Recapping the Sac-Joaquin Section Sub-Sectional

Izzy Fauria (left) of St. Francis in Division II and Matt Strangio of Jesuit in Division I were the top qualifiers in their respected divisions at the CIF-Sac-Joaquin Section Sub-Section on Saturday. (File: DeAnna Turner)

The Sac-Joaquin Section held it's sub-sectional qualifying meet on Saturday at Frogtown on the Calaveras County Fairgrounds just south of Angels Camp.

The meet on the 3-mile course qualified the top 10 teams and an additional 10 individuals not on a qualifying team for the Nov. 16 SJS Championship at Willow Hill in Folsom.

Here's a division-by-division look at Saturday's results: 

Senior Matt Strangio led a Jesuit quintet to 23 points with Davis second with 98. Strangio, a senior and the defending State D-I champion, cruised the course in 16:04.80 with junior teammate Spencer Pickren second in 16:07.50. Strangio is a two-time SJS D-I champion.

Jesuit had five of the top nine across the line with a 22.5 gap. Also scoring for Jesuit: Sophomore Braden King was fifth overall in 16:12.60, junior Michael Chambers was sixth in 16:13.00 and senior Chase Gordon was ninth (16:27.30). 

Seniors Zeno Castiglioni (16:37.70) and Dice Ferrick (16:37.80) were the top finishers for Davis, crossing 11th and 12th, respectively. Senior Patrick McGonigle was third overall in 16:08.70 in leading Sheldon among the top 10 advancing teams, and sophomore Joseph Wiley was fourth overall in 16:10.50 for McClatchy, the No. 3 qualifying team. 

D-I qualifying teams: 1. Jesuit 23, 2. Davis 98, 3. McClatchy 136, 4. Folsom 159, 5. Lincoln 178, 6. Sheldon 186, 7. Rocklin 195, 8. Woodcreek 210, 9. Pleasant Grove 230, 10. Cosumnes Oaks 254

Seniors Austin Vasquez and Ethan Dodge went 1-2 and that was enough to make Whitney the top qualifying team. Vasquez crossed in 16:30.20 and Dodge was just a blink back in 16:30.70. There was a 40-second and 22-place gap before the next Whitney runner, senior Josh Tajiri (17:11.10).  Vasquez was second in the SJS Final last year by .90 and is the top returner. 

D-II qualifying teams:  1. Whitney 109, 2. Oakmont 131, 3. Vacaville 143, 4. Bella Vista 144, 5. Vista Del Lago 145, 6. Granite Bay 153, 7. Rio Americano 209, 8. Buhach Colony 217, 9. Rodriguez 220, 10. Ponderosa 241.

Boys Division III

Two sophomores and a senior were among the top 15 across the line as East Union far out-pointed Atwater and Del Oro in the team battle. Sophomore Johnny Sandoval was fourth overall in 16:43, senior Marco Perez was 12th (16:58.5) and sophomore Maury Ortiz was 15th (17:09.20) for East Union, which out-pointed Atwater by 35 and Del Oro by 39. East Union was fifth in the SJS Final last year.

Cole McKain, a senior from Merced, blazed the layout in 15:53.10, the fastest time on the course among the five divisional races. McKain was third in the section final last year and is the top returner. Nevada Union junior Jake Slade was second in 16:33.00.

Junior Eric Maldonado (17:10.90) and sophomore Tanner Bristow (17:13.50) crossed in 17th and 20th, respectively, to lead Atwater. 

Seniors Bryan Stafford (10th in 16:49.30) and Tate Sutter (16th in 17:10.00) led Del Oro.
Placer was the section champion in D-IV last year now competing in D-III.

D-III qualifying teams: 1. East Union 70, 2. Atwater 105, 3. Del Oro 109, 4. Merced 110, 5. Nevada Union 119, 6. Placer 120, 7. Oakdale 158, 8. Pacheco 229, 9. Sierra 275, 10. Del Campo 316.

With the second-fastest time at the meet, West Campus junior Godebo Chapman held off Calaveras senior Jacob Christopher to win the D-IV race. Champman crossed in 15:55.90 as West Campus placed third among the 10 qualifying teams. Chapman was the divisional runner-up last year and is the top returner.

Christopher's 15:58.60 led a Calaveras quintet to grabbed the top qualifying spot by 32 points over El Dorado. Among other top-20 scorers for Calaveras were senior Jeremy Milligan (12th, 16:54.70), junior Jaime Espirtu (13th in 16:55.00) and senior Bennie Hesser (19th, 17:02.80). 

Senior Jacob Combrink was eighth in 16:42.30 and junior Dominic Raffetto was 10th in 16:54.40 leading El Dorado. 

Liberty Ranch senior Cristian Martinez ran 16:04.70 for third place and Sonora, the No. 8 team qualifier, was led by the underclass duo of junior Clayton Franco (5th, 16:29.30) and sophomore Adin Dibble (6th, 16:33.70).

D-IV qualifying teams: 1. Calaveras 72, 2. El Dorado 104, 3. West Campus 192, 4. Hughson 197, 5. St Mary's 197, 6. Bret Harte 216, 7. Liberty Ranch 224, 8. Sonora 224, 9. Christian Brothers 231, 10. Riverbank 236.

Colfax outpointed Waterford, 49-77, by placing five among the top 17 to best Waterford's 2-3-23-24-38. 

Senior Billy Groth was fourth in 17:24.60 to lead Colfax, followed by sophomore Jacob Kolster (8th, 18:01.20), freshman Noah Starbuck (12th, 18:29.90), sophomore Garrett Reinhard (13th, 18:30.40), and frosh Logan Biddle (17th, 18:36.60). 

Senior Jonathan Staley was second (17:17.20) and sophomore Evan Espinoza was third (17:20.90) to lead Waterford. 

Gregori junior Maddie Kackley, eighth in the SJS Final last year, ran away from the field to cross first here in 18:30.80. Her time was the fastest among the five divisions.

Senior Molly Dreher was second overall in 19:15.10 to lead McClatchy, which also had junior Julie Heckey (19:34.40) and freshman Anna McNatt (19:35.80) among the top five. 

Junior Abigail Fletcher was sixth in 19:38.10 and sophomore Ava Maier was eighth in 19:45.80 as Oak Ridge topped McClatchy for the top qualifying spot. Fletcher was third in the SJS Final last year.

Junior Natalie Harper of Cosumnes Oaks, the defending SJS D-I champion, cruised across in seventh at this qualifier in 19:43.40.

D-I qualifying teams: 1. Oak Ridge 65, 2. McClatchy 79, 3. Woodcreek 87, 4. Cosumnes Oaks 117, 5. Davis 120, 6. Folsom 187, 7. Gregori 191, 8. Lincoln (S) 196, 9. Turlock 246, 10. Sheldon (CA) 247.

Girls Division II

Defending SJS champion Isabella 'Izzy' Fauria was a step ahead of sophomore teammate Cate Joaquin in leading St. Francis to the top  qualifying score. The Sacramento school outpointed runner-up Rio Americano by 56 points and defending State D-III champion Vista del Lago by 61. Fauria, a senior, crossed in 18:37.80 and Joaquin checked in at 18:38.20. 

Sophomore Tatiana Cornejo was fifth in 19:14.60 and senior Haley Silva was sixth in 19:15.20 for St. Francis.

Senior Sophia Karperos was third in 18:58.40 to lead Rio Americano. Junior Anna Vogtmann was fourth in 19:09.90 to lead VdL, which took the line without its No. 1 runner, sophomore Alexandra Klos. Senior Maya Barragan was 10th in 19:33.30 for VdL.

D-II qualifying teams: 1. St Francis 40, 2. Rio Americano 96, 3. Vista Del Lago 101, 4. Whitney 158, 5. Vacaville 180, 6. Bella Vista 196, 7. Oakmont 201, 8. Granite Bay 203, 9. Pitman 235, 10. Lodi 239.

Girls Division III

Sophomore Riley Chamberlain, the defending State D-III champion, cruised here in leading Del Oro to the top qualifying spot. Chamberlain crossed in 19:33.70 with junior teammate Hannah Wirth third in 19:56.10 and sophomore Emilie Mertz fifth in 19:59.70. 

Senior Hanna Tiffany was fourth (19:59.50), junior MacKenzie Morgan was sixth (20:13.90) and junior Sephora Wonton was eighth (20:44.00) for No. 2 Nevada Union. 

Sonora freshman Brianna Personius won by more than 20 seconds with Woodland sophomore Mahalia Quintana second in 19:25.60 and Sara Sabra third in 20:00.50. Sabra, a senior at Western Sierra Collegiate, was second in the D-V final last year. Of the top three individuals, only Quintana advances as part of a team, as Woodland grabbed the 10th and final spot into next week's SJS Final. 

Sophomore Chloe Gautschi was the top qualifier for the top team, El Dorado. Gautschi crossed fourth in 20:09.50. 

D-IV qualifying teams: 1. El Dorado 66, 2. Ripon 75, 3. Hughson 135, 4. Christian Brothers 163, 5. Riverbank 196, 6. Livingston 201, 7. Bear River 216, 8. Amador 264, 9. Galt 268, 10. Woodland 277.

Colfax, fourth in D-IV last year, had three of the top 13 and 55 points in claiming the top qualifying spot here. Senior Emma Sanders was fourth in 22:37.3, freshman Gabriella Bitner was 10th in 22:43.20 and freshman Mari Ziegler was 13th in 23:09.90 leading Colfax. 

Argonaut junior Anna Rose won the race in 20:20.30, Capital Christian senior Azalea Prince was second (20:59.10), Foresthill freshman McKenna Lechner was third (21:06.00) and Forest Lake Christian junior Annabelle Laputz was fourth (21:28.30). 

Prince, fourth last year in the D-V final, is the top qualified returner. Defending champion Amber Jackson of Forest Lake Christian was entered but did not post a time and FLC did not advance as a team. 

D-V qualifying teams: 1. Colfax 55, 2. Foresthill 91, 3. Vacaville Christian 109, 4. Buckingham Charter Magnet 114, 5. Capital Christian 127, 6. Delta 129,  7. Central Catholic 138, 8. Waterford 140, 9. Millennium 185.