitez is quickly emerging as an individual power...but as a team the Hughson girls have some work to do to make any noise beyond the TVL.

RESULTS

PHOTOS (Non-Varsity)

PHOTOS (Varsity)

FRI 9/11 NORTH TAHOE MADMAN MILLS @ North Tahoe HS

The competing South SJS teams were Atwater and Bret Harte. the races lengths are 2.8 or 3.3 mi

VB 3.3 mi

23. Matthew Nord (Bret Harte) 24:19

VG 3.3 mi

19. Susana Hernandez (Atwater)

RESULTS

SAT 9/12 LOWELL INV @ Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

The competing South SJS team was Pitman. the race lengths are 2.13mi or 2.93mi

VB 2.83 mi

13. Eli Pimentel (Pitman) 15:34.75

69. Eli Scott (Pitman) 16:55.81

VG 2.83

44. Elianna Jigour (Pitman) 21:36.24

RESULTS

SAT 9/12 JACKIE HENDERSON INV @ N Monterey County HS, Castroville

The competing South SJS teams were Lathrop and Livingston. All races are 3mi

FSB 3mi

12. Julian Gomez (Livingston) 17:18.57

VB 3mi

70. Tristan Ramirez (Lathrop) 16:58.76

77. Claude Matos (Livingston) 17:08.64

85. Raul Vides (Lathrop) 17:19.72

VG 3mi

30. Morgan Emery (Lathrop) 19:24.20

36. Daisy Rojas (Livingston) 19:56.09

45. Alexa Gutierrez (Livingston) 20:22.64

RESULTS

SAT 9/12 KIM DUYST INV @ River Oak Golf Course, Ceres

The competing South SJS teams were Atwater, Beyer, Big Valley, Central Catholic, Ceres, Downey, Enochs, Golden Valley, Grace Davis, Gregori. Johansen, Los Banos, Merced, Modesto, Oakdale, Orestimba, Pacheco, Patterson, Sierra, Sonora, Turlock, Vanguard. This is a huge meet with over 71 teams registered to compete. Kids love the course because they are running in the evening/night and it is flat and fast, BUT the course measured 80m short this year which could equal 12-18 secs

VG SS

Ruiz Velasco

1. Anahi Ruiz Velasco (Beyer) 17:29.6

4. Annie Servin (Beyer) 19:07.6

7. Sadie Thompson (Sonora) 19:18.7

VB SS

5. Ethan Samulski (Beyer) 16:26.5

VG LS

Dittman

6. Anna Dittman (Sierra) 18:47.0

9. Roselynn Dominguez (Modesto) 18:59.4

20. Mylie Olson (Turlock) 19:39.7

VB LS

Rodriguez and Martin (trailing)

1. Ivan Rodriguez (Modesto) 15:42.0

3. Porter Petty (Turlock) 16:05.6

6. Sebastien Peterson (Sierra) 16:19.9

7. Gavin Martin (Turlock) 16:23.0

8. Max Perez (Sierra) 16:30.1

VG Invite

Cortes

2. Fernanda Cortes (Golden Valley) 17:07.5

5. Eleanor Hampton (Merced) 17:40.0

9. Addison Wylie (Oakdale) 18:08.6

14. Kylie Fast (Oakdale) 18:43.8

15. Jylyn Carrillo (Patterson) 18:47.1

17. Taylor Reams (Oakdale) 18:56.1

20. Chelsea Chavez (Golden Valley) 19:16.9

22. Aubri Villa (Golden Valley) 19:28.8

23. Gabriela Hicks (Golden Valley) 19:29.5

28. Tenley Wylie (Oakdale) 19:39.9

VB Invite

McGhee

6. Weston McGhee (Oakdale) 15:18.2

9. Dominic Urteaga (Golden Valley) 15:23.8

13. James Barajas (Golden Valley) 15:38.7

14. Yair Gonzalez (Atwater) 15:41.5

21. Landon Wilson (Sonora) 15:55.4

23. Quinn Baca (Oakdale) 15:57.6

34. Asher Berg (Sonora) 16:08.6

36. Trevor Powell (Oakdale) 16:13.2

37. Aden Cavanaugh (Oakdale) 16:15.5

40. Isaian Vargas (Atwater) 16:21.4

47. Lucah Sherman (Atwater) 16:26.2

50. Roman Moreno (Oakdale) 16:27.9

BOYS Teams Overall

Oakdale 80:12.4

Golden Valley 81:22.3

Atwater 81:43.2

Turlock 83:42.8

Beyer 85:58.5 (missing #1)

Sierra 86:33.2

Patterson 87:39.7

Los Banos 90:26.4

Orestimba 91:38.4

Merced 92:50.6

Modesto 88:01.9

GIRLS Teams Overall

Golden Valley 95:36.1

Oakdale 95:44.6

Turlock 106:28.8

Sierra 108:09.8

Gregori 109:45.0

Orestimba 114:22.6

Merced 115:44.5

Modesto 118:35.1

What I found interesting was That the Oakdale boys in their season debut beat both Atwater and GV, although Atwater may not have been going all out. The Falcons and GV will collide this Wed at CCC 1. If you drop a couple minutes off the Beyer total time (since they were missing Mejia Hidalgo) and they would be just above or just below Turlock. The Oakdale girls just missed highly thought of Golden Valley on the girls' side. Would Ruiz Velasco have been faster if she had been in the invite section? How much faster? Cortes of GV is turning into a regional force. Landon Wilson (Sonora) certainly had an off race. I hope that he isn't injured.

PHOTOS (Invite Varsity)

PHOTOS (College)

Monday, September 7, 2026

2026 XC South SJS Distance Week 3 Preview

By the end of week 3 I think all of the local teams will have finally seen action. The big meets this week are league cluster for the WAC and TVL (both at River Bluff on the same day allowing some direct comparisons) and the Kim Duyst meet on Saturday next door at River Oaks.

WED 9/9 WAC 1 @ River Bluff Park, Ceres

The competing South SJS teams are Beyer, Ceres, Central Valley, Grace Davis, Pacheco, Livingston, Lathrop, and Johansen.

What I am interested in is seeing if there is anyone on the other teams to keep the Beyer girls from rolling over the rest of the teams...on the Boys side can the Beyer boys go 1-2-3-4...?

WED 9/9 TVL 1 @ River Bluff Park, Ceres

What I am interested in is how the Hughson boys and the Sonora boys match up. I suspect Sonora could go 1-2...but Hughson could put 5 in the next seven. How will Ripon and Orestimba match up with eachother. On the girls side on paper it appears Hughson has the advantage.

FRI 9/11 SIERRA PACIFIC INV @ Sierra Pacific HS, Hansford

The competing South SJS team is El Capitan. All races are 2mi

FRI 9/11 NORTH TAHOE MADMAN MILLS @ North Tahoe HS

The competing South SJS teams are Atwater and Bret Harte. the races lengths are 2.8 or 3.3 mi

SAT 9/12 LOWELL INV @ Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

The competing South SJS team is Pitman. the race lengths are 2.13mi or 2.93mi

SAT 9/12 JACKIE HENDERSON INV @ N Monterey County HS, Castroville

The competing South SJS teams are Lathrop and Livingston. All races are 3mi

SAT 9/12 KIM DUYST INV @ River Oak Golf Course, Ceres

The competing South SJS teams are Atwater, Beyer, Big Valley, Central Catholic, Ceres, Downey, Enochs, Golden Valley, Grace Davis, Gregori. Johansen, Los Banos, Merced, Modesto, Oakdale, Orestimba, Pacheco, Patterson, Sierra, Sonora, Turlock, Vanguard. This is a huge meet with over 71 teams registered to compete. Kids love the course because they are running in the evening/night and it is flat and fast, BUT the course is listed as 5K though in some past years hasn't even measured out as a full 3mi. So the fast times in past years are partially due to the course being short. With that said, I have been assured by Stan St's coach that this year's course will be exactly 5K.

Saturday, September 5, 2026

2026 XC South SJS Distance Week 2 (SAL 1; Hughson Black and Gold; Central Valley Classic; Dennis Dewitt; Soiree at SWRA; Lagoon Valley; St Mary's Inv)

Week 2 in the South SJS had the first cluster (SAL) and a variety of invitationals that only a handful of local teams are choosing to compete.

I went to the SAL 1 cluster, Hughson's Black and Gold inter-squad, The Central Valley Classic at Woodward, and the TRRP/Legion clean up on Saturday.

WED 9/2 SAL 2 @ Riverbluff Park, Ceres

The competing South SJS teams were Denair, Delhi, Legrand, Waterford. The varsity athletes will run 5K.

1-DEL 40 2-WAT 42 3-DEN 46 4-LG 92

The lead Delhi group with Ponce and Felix lurking

1. Jorge Ponce (Denair) 19:52

2. Diego Loza (Delhi) 19:53

3. Abraham Felix (Waterford) 19:58

4. Cristian Aguilar (Delhi) 20:07

5. Marco Santillan (Delhi) 20:10

1-DEL 17; 2-DEN 44

Machado

1. Adriana Machado (Delhi) 23:17

2. Cynthia Pena (Delhi) 23:58

WHAT I FOUND INTERESTING was just how close the boy's competition was. For so many of the leagues the out come of the races holds little drama. But here the top three teams were within 6 pts of each other

PHOTOS

WED 9/2 HUGHSON BLACK AND GOLD @ Hughson HS, Hughson

Hughson of course is the only South SJS competing team. All runners will run 2mi.

BOYS

Ruiz leading Coach Vizcaino, Hoyle, and Sam Alvarado

1. Manny Ruiz (Hughson) 10:11

2. Mason Hoyle (Hughson) 10:20

3. Samual Alvarado (Hughson) 10:28

4. Juan Palos (Hughson) 10:31

5. Shane Lockwood (Hughson) 10:44

6. Tyler Phun (Hughson) 10:45

7. Jeremiah Alvarado (Hughson) 10:45

8. Diego Salinas (Hughson)10:50

GIRLS

Benitez

1. Grace Benitez (Hughson) 11:30

2. Maggie Becchetti (Hughson) 12:16

3. Sophia Aguiar (Hughson) 12:36

4. Melanie Sanchez (Hughson) 13:21

5. Allison Landeverde (Hughson) 13:23

6. Jaelyne Anguiano (Hughson) 13:26

7. Maritza Gonzalez (Hughson) 13:56

WHAT I FOUND INTERESTING was that Hughson had 8 boys breaking 11. According to their Coach this is the best outcome in this meet ever.

RESULTS

PHOTOS

FRI 9/4 CENTRAL VALLEY CLASSIC @ Woodward Park, Fresno

The competing South SJS teams were El Capitan, Los Banos, Merced, and Riverbank. Don't get too excited about this meet being at the historic Woodward park course as all races will be 3K instead of 5K. The course also skipped the hillier portion of the park.

10-LB-335; 11-RBK-344; 14-MER-379

Garcia

8. Armando Garcia (Riverbank) 9:40

30. Isaiah Salvatier (Los Banos) 10:12

46. Yael Montesinos (Riverbank) 10:28

48. Mariano Ibarra (El Capitan) 10:28

53. Javier Ambriz (Merced) 10:33

56. Ayden Sandoval (Los Banos) 10:36

FSB

5-RBK-127; 12-LB-322; 14-MER-350

3. Giancarlo Reyes (Riverbank) 10:27

13. Aaron Gabrie (Riverbank) 10:42

7-RBK-195; 18-LB-433

Hampton

2. Eleanor Hampton (Merced) 10:52

14. Zuri Golding (Riverbank) 12:17

34. Chloe Delozier (El Capitan) 13:12

40. Emily Ramirez (Riverbank) 13:20

46. Leslie Valdez (Riverbank) 13:24

WHAT I FOUND INTERESTING was that all of the local teams had some bright spots but also have some huge holes. The RBK boys would have finished higher if they hadn't split their top boys between varsity and F/S

RESULTS

PHOTOS (Varsity)

PHOTOS (FS and JV)

SAT 9/5 DENNIS DEWITT INV @ Madera South HS, Madera

The competing South SJS team was Buhach Colony. The races were 3K.

Girls 3K

44. Mariah Yanez (Buhach Colony) 12:34

52. Camila Aguayo (Buhach Colony) 12:53

Boys 3K

25. Giancarlo Gutierrez (Buhach Colony) 9:30

84. Gustavo Antonio Martinez (Buhach Colony) 10:37

88. Josue Hernandez (Buhach Colony) 10:38

98. Angel Rivera (Buhach Colony) 10:43

WHAT I FOUND INTERESTING was that Giancarlo Gutierrez is running well, but how will he stack up against the top dogs on the Atwater and GV teams when they all run at CCC1 on Sept 16.

RESULTS

SAT 9/5 SOIREE AT SWRA @ Sunset Whitney Park, Rocklin

The competing South SJS teams were Big Valley Christian and Denair. the races will be 3K

B 3K

55. Malachi Arnold (Big Valley Christian) 10:16

80. Landon Ponce (Big Valley Christian) 10:33

RESULTS

SAT 9/5 LAGOON VALLEY INV @ Lagoon Valley Park, Vacaville

The competing South SJS team was Atwater. The varsity races were 3mi

LSVG

6-ATW 137

29. Abigail Garcia (Atwater) 22:27.5

33. Susana Hernandez (Atwater) 22:55.7

34. Ilene Aguilar (Atwater) 22:55.9

LSVB

2-ATW 59

3. Yair Gonzalez (Atwater) 15:48.1

8. Isaian Vargas (Atwater) 16:36.1

11. Lucah Sherman (Atwater) 16:51.5

18. Xavier Glenn (Atwater) 17:19.7

19. Michael Garcia (Atwater) 17:22.9

21. Francisco Medrano (Atwater) 17:26.3

WHAT I FOUND INTERESTING that Atwater finished faster than all of the LS and SS teams except for Vacaville. How will the Falcons stack up against Golden valley on Sept 16th at CCC 1?

RESULTS

SAT 9/5 ST MARYS INV @ St Mary's College, Moraga

The competing South SJS teams were Mountain House and East Union. All of the races were 2mi.

16-MH 410; 19-EU 522

47. Thiago Carneiro (Mountain House) 10:59.18

50. Elijah Galvan (East Union) 11:00.28

23-EU 606

64. Alysia Sinclair (East Union) 13:44.04

RESULTS

Thursday, September 3, 2026

PROPOSED SJS REALIGNMENT

The SJS bylaws allow for league/school realignment every four years. They just released the first proposal for league realignment. I watched the whole video(linked below) and the proposal may offer the most extreme realignment we have ever witnessed. What I got out of it was that most leagues were going to have two levels (Capital and Valley). The leagues would also be structured one way for only football and another way for all other sports. Since XC and track fall into the "All Other Sports" category (and not the football one), this is the one I'll discuss.

https://www.cifsjs.org/realignment

Let's start with the smallest schools in the South SJS Distance area the CCAA:

This "league" is essentially a combination of the current CCAA and the MVL. River Islands has moved out and Modesto Christian has moved in. As far as South SJS Distance is concerned only Vanguard has a XC team this season of the teams I would possibly cover (Vanguard, Don Pedro, Tioga, Modesto Christian, and Turlock Christian).

Next let's go to what is being called the Mother Lode League

This grouping is primarily composed of the current MLL and SAL leagues. We have added Orestimba back from the TVL (prior to that Orestimba was in the SAL), Hilmar from the TVL, and River Islands moves up from the CCAA. Stone Ridge currently has no XC or track team. Gustine and Mariposa have no XC team. All of these teams I was already covering with the South SJS Distance except River Islands.

They are calling this one the CCC

This one is primarily a convergence of the current CCC and the WAC. two those 14 teams we are adding Modesto from the CCAL and Ripon Christian from the current TVL. For Ripon Christian this would be an extreme shift. They have very talented athletes in many sports but in track and XC they don't even hold their own in the TVL. And enrollment wise Atwater is at 2058 and RC is at 293...so clearly enrollment had zero to do with their placement in this conference. All of these teams field XC and track teams and I am already covering all of them.

This would be the proposed TCAL

Most of these teams I don't cover but I believe that they are currently in the SJAA and TCAL. However there are two notable exceptions and there inclusion definitely demonstrates that football is the tail waging the dog. I am referring to Central Catholic and Manteca both currently in the VOL. Regarding track and XC neither of these teams is particularly strong. At least in XC, Central Catholic would slide back into D5 for State qualification.

Okay and now things get really weird with what they are calling the VOL

This appears to be all of the CCAL plus the remaining VOL (minus CC and Manteca), and the rest of the TVL (minus Orestimba, RC, and Hilmar). So why isn't it called CCAL since that league is fully absorbed into the mass. I would suggest FML (Frankenstein's Monster League). Regardless of the semantics of the league's name....why, why, why.....Central Catholic could have stayed here and Mountain House could have gone to the TCAL...No one wants Mountain House (that is mainly based on geography and this realignment has done nothing to help that issue). MH should be put with the Tracy and Stockton schools. The "VOL Valley Tier" might be the craziest arrangement of the whole proposal. The TVL has historically been the toughest/strongest D4 league in the section and perhaps the whole State...and this realignment seems to have gone far out of its way to destroy that collection of schools...yes Hughson, Ripon, Escalon, and Sonora (arguably the strongest of the TVL) are still together but they had to add D1-Downey and D1-Enochs and D2-Patterson...what a bizarre decision. In track what division would this mess be categorized as??? I predict as the process moves forward and the public has a chance to chime in, this league will be the focus of a lot of the complaining/discussion.

Overall I would still cover Central Catholic (they are in StanCo after all) and Manteca but not the rest of the TCAL...Lodi is just too far away and I have no historic connection to any of the Stockton schools. I would add River Islands. This grouping gives me basically 6 leagues to cover (the 2 VOLs, the 2 CCCs, and the 2 MLLs along with Manteca and CC). Curently I have seven leagues, CCAL, CCC, WAC, VOL, TVL, SAL, and MLL. Yes I didn't mention the CCAA schools and in recent years they (the ones I cover) haven't fielded XC or track teams, except Vanguard (which I would still cover).

If you read this I am certain that you will have questions. I hope to interview Will DeBoard in the near future. So message me your questions and I will attempt to get them answered. screaminscott64@yahoo.com

Monday, August 31, 2026

2026 XC South SJS Distance Week 2 Preview

Week 2 in the South SJS has the first cluster (SAL) and a variety of invitationals that only a handful of local teams are choosing to compete.

For me I am going to try and catch the SAL 1 cluster, Hughson's Black and Gold inter-squad, The Central Valley Classic at Woodward, and the TRRP/Legion clean up on Saturday.

WED 9/2 SAL 2 @ Riverbluff Park, Ceres

The competing South SJS teams are Denair, Delhi, Legrand, Waterford. The varsity athletes will run 5K.

2mi course

5K course

What I am interested in seeing how the league shakes out given that in theory the boys' competition could be pretty close.

WED 9/2 HUGHSON BLACK AND GOLD @ Hughson HS, Hughson

Hughson of course is the only South SJS competing team. All runners will run 2mi.

What I am interested in seeing the whole Husky squad in action.

FRI 9/4 CENTRAL VALLEY CLASSIC @ Woodward Park, Fresno

The competing South SJS teams are Ceres, El Capitan, Los Banos, Merced, and Riverbank. Don't get too excited about this meet being at the historic Woodward park course as all races will be 3K instead of 5K. The course also skip the hillier portion of the park.