Posted: Nov 15, 2025
FOLSOM, Calif. – Freshman Alyssa Gutierrez won the girls' Division-III 5-kilometer race with a time of 17 minutes, 54.6 seconds, leading St. Francis to its third consecutive and 16th overall team title at the Sac-Joaquin Section cross country championships, held at Willow Hill Reservoir. All seven Troubadours finished among the top 20 in the varsity race.
In all, the Troubadours won all three individual titles on Saturday. Gutierrez won the varsity, Holly Thorall led a second straight 1-through-10 sweep in the frosh-soph event, and Mia Hollar led a 1-2 SF finish in the junior varsity race.
Gutierrez becomes the first St. Francis runner to win the individual title in seven years, and just the fourth overall. She joins Izzy Fauria (2018), Kolleen Kassis (1987) and two-time champ Cybelle McFadden (1990 and 1991). Gutierrez' time also ranks ninth in course history, and trails only Lauren LaRocco's 17:48.5 at the 2013 Bronco Invitational as the best by a Troubadour. Furthermore, her time is the course' No. 2 time by a freshman, behind only Granite Bay's Maggie Bell (17:45.0) at the 2012 section meet; and the fastest champ in the D-III section 5K since Vista Del Lago's Madeleine Ankhelyi won the 2012 medal with a 17:44.0.
St. Francis scored 43 points as a team, well ahead of Ponderosa's runner-up total of 101. Beyer finished third (112), with Elk Grove (126) and Oakdale (128) in a battle for fourth and fifth. Del Oro was the only other Sierra Foothill League team in D-III. The Golden Eagles took sixth with 170 tallies.
Boosting that team score after Gutierrez, sophomore Halle Welch finished in sixth at 18:59.6, with junior Sunny Schranz in 10th at 19:22.1. Two more sophomores, Sophia Kadel (19:47.6) and Miya Menza (19:56.7), wrapped up the Troubie team scores in 12th and 14th, respectively. Freshman Rebecca Dickson crossed in 18th (20:13.8) and senior Chloe Harrison followed in 20th (20:25.4) as displacing finishers for SF.
St. Francis' overall depth ultimately wrapped up the section banner, as Ponderosa had the No. 2 and 3 finishers in Emelyn Angelo and Sadi Angelo, but had no other runners in the top 25. Nevada Union was similarly top-heavy, with Eleni Keriotis and Leah Krason in fourth and fifth, just ahead of Welch. But the next Miner crossed in 61st, holding NU back to eighth of the 10 teams in the race.
Prior to the varsity, St. Francis repeated its subsection feat by sweeping the top 10 places in the D-III frosh-soph races for a second consecutive perfect score of 15 points. Thorall led that group at 13:14.8, with Emily Colonnello (13:34.6) and Bianka Bagatelos (13:41.9) also finishing well under the 14-minute threshold. In fact, St. Francis not only had the top 10 but put 12 in the top 15 on the individual leaderboard: Emilia Ryan (fourth), Celeste Ramos (fifth), Sophia Hernandez (sixth), Maclynn McCurdy (seventh), Mackenna Miller (eighth), Giuliana Allen (ninth), Violet Panton (10th), Alyssa Tafoya (13th) and Abi Wallace (15th) composed the near monopoly atop the 46-runner field.
Finally, junior Mia Hollar and senior Jordan Brace finished in a 1-2 St. Francis exacta in the all-division junior varsity race. Hollar crossed in 19:49.6, well ahead of the runner-up Brace in 21:01.8. It took more than 25 seconds before the third-place finisher entered the chute. Ariana Lugo placed 31st overall at 24:23.7, Bianca Espanola finished 52nd (26:05.9) and Maddy Cheatham closed out the scoring in 57th (26:33.2). MacKenzie Olmstead and Isabella Uribe displaced in 63rd and 65th overall, as St. Francis JV placed third as a team behind winner Davis (40) and runner-up Whitney (54).
The top three teams plus five at-large individuals advance from the D-III varsity race to the CIF state championship, held at Woodward Park in Fresno on November 29. St. Francis has finished seventh at the last two state meets, with one title (2002) and one runner-up finish (2012) in the program's history.
2025 SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Willow Hill Reservoir (Folsom, Calif.,)
Events with SF entrants only • Winner plus SF finisher listed
GIRLS' DIV. III FROSH-SOPH INDIVIDUALS - 1. Holly Thorall, St. Francis, 13:14.8… 2. Emily Colonnello, 13.34.6; 3. Bianka Bagatelos, 13:41.9; 4. Emilia Ryan, 14:11.1; 5. Celeste Ramos, 14:16.9; 6. Sophia Hernandez, 14:17.3; 7. Maclynn McCurdy, 14:29.5; 8. Mackenna Miller, 14:39.6; 9. Giuliana Allen, 14:49.9; 10. Violet Panton, 14:51.3; 13. Alyssa Tafoya, 15:20.5; 15. Abi Wallace, 15:23.4; 20. Andrea Silva, 15:38.5.
Gutierrez becomes the first St. Francis runner to win the individual title in seven years, and just the fourth overall. She joins Izzy Fauria (2018), Kolleen Kassis (1987) and two-time champ Cybelle McFadden (1990 and 1991). Gutierrez' time also ranks ninth in course history, and trails only Lauren LaRocco's 17:48.5 at the 2013 Bronco Invitational as the best by a Troubadour. Furthermore, her time is the course' No. 2 time by a freshman, behind only Granite Bay's Maggie Bell (17:45.0) at the 2012 section meet; and the fastest champ in the D-III section 5K since Vista Del Lago's Madeleine Ankhelyi won the 2012 medal with a 17:44.0.
St. Francis scored 43 points as a team, well ahead of Ponderosa's runner-up total of 101. Beyer finished third (112), with Elk Grove (126) and Oakdale (128) in a battle for fourth and fifth. Del Oro was the only other Sierra Foothill League team in D-III. The Golden Eagles took sixth with 170 tallies.
Boosting that team score after Gutierrez, sophomore Halle Welch finished in sixth at 18:59.6, with junior Sunny Schranz in 10th at 19:22.1. Two more sophomores, Sophia Kadel (19:47.6) and Miya Menza (19:56.7), wrapped up the Troubie team scores in 12th and 14th, respectively. Freshman Rebecca Dickson crossed in 18th (20:13.8) and senior Chloe Harrison followed in 20th (20:25.4) as displacing finishers for SF.
St. Francis' overall depth ultimately wrapped up the section banner, as Ponderosa had the No. 2 and 3 finishers in Emelyn Angelo and Sadi Angelo, but had no other runners in the top 25. Nevada Union was similarly top-heavy, with Eleni Keriotis and Leah Krason in fourth and fifth, just ahead of Welch. But the next Miner crossed in 61st, holding NU back to eighth of the 10 teams in the race.
Prior to the varsity, St. Francis repeated its subsection feat by sweeping the top 10 places in the D-III frosh-soph races for a second consecutive perfect score of 15 points. Thorall led that group at 13:14.8, with Emily Colonnello (13:34.6) and Bianka Bagatelos (13:41.9) also finishing well under the 14-minute threshold. In fact, St. Francis not only had the top 10 but put 12 in the top 15 on the individual leaderboard: Emilia Ryan (fourth), Celeste Ramos (fifth), Sophia Hernandez (sixth), Maclynn McCurdy (seventh), Mackenna Miller (eighth), Giuliana Allen (ninth), Violet Panton (10th), Alyssa Tafoya (13th) and Abi Wallace (15th) composed the near monopoly atop the 46-runner field.
Finally, junior Mia Hollar and senior Jordan Brace finished in a 1-2 St. Francis exacta in the all-division junior varsity race. Hollar crossed in 19:49.6, well ahead of the runner-up Brace in 21:01.8. It took more than 25 seconds before the third-place finisher entered the chute. Ariana Lugo placed 31st overall at 24:23.7, Bianca Espanola finished 52nd (26:05.9) and Maddy Cheatham closed out the scoring in 57th (26:33.2). MacKenzie Olmstead and Isabella Uribe displaced in 63rd and 65th overall, as St. Francis JV placed third as a team behind winner Davis (40) and runner-up Whitney (54).
The top three teams plus five at-large individuals advance from the D-III varsity race to the CIF state championship, held at Woodward Park in Fresno on November 29. St. Francis has finished seventh at the last two state meets, with one title (2002) and one runner-up finish (2012) in the program's history.
2025 SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Willow Hill Reservoir (Folsom, Calif.,)
Events with SF entrants only • Winner plus SF finisher listed
GIRLS' DIV. III FROSH-SOPH INDIVIDUALS - 1. Holly Thorall, St. Francis, 13:14.8… 2. Emily Colonnello, 13.34.6; 3. Bianka Bagatelos, 13:41.9; 4. Emilia Ryan, 14:11.1; 5. Celeste Ramos, 14:16.9; 6. Sophia Hernandez, 14:17.3; 7. Maclynn McCurdy, 14:29.5; 8. Mackenna Miller, 14:39.6; 9. Giuliana Allen, 14:49.9; 10. Violet Panton, 14:51.3; 13. Alyssa Tafoya, 15:20.5; 15. Abi Wallace, 15:23.4; 20. Andrea Silva, 15:38.5.
GIRLS' DIV. III FROSH-SOPH TEAM SCORES - 1. St. Francis, 15; 2. Kimball, 61; 3. Elk Grove, 87; 4. Oakmont, 88; 5. Los Banos, 128; 6. Lathrop, 141.
GIRLS' DIV. III VARSITY INDIVIDUALS - 1. Alyssa Gutierrez, St. Francis, 17:54.6… 6. Halle Welch, 18:59.6; 10. Sunny Schranz, 19:22.1; 12. Sophia Kadel, 19:47.6; 14. Miya Menza, 19:56.7; 18. Rebecca Dickson, 20:13.8; 20. Chloe Harrison, 20:25.4.
GIRLS' DIV. III VARSITY TEAM SCORES - 1. St. Francis, 43; 2. Ponderosa, 101, 3. Beyer, 112; 4. Elk Grove, 126; 5. Oakdale, 128; 6. Del Oro, 170; 7. River Valley, 173; 8. Nevada Union, 177; 9. Roseville, 181; 10. Sierra, 197
GIRLS' DIV. III JUNIOR VARSITY INDIVIDUALS - 1. Mia Hollar, St. Francis, 19:49.6… 2. Jordan Brace, 21:01.8; 31. Ariana Lugo, 24:23.7; 52. Bianca Espanola, 26:05.9; 57. Maddy Cheatham, 26:33.2; 63. MacKenzie Olmstead, 27:08.4; 65. Isabella Uribe, 27:14.5.
GIRLS' DIV. III JUNIOR VARSITY TEAM SCORES - 1. Davis, 40; 2. Whitney, 54; 3. St. Francis, 97, 4. Bella Vista, 97; 5. Christian Brothers, 156; 6. Hilmar, 163; 7. Pleasant Grove,168; 8. Woodcreek, 176; 9. Elk Grove, 186.
