FOLSOM, Calif. – Freshman Alyssa Gutierrez won the varsity girls' 5-kilometer race with a time of 17 minutes, 59.5 seconds, helping St. Francis finish second in a 14-team field with 59 points, while sophomore Emily Colonnello won the junior varsity 5K at 20:30.1 to lead a near-perfect finish at the Bulldog Invitational high school cross country meet at Willow Hill Reservoir Saturday.

Gutierrez' win helped keep the Troubadours ahead of Davis' 71, although Whitney placed four runners among the top nine overall to claim the team victory with 41 tallies. Granite Bay then finished a distant fourth at 182, with Turlock (199) and Golden Valley (203) in a close battle for fifth.

Aiding Gutierrez toward the 59 team points was junior Sunny Schranz (19:09.0) and Miya Menza (19:09.6), who nearly crossed together in 11th and 12th overall. Sophomores Sophia Kadel (19:34.8) and Halle Welch (19:36.9) followed in 17th and 18th give SF all five finishers in the overall top 20 among 114 total finishers. Mia Hollar took 25th (20:11.1) with Rebecca Dickson crossing seven places later (20:23.7) for the Troubie displacing finishers.

The Troubies followed by placing all five scorers among the overall top 10 in the frosh-soph 3.4-kilometer event: Violet Panton in fourth (14:17.1), Mackenna Miller in fifth (14:23.6), Giuliana Allen in seventh (14:34.4), Maclynn McCurdy in eighth (14:42.1) and Celeste Ramos in 10th (14:48.2). Still, Davis managed a 1-2-3-4 superfecta led by freshman Natalie Mittleman (13:25.1) to win the team competition, 23-33.  
Finally, Colonnello's winning 20:30.1 led an overall 1-2-4-5-6 scoring finish for St. Francis in the JV 5K, with only Davis sophomore Adeleine Glenn breaking up a perfect score. Freshman Holly Thorall placed second at 20:51.8, with Jordan Brace (21:07.9), Emilia Ryan (21:24.2), Sophia Hernandez (22:01.4) and Alyssa Tafoya (22:32.7) coming through the chute in fourth through seventh places, respectively.

The Bulldog Invitational takes place on the same Willow Hill Reservoir course that hosts the Sac-Joaquin Section championship meet in mid-November. It replaced Bella Vista's Tom Laythe Invitational, originally scheduled for the same date and location, which was canceled due to city permit limitations. According to the official meet info, Folsom took over the slot for a limited field of 25 teams for 2025, with the hope that "more clarification and expanded limitations may re-open the door to previous schools that hosted exceptional competitions."

St. Francis returns to action for its lone Friday race day of the season, competing in Day 1 of the two-day Clovis Invitational. Now in its 46th edition, the Clovis meet takes place on the same Woodward Park course as the CIF state championships on November 29.

2025 BULLDOG INVITATIONAL
Willow Hill Reservoir (Folsom, Calif.)
Events with SF entrants only • Winners plus SF finishers listed

VARSITY GIRLS' 5K - 1. Alyssa Gutierrez, St. Francis, 17:59.5... 11. Sunny Schranz, 19:09.0; 12. Miya Menza, 19:09.6; 17. Sophia Kadel, 19:34.8; 18. Halle Welch, 19:36.9; 25. Mia Hollar, 20:11.1; 32. Rebecca Dickson, 20:23.7.

VARSITY GIRLS' TEAM SCORES - 1. Whitney, 41; 2. St. Francis, 59; 3. Davis, 71; 4. Granite Bay, 182; 5. Turlock, 199; 6. Golden Valley, 203; 7. Christian Brothers, 215; 8. Hilmar, 232; 9. Rio Americano, 233; 10. Nevada Union, 236; 11. Del Oro, 256; 12. Sierra, 272; 13. West Campus, 342; 14. River Valley, 343.

FROSH/SOPH GIRLS' 3.4K - 1. Natalie Mittleman, Davis, 13:25.1... 4. Violet Panton, 14:17.1; 5. Mackenna Miller, 14:23.6; 7. Giuliana Allen, 13:34.4; 8. Maclynn McCurdy, 14:42.1; 10. Celeste Ramos, 14:48.2; 35. Grace Zylstra, 16:21.7; 39. Andrea Silva, 16:30.7; 14. Eleanora Olmstead, 16:39.9.

FROSH/SOPH GIRLS' TEAM SCORES - 1. Davis, 23; 2. St. Francis, 33; 3. Rio Americano, 77.

JUNIOR VARSITY GIRLS' 5K - 1. Emily Colonnello, St. Francis, 20:30.1... 2. Holly Thorall, 20:51.8; 4. Jordan Brace, 21:07.9; 5. Emilia Ryan, 21:24.2, 6. Sophia Hernandez, 22:01.4; 7. Alyssa Tafoya, 22:32.7; 19. Lucy Loverich, 24:37.6; 21. Ariana Lugo, 25:35.2.

JUNIOR VARSITY GIRLS' TEAM SCORES - 1. St Francis, 18; 2. Davis, 41.