St. Francis set a new course record for its division at Fresno's Woodward Park

The St. Francis boys cross country team has consistently been ranked the No. 1 team in Division 4 in the CIF Southern Section rankings this season. The pressure to perform had continued to mount when the Golden Knights won the Mt. SAC Invitational and then a CIF-SS Division 4 title.

They embraced the pressure and continued the pattern of success on Saturday, winning their second straight CIF State Division IV championship at Woodward Park in Fresno.

“Last year was very emotional winning the first state title in school history for cross country and this year it was emotional, but it was different,” coach Patrick Donovan said. “Last year it was thinking maybe it’s possible and this year it was getting down to business and doing everything in our power to make sure that that was the outcome.”

It’s the first time any sports team at St. Francis has won back-to-back state titles, and the team set a new Division IV course record in the process.

The Golden Knights recorded a total team time of 1 hour, 19 minutes and 19 seconds, which edged runner-up JSerra by roughly one minute.

Senior Sam Franco finished eighth individually and was the first to cross the finish line for St. Francis with a time of 15:24.3. Junior Martin Auge was 14th (15:41.8), senior Luke Metcalf was 27th (16:02.1), junior Axel Gonzalez was 28th (16:04.5) and junior Aidan Guzman was 30th (16:06.2). The spread was only 42 seconds.

“We were by far the first team to have five in and that’s usually what it takes in cross country,” Donovan said. “Having that group of guys that’s trained together, that’s grinded tough miles and tough workouts together, that’s that core group of guys that knows that somebody’s going to step up even if they’re feeling a little bit off.”

The temperature had reached the 50s by the time St. Francis’ 11:30 a.m. race time approached Saturday, creating ideal running conditions. Over 30 parents and supporters had traveled to cheer on the Golden Knights, and they came equipped with coffee and pastries in the team camp area.

“I thanked the parents on the stage — I called them the craziest group of cross country supporters I’ve ever met,” Donovan said.

“A lot of cross country, even as a team, is on your own,” he added. “You’re out on the road and in your own head through some tough miles. To see that love and support is something that’s unique to this group of athletes and parents in the 17 years I’ve been coaching.”

Harvard-Westlake came in seventh in the Division IV race with a total time of 1:22:35. Senior Grant Sykes was at the front of the Wolverines group in 24th place (16:01.0). Oaks Christian was ninth at 1:22:36 and had two juniors who were top-20 finishers: Cooper McNee in 15th (15:41.8) and Christian Yoder (15:48.8).

The Newbury Park boys team came in third in Division II with a total time of 1:19:06 with Arnav Shetty pacing the group. The senior was 11th individually with a 15:30.6 time.

West Ranch also had a top-three finish, clocking 1:21:08 to place third in the boys Division III event. Seniors Nicholas Raigosa and Jonathan Valles finished within roughly two seconds of each other — the former was 33rd individually at 15:55.6 and Jonathan Valles was 15th at 15:57.3.

Oak Park (1:22:24) was 10th in the same race and Moorpark finished 12th. The Musketeer’s David Raigoza finished in 15:43.9 to rank 21st individually and Thomas White recorded 15:45.9 to place 24th.

Oaks Christian’s girls team reached fifth place in Division IV with a 1:36:44 time, led by senior Grace Geyer’s 16th-place 18:26.4. Sophomore Delaney Napierala was not far behind in 18th place and a 18:38.9 time. Harvard-Westlake (1:39.33) was 11th in Division IV.

The Saugus girls were No. 6 in the Division IV race at 1:35.04 and were led by two sophomores: Annika Mark (18:23.4) was 33rd and Lucia Pearson (18:26.9) was 36th.

Newbury Park’s girls team finished ninth in Division II (1:39.11) and the Panthers’ Sophia Grant, a sophomore, claimed the No. 17 spot individually with an 18:17.1 time. Canoga Park was 20th in the same race (1:44.56).

Viewpoint’s boys team clocked 1:24:11 for 10th place in Division V and the Granada Hills Charter boys finished in 1:22:15 for 17th place in Division I. Sebastian Peraza of Saugus placed 10th individually with a 15:13.2 time.

In Division III, Thousand Oaks ended up in 17th place (1:40:08). Senior Cassidy Kajita was the Lancers’ top finisher with an 18:32.6 time — good for 18th place individually. Canyon senior Cynthia Herrera was 16th with an 18:27.8.