NorCal Cross Country and Track and Field College Commitments

Farah Allen, Branson (NCS) UCLA
Hugh Heyer, McClatchy (SJS) Arizona State
Gelila Hailu, Leigh (CCS) Cal Poly SLO 
Iliana Nierengarten, Castro Valley (NCS) Elon University 
Ashlin Mallon, Cardinal Newman (NCS) UCLA 
Josie Hill, Sonoma Academy (NCS) University of Oregon (NEW)

If you know of other runners who have already committed and publicly shared their information, please add them to the list in the comments section below.

Invitational coverage for this past weekend

 Lowell Invitational video

Kim Duyst photos by Todd Tokubo

https://toddsportsphotos.pixieset.com/kimduystbrief/

Viking Opener newspaper coverage at this LINK. PHOTOS.

The Weekend Ahead: Meets Worth Watching

Lowell Invitational at Golden Gate Park

• Which teams look strongest?

• Which individual runners can challenge for the win?

• How will the Golden Gate Park course affect the times?
• https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/280061/teams
        •.      https://rtspt.com/events/cif/2026Meets/lowellxc/ (Live Results)

Ed Sias Invitational at Hidden Valley Park

• Which NCS teams are using this as their first major test?

• Who emerges from the individual races in the small and large school races?
• https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/273553/teams

• Alhambra, American Canyon, Archbishop Mitty, Berean Christian, Bishop O'Dowd, Campolindo, Chesterton Academy of St. James, Clayton Valley, College Park, Concord, Contra Costa, Christian, Dublin, El Cerrito, Foothill, Heritage, Homestead, Hope, Las Lomas, Liberty, Los Gatos, Maria Carrillo, Miramonte, Mt. Diablo, Northgate, Piedmont, Skyline, St. Ignatius College Prep, St. Joseph Notre Dame, St. Mary's - Berkeley, St. Mary's - Stockton, Valley Christian, Woodside Priory, Ygnacio Valley
        •       https://diablotiming.com/results/2026-09-12/ (Live Results)

Jackie Henderson Memorial Invitational at North Monterey County HS
• Super preview of this meet posted last week HERE. Who will come out on top?

• Mostly CCS teams, with some teams making the long trip like Whitney out of SJS.

        •       Live Results

Kim Duyst Twilight Invitational at River Oaks Golf Course
• Super competitive meet with almost 70 teams participating.

• https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/274814/teams
        •       https://timerhub.com/get_web_index.php?page=redcaptiming.com/2026/duysths/ (Results)

Nevada Union Invitational at Nevada Union HS
• 17 teams scheduled to compete at this meet

• https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/274638/teams

Viking Opener at Spring Lake Park

• One of the most used courses in the North Bay. Season opener for many teams.

• https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/273553/teams

        •      Results: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/275680/results/all

Dyestat Rankings

If you go to the front page of dyestat.com, you will find their early-season top 100 individual rankings for boys and girls. The NorCal individuals ranked nationally so far are:
GIRLS
63 Alyssa Gutierrez St. Francis, SJ
84 Farah Allen Branson

BOYS
49 Cooper Stream

Also posted on DyeStat today is the California Region Team Rankings by Doug Binder. The NorCal teams that made the lists are as follows:
GIRLS
5 St. Francis, SJ
Watchlist
Oak Ridge

BOYS
1 Campolindo
5 Jesuit
Watchlist
Mountain View

Do Not Waste Good Time – My Reflections on Sarah Sumpter, by Chris Puppione

September 10th is Stump Day as we remember and celebrate former Healdsburg and UC Davis elite distance runner, Sarah "Stump" Sumpter. You can check out this LINK , which will take you to an article written by her UC Davis coach, Chris Puppione, about what she thought him during her courageous battle with a brain tumor until her untimely death.

Lowell Invitational Race Assignments and Maps

 

Jim Tracy Challenge results

https://rt.trackscoreboard.com/meets/9826/events

SF University scores a low of 17 in FS girls led by individual winner Sienna Trujillo. For the boys, Sacred Heart Cathedral easily outdistances the field scoring 30 points. SF University freshman Kai Roy takes the individual victory. In the varsity girls, Head Royce dominated the race scoring the victory led by the 1/2 finish of Emma Singh and Maya Smith. For the Varsity boys, SF University senior Ethan Kraska led the Red Devils to the easy victory with four UHS runners dipping under the 16 minute mark.

Also on September 8th, Firebird Invitational
https://lynbrooksports.prepcaltrack.com/ATHLETICS/XC/2026/fb_res.htm

Artichoke Invitational update

 

SJS Early Season Rankings by Mike Carroll

All the top teams from SJS have had at least one meet so it feels like a good time to do a early-season rankings review:

Boys' Overall
1 (tie).      Vacaville & Jesuit
3.      Davis       
4.      Oak Ridge
5.      Bella Vista
6.      Del Oro
7.      Ponderosa
8.      McClatchy
9.      Atwater
10.    Pleasant Grove

Vacaville and Jesuit both deserve the early season #1 ranking as Jesuit looked strong, but not as dominant as last year with the transfer of Bilodeau and graduation of 4 seniors from last year's state-winning team. Vacaville looked strong at Lagoon Valley. #1 will be decided when they face each other in the sweepstakes race at Woodbridge. Davis beat Jesuit and Oak Ridge at the Soiree at SWRA meet, but Jesuit was resting 2 of their top runners, and Oak Ridge was not running their full squad. McClatchy finished lower than expected at Oakmont invitational but their top 2 runners (Heyer and Warriner) sat out. Bella Vista had a solid effort at Sierra Invite without their top runner, Calvin Fear. They will face many of their D2 rivals at the Kim Duyst next Saturday. Pleasant Grove is the surprise team of the season, and finished respectively at Oakmont and Soiree. 

D1
        1.      Davis
        2.      Oak Ridge
        3.      McClatchy
        4.      Pleasant Grove
        5.      Folsom

D2
        1.      Vacaville
        2.      Jesuit
        3.      Bella Vista
        4.      Atwater
        5.      Rio Americano/Vista Del Lago

D3
        1.      Ponderosa
        2.      Del Oro
        3.      Twelve Bridges
        4.      Oakmont
        5.      Nevada Union

D4
        1.      Christian Brothers
        2.      Colfax
        3.      Placer
        4.      Galt
        5.      St Mary's

D5
        1.      Bradshaw Christian
        2.      Westlake Charter
        3.      Ripon Christian
        4.      Argonaut
        5.      Denair

Girls' Overall:
1.      St Francis

2.      Oak Ridge
3.      Davis
4.      Golden Valley
5.      Whitney
6.      Pleasant Grove
7.      Vacaville
8.      Ponderosa
9.      Del Oro
10.     Christian Brothers

There is no doubt the #1 SJS ranking goes to St Francis, even without Turlock transfer, Ellison Williams. They will have to prove their state #1 ranking when they line up against top teams from Southern California and out-of-state competitors at Woodbridge Invitational. Oak Ridge looked impressive at Soiree and beat defending D1 Section champion Davis and D2 Section champion Whitney. Golden Valley finished 3rd behind St Francis and Oak Ridge at Oakmont Invite, led by Fernandes Cortes. Whitney and Ponderosa have a talented 2 or 3 runners but they fall off a bit after that. Christian Brothers are the strongest squads from the D4-D5 teams and finished well against bigger schools at early season meets. 

D1.
        1.      Oak Ridge
        2.      Davis
        3.      Pleasant Grove
        4.      Lincoln-Stockton
        5.      Turlock

D2.
        1.      Golden Valley
        2.      Whitney
        3.      Vacaville
        4.      Rio Americano
        5.      Granite Bay

D3.
        1.      St Francis
        2.      Ponderosa
        3.      Del Oro
        4.      Lathrop
        5.      Oakmont

D4.
        1.      Christian Brothers
        2.      Colfax
        3.      Placer
        4.      Galt
        5.      St Mary's

D5.
        1.      Westlake Charter
        2.      Golden Sierra
        3.      Ripon Christian
        4.      Argonaut
        5.      Forest hill

2026 Artichoke Invitational cancelled

Just passing the word from Half Moon Bay HS that the 2026 Artichoke Invitational will not be taking place this year. The plan is for the meet to return next season. Please help pass the word to teams that have traditionally raced at this meet.