XC PREVIEW Sac-Joaquin Section Boys

Sac-Joaquin Section Boys Cross Country Preview

OVERVIEW

Sacramento Country Day freshman Andrew Burr had an impressive debut at the Sierra Invitational, dropping the third-fastest 2-mile time of the meet. (Dan Tyree photo)

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Braden King, who placed 72nd at the 2019 State Meet, has emerged as the latest in a long list of star runners at perennial power Jesuit. King ran No. 5 for Coach Walt Lange's Marauders as a sophomore on the line at State, but has proven already this fall in two meets that he is already among the state's elites in Division I. With Newbury Park now moving up to the large-school division, that's saying something. 

King, who has taken it to another level in chasing the ghosts of the recent past like Matt Strangio and Ajani Salcido, blitzed the 2.1-mile course at the annual Meeting of the Marauders in 9:45.4. He came back a week later to run almost a minute faster than anyone else at the meet, going 9:49.78 on the 2-mile Sierra Invitational layout. 

Coach Lange's Marauders also bring back junior Jacob Swanson, welcome transfer Brandon Moreno, also a junior, and line up senior Preston Conner and impressive frosh Chase Cressman to battle for scoring positions. 

Jesuit's top pursuer in the top division of the SJS, is Davis, which put three sophomores and a freshman on the line at the 2019 CIF-State Championships. The leading returner from that group is senior Zachary Ayers, who ran No. 1 for Davis at State as a sophomore and is the No. 3 returner from that race.

McClatchy senior Joseph Wiley is actually the top returner from the 2019 SJS Finals, where he placed fifth in the D-1 race. 

Vacaville senior Kellen Steplight is the top returner in Division 2. He placed third at the section final as a sophomore in 2019 and 34th at the State Meet. With Newbury Park jumping up a division. Steplight appears to be the No. 2 returner from that race at State. 

Bella Vista senior Sean Lacey is coming off an impressive track season and is certainly one to watch this fall. He was 35th in the SJS Final as a sophomore and very well could be the best in the division, if not the section, now. 

East Union was the top team in the section in D-3 in 2019 with a young lineup that included three sophomores and a freshman who scored at both SJS and State. Senior Johnny Sandoval ran No. 1 in both and is the No. 5 returner in D-III from the State Meet race. Placer senior Wyatt Hamilton is the top returner from the section meet. 

If everyone is back from 2019, the D-3 race at sections should be exceptionally competitive. Case in point: Nevada Union junior Wesley Selby won was 36th at the SJS race in 2019 as a frosh, was the second-fastest boy behind King of Jesuit at the Sierra Invitational 2-miler. 

Calaveras won the D-4 race at the 2019 SJS Finals with a veteran lineup. Garrett Hesser, now a senior, ran No. 5 for Calaveras at SJS as a soph, and No. 4 at State. 

Sonora senior Adin Dibble and St. Mary's senior Daniel Winter are the Nos. 3 and 4 returners from the D-IV race at the State Meet. 

Colfax had just one senior when it won the D-5 title at the 2019 SJS Final, a team fueled by then-sophomores Jacob Koster and Garrett Reinhard, and then-freshmen Noah Starbuck and Logan Biddle. If that quartet returns in full, Colfax will be the team to beat in the small school division. Waterford, the runner-up in SJS Final, did so with now-senior Evan Espinoza running No. 2 (now a top-15 returner from the State Meet race), and then-freshman Jayden Frank-Key running No. 4. 

Another youngster not to lose track of in the state's second-largest section is freshman Andrew Burr of Sacramento Country Day. He ran the third-fastest time in the merge at the Sierra Invite, 10:48.49.