2026 Dublin Distance Fiesta Preview

 

The 2026 Dublin Distance Fiesta (DDF) is taking place this coming weekend, and it's bigger and more robust than ever before. I have said that with every preview and every year, that is straight facts. In the photo above, that is former starter Bob Shor on his step stool a few years ago, before he passed away. He was a GOOD DUDE!. 

Over two almost full days, diehard fans will witness a record-setting number of distance heats. In 2025, two WORLD RECORDS were established as 371 girls dipped under the 6-minute mark in the 1600 while 591 boys dipped under the 5-minute mark in the same event.

This season, the DDF will be held on the third weekend of March once again, and this will be the largest one to date. For comparison, check out this year's numbers vs. last year's.

Year	Schools	Student-Athletes	Entries	Heats
2025	225	4,047	5,863	226
2026	240	4,247	6,135	240

According to the meet director and Dublin coach Chris Williams, the DDF will once again be the largest distance-only meet in the United States based on the total number of entries. As shared in a previous post, Coach Williams continues to need your prayers as he continues to battle cancer. Your prayers are always appreciated.

OK, now a bit of history regarding this meet for those of you attending the soon-to-be-world-famous Dublin Distance Fiesta (RIP Peter Brewer) for the first time. The meet has been held at Dublin HS since 2009, with the lone exception being the 2020 season when it was not held. Before 2009, the meet was held at Skyline HS (one year), Cal Berkeley (one year), and then multiple years at the original location, Piedmont HS (shoutout Warrior. IYKYK)

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Aside from super fast competitive fields, the Dublin Distance Fiesta is known for its incredible efficiency. You can check this out in action, thanks to longtime Jesuit coach Walt Lange (over 50 years at Jesuit), in the following video. More on Coach Lange and his impressive team below.

Let's take a closer look at the "Sombrero" races

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Girls 4 x 800 

Meet Record - Campolindo - 9:31.93 ('24)

The 2-time defending champion Campolindo girls (2024 team above) will be back to defend their last two victories. This will be the first big meet for their team after multiple league meets. They will be challenged by league rival Northgate, and CCS top contenders Los Gatos, Carlmont, Evergreen Valley, and St. Ignatius.

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Boys 4 x 800 

Meet Record - Davis - 7:57.18 ('24)

I noticed that in my preview from last year, I did not mention the team that won the event, the Bellarmine Bells. I won't make the same mistake again. Their coach, Patrick McCrystle takes great pride in team and relay events. He was himself a 1:50.70 800 meter runner for coach Walt Lange at Jesuit. Bellarmine finished in 6th place at the California state meet last year, running the 2nd fastest time in CCS history at 7:44.84. Other contending teams this year will include section rival Menlo Atherton. Also in the mix will be Lowell, Carlmont, Bella Vista, Tesoro, Mountain View, and the host Dublin. And don't forget 2 time Division III cross country state champion Campolindo. This is definitely the main event of night one and a great way to close out Friday evening.

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Girls 1600 

Meet Record - Riley Chamberlain (Del Oro/SJ) - 4:46.34 ('22)

For those of you interested in more DDF history, here is a bit more regarding this event. In 2015, Sonora's Cassi Land lowered the 1600 record at the DDF to 5:06.01. A year later, Miramonte's Hannah Fishlow lowered the record to 5:02.79. The first runner to lower the record under 5 minutes was Redwood's Gillian Wagner in 2017 as she raced to a 4:55.35 victory. That time held up until 2021 when Albany's Sophia Nordenholz ran 4:53.26 in the 3rd DDF that season (that's right, 3rd, thanks to COVID). In 2022, Del Oro senior Riley Chamberlain outran Montgomery's talented freshman Hanne Thomsen to set the new standard at 4:46.34. Chamberlain is still competing at BYU and remains one of the top distance runners in the NCAA.

Last year, Eleanor Raker of Galena won this event in 4:52.58. Khloe DeLaTorre of Vacaville finished in 2nd place with a time of 4:53.64 and is the top returner in this field. The fastest runner is Riverbank senior Giselle Fernandez. She finished in 6th place at the CA state meet, running a best of 4:43.80. Other contenders in this stacked field include Ella Mogannam of Lick-Wilmerding, Nora Feldt of Davis, Anna Salter of Crystal Springs Uplands and Gretchen Yakaitis of Carondelet. Both Mogannam and Yakaitis were individual state champions in cross country.

Boys 1600

Meet Record - Ajani Salcido (Jesuit/SJ) 4:09.95 ('21)

The favorite to win this race will be Bellarmine senior Stephen Sziebert. He was the best non senior in CCS last year in an incredibly stacked year. Sziebert won the KBell invitational in 4:15.21 and just competed in the New Balance Nationals indoors, posting a PR of 4:09.40 in the mile. His main competition will include Drake Hoferer of Jesuit and Jackson Puburko of Trinity. Other contenders include David Coisson of Galena in Nevada who is a proven 1600 runner and has posted a 50.44 400 already this season. Another runner that will contend is Menlo junior Henry Hauser. He finished 2nd behind Sziebert at the KBell and has posted a 1:54.28 PR in the 800.

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Girls 800

Meet Record - Alyssa Brewer (California/NC) 2:08.99 ('18)

Now Stanford freshman Hanne Thomsen of Montgomery completed a very unique double last year by winning the 800 and 3200. She was victorious in the 2-lap event with a time of 2:10.18. This year, the top 2 fastest times in the field belong to Ava Decleve of Scotts Valley and Ava Padilla of Monte Vista. Decleve won the Winter Time Trials in Watsonville, while Padilla won the Dan Gabor Invitational last week. Other contenders will include Hailey Sellers of Branson, Ella Mogannam of Lick-Wilmerding and Ashlin Mallon of Cardinal Newman. A few more names to watch out for are Whitney teammates Addi Ewers and Kaylee Smith as well as Crystal Springs Uplands senior Anna Salter.

Boys 800

Meet Record - Yutaka Roberts (El Camino/CC) 1:52.34 ('22)

The top 2 finishers from last year were sophomores Lucas Alberts of Jesuit and Hugh Heyer of McClatchy (both from the SJS). Both runners return this year, with Alberts the favorite as the defending champion and the 2nd-place finisher from last year's state meet. Another athlete to watch out for is Placer senior Cooper Barr. He has a PR of 1:51.76 as well as state meet experience from last year. His mom, Lindsay Hyatt, was a 4-time state champ in California in this event. Some more notable facts that might only interest me involve Sebastian Swain of Piedmont. He qualified for the state meet last year as a sophomore, where he ran a personal best of 1:53.15. His mom, Becky Spies, is one of the fastest distance runners in NCS history and a University of Villanova Hall of Famer. His aunt Jessica still holds the NCS record for the 800 at 2:05.84.

Girls 3200

Meet Record - Hanne Thomsen (Montgomery/NC) 10:14.46 ('22)

The favorite to win this event is St. Francis, SJ freshman, Alyssa Gutierrez. She has already posted a best of 10:27.63, winning the Bronco Roundup Distance Carnival. She is also quite familiar with the Dublin Distance Fiesta, having won the exhibition mile last year as an 8th grader. She will be challenged by Natalie Arriaza of Patterson, who is the defending Sac-Joaquin Section champion with a best of 10:35.24. This will certainly be a preview of the SJS Masters meet final and will also include Avery Wolk of Davis, Brenna Mannion of Vista del Lago, Sophie Hutchinson of Whitney, Adriana Ingargiola of Oak Ridge, and Avery Carlson of Pitman.

Boys 3200

Meet Record - Matt Strangio (Jesuit/SJ) 8:47.97 ('19)

Last year, four runners dipped under the 9 minute mark with Eli Fitchen-Young of Santa Cruz leading the way with a time of 8:56.43. Then junior Isaac Abbott of Jesuit finished in 3rd place with a still standing PR of 8:57.47. This could be quite the race and in the past, this has certainly been the main event of this Invitational. Among the top contenders will be the top 2 runners from this past cross country season, Cooper Stream of Vacaville and Alijah Murillo of Branham. Stream was the Division 2 state champion while Murillo had an outstanding race at NXN and claimed the NorCal Runner of  the Year award. Blake Bay from Fresno Christian, one of the top runners in the state in Division V. Kimball senior Andres Lomeli won the Skyline Invitational 1600 and was a state finalist in the 3200 last spring. 

Girls Distance Medley Relay

Meet Record - Santa Cruz (CC) - 12:07.58 ('18)

This race will feature some of the top distance programs in Northern California. The Campolindo girls, won both relays last year and will be attempting to repeat here. They will face stiff competition from Mountain View and the last two cross country Division V state team champions, Branson and Crystal Springs Uplands. Los Altos and Carson (NV) should also be in the mix.

I started this list a few years ago and will keep it going this year. Because of COVID, this relay was not contested in 2021 or in 2020, when the meet was not held at all. Here are the winning teams over the past few years.

2025 Campolindo 12:25.13
2024 SF University 12:48.02
2023 Campolindo 12:36.04
2022 Tamalpais 12:34.83

2019 St. Francis, Sacramento 12:22.61

2018 Santa Cruz HS 12:07.58 (meet record)

2017 San Ramon Valley HS 12:23.41

2016 Monte Vista HS 12:16.21

2015 Bella Vista HS 12:14.03

2014 Las Lomas HS 12:31.29

Boys Distance Medley Relay

Meet Record - Davis (SJ) - 10:23.93 ('16)

This is always a tough event to predict, as many of the fastest teams will include runners doubling back from the just-concluded 3200m and other race distances. The Bellarmine boys could be going after the relay sweep if they can pull of the 4 x 800 victory first. They will have to finish in front of some tough teams, including Mountain View, Carlmont, and Whitney.

MEET PROGRAM LINK

Lastly, a shout-out to West Coast XC, which will be interviewing Coach Chris Williams and me on Tuesday to preview the DDF. Links will be posted.