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.

Coming up this week

September 2 Alisal Time Trial at Natividad Creek Park (CCS)
September 2 Oakland Section Season Kickoff at Skyline HS (OAK) LIVE RESULTS
September 2 Stinson Beach Relays at Stinson Beach (NCS) NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
September 2 TCAL #1 at Oak Grove Park (SJS)
September 2 Southern League Meet 1 at Ceres River Bluff Regional Park (SJS)
September 2 MVC Invitational at Monte Vista Christian School (CCS)
September 2 MVAL Opener at Newark Memorial (NCS)
September 2 BVAL Center Meet at Stoneman Trailhead (NCS) RESULTS
September 2 BVAL #1 at Freedom HS (NCS)
September 3 Cleve Thayer Invitational at Stevenson School (CCS)
September 4 Baylands Invitational at Baylands Park (CCS) RESULTS SLANEY PHOTOS
September 4 Little Ed Practice Meet at Hidden Valley Park (NCS) RESULTS
September 5 St. Mary’s Invitational at St. Mary’s College (NCS) LIVE RESULTS
September 5 Soiree Distance Festival at Sunset Whitney Recreation Area (SJS) RESULTS
September 5 Lagoon Valley Classic at Lagoon Valley Park (SJS) LIVE RESULTS
September 5 Fort Ord Relays at Fort Ord Day Camp Cycling Area (NS)

Woodbridge Classic Featured Races

Just posted...
https://www.woodbridgexcclassic.com/racingInfo/featuredEntries

NorCal teams/individuals in the Sweepstakes Races
BOYS
Granada (NCS) Division II
Jesuit (SJS) Division II
Mountain View (CCS) Division I
Vacaville (SJS) Division II
Djali DeChalus, St. Mary's (Berkeley) Division IV
Hugh Heyer, McClatchy (SJS) Division I
Landon Warriner, McClatchy (SJS) Division I

GIRLS
Branson (NCS) Division V
Monte Vista (NCS) Division II
Mountain View (CCS) Division I
Oak Ridge (SJS) Division I
San Francisco University (NCS) Division V
St. Francis, SJ (SJS) Division III
Gelila Hailu, Leigh (CCS) Division II

NorCal teams/individuals in the Rated Races
BOYS
McClatchy (SJS) Division I
Menlo (CCS) Division IV
Menlo Atherton (CCS) Division I
Milpitas (CCS) Division I
Oak Ridge (SJS) Division I
Oliver Charkiewicz, River City (SJS) Division I
Rohan Iyer, Milpitas (CCS) Division I

GIRLS
Granada (NCS) Division II
Leigh (CCS) Division II
Menlo Atherton (CCS) Division I
Emmy Angelo, Ponderosa (SJS) Division 
Paula Devine, St. Mary's College (NCS) Division IV
Ashlin Mallon, Cardinal Newman (NCS) Division V

Jackie Henderson Memorial Meet Preview

Thanks to Coach Gustavo Ibarra. You can find a detailed meet preview as well as all-time records for the 7th annual event.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GnU4JdC4RDqB_Q3a9q05t2K9xQdc2Hgv7dBCots8OkA/edit?usp=sharing

Stinson Beach Relays report

You can check out an article about that race in the MarinIJ at this LINK.

Participating teams were Archie Williams, Redwood, Branson, San Rafael, San Marin San Domenico, Marin Academy, Terra Linda, and Tamalpais.

West Coast XC NorCal preview of the top teams and individuals

 My interview with Ken Martinez of West Coast XC highlighting the top teams and individuals in Northern California, as well as the top girls teams and individuals in the Central Section. If I missed anybody that should have been included, please mention them in the comment section below.

CIF 2026 Forecast

 The following links were forwarded to me by the -XCTF Stats Team. Check them out and feel free to comment below. Never too early to project to the state meet races.

BOYS
Write up here: https://xctfstats.substack.com/p/the-cif-2026-boys-forecast
Forecast Interactive Dashboard here: https://cif26-boys.pages.dev/

GIRLS
https://xctfstats.substack.com/p/a-preseason-forecast-for-the-california

Who Has Surprised You So Far in the 2026 XC Season?

Now that we have had a small sample of races, who have been the standout performances so far (individuals and teams)? You can check out the results in the post below.
• A team that looks better than expected?

• A boy who has made a big jump?

• A girl who has made a big jump?

• A freshman who has caught people's attention?

• A team or individual that is flying under the radar?
• Most improved team from last year so far?
• Any other observations.

Coming up this week...

Wednesday, August 26-9th Annual Bob Shor Invitational at Spring Lake Park RESULTS PHOTOS
Thursday, August 27-Brian Rogers/Peninsula Jamboree at York School Course RESULTS
Thursday, August 27-South County Jamboree at San Lorenzo County Park RESULTS
Friday, August 28-Sonoma Twilight 3200 Time Trials at Maria Carrillo HS RESULTS
Friday, August 28-Serra XC Jamboree at Bob Rush Crystal Springs Course RESULTS

Saturday, August 29-Acalanes Invitational at Acalanes HS RESULTS
Freshman Eli Hernandez wins Varsity 2 mile race leading Granada to the team victory. For the girls, Elise Bayan-Ruiz, Granada sophomore, was the individual winner leading her team to the varsity team sweep.

Saturday, August 29-Hayward Scrimmage at Hayward HS LIVE RESULTS
Dublin varsity boys sweep the top 8 spots. Livermore's Jasmine Moniz wins varsity girls' race.

Saturday, August 29-Oakmont Invitational at Johnson Springview Park (65 teams) RESULTS
Galena boys edge Jesuit boys led by individual winner David Coisson at 11:36.65 (new course record). For the girls, St. Francis sophomore Alyssa Gutierrez won in 13:13.76, leading the Troubadours to the team victory.

Saturday, August 29-Thunder 2-miler at Buhach Colony HS

Saturday, August 29-Fighting Knights Joust at Bob Rush Crystal Springs Course LIVE RESULTS
Leigh senior Gelila Hailu won girls' senior race in 17:57.1 (fastest time of the day). Fastest time of the day for the boys belonged to Evergreen Valley junior, Johann Coss at 15:32.1. For the 2.13 mile course, the fastest time of the day for girls belonged to Carlmont sophomore, Isabella Schuett (13:26.8). For the boys, Woodside sophomore Calvin Peterson ran 11:11.3. In the freshman boys' race, Woodside Priory's Desmond Prindiville ran 11:13.5. For the girls, Carlmont's Camille Lacher was the winner at 13:32.2.