DUBLIN, Calif. – Freshman Alyssa Gutierrez became just the seventh St. Francis runner to complete 1,600 meters in less than five minutes, placing sixth in the "Sombrero" section and eighth overall with a time of four minutes, 57.34 seconds at the 17th Dublin Distance Fiesta track & field meet Saturday.

Meanwhile, back at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, a small group of St. Francis runners completed the inaugural Capital Invitational, hosted by CK McClatchy High and Sacramento City College. Junior Alexa Randall won the 400 meters in 55.83 seconds, her second-best time behind only the 55.21 she ran at the first Sierra Foothill League center meet this year. Still, it's a time that only two Troubies have beaten in program history: Randall, and record-holder Ariane Arndt (54.87).

Gutierrez' 4:57.34 vaulted her from seventh to fourth in the overall school record book, ahead of Lauren LaRocco's 4:57.51 from the 2014 Sac-Joaquin Section divisional, and behind Peyton Bilo's personal record of 4:57.07 at the 2015 Sacramento Meet of Champions. Cate Joaquin (4:46.42) and Tatiana Cornejo (4:51.61), each of whom hit PRs at the 2022 section D-I meet, hold the top two spots in school history.

Gutierrez further eclipsed Joaquin's old Troubadours frosh record of 4:58.62, set at the 2019 Stanford Invitational. Gutierrez previously surpassed Joaquin for the school frosh 3,200 benchmark at the Bronco Roundup Distance Carnival. Her 2:18.89 currently ranks third among all-tie St. Francis freshies in the 800, behind Ingrid Kantola (2:15.93 in 2001) and Kayla Towne (2:18.20 in 2021). (Note: Chloe Jarvis ran a hand-timed 2:18.7 at the 1997 Bronco Invitational, but that converts to 2:18.94 for record purposes.)

Prior to Gutierrez' performance in the 29th heat, sophomore Halle Welch placed fourth in Section 28 (14th overall) with a time of 5:01.44. This marked an almost four-second improvement of Welch's previous PR of 5:05.10, set at last year's Sac MOC. It now ranks eighth in school history ahead of Isabella Fauria (5:02.09 in 2019), and effectively sets the SF record for a sophomore. (Joaquin is credited with a 4:54.79 in a time trial in Placer during the Covid shutdown in June 2020.)

The DDR also presents the top three runners in each race with a souvenir T-shirt, with six Troubies picking up such an award. Sophia Hernandez placed second in Section 20 (5:32.10), Mia Hollar took third in the 24th (5:20.06), while Emily Colonnello and Chloe Harrison respectively crossed in first (5:16.01) and third (5:17.25) on the 25th. Freshman Bianka Bagatelos placed third in the 41th race of the 800 meters, and had the best Troubie overall finish in that event: 23rd with a PB time of 2:19.70. Finally, Gutierrez placed third in the 3,200 – and third overall – with her time of 10:35.68.

At the Capital Invite, St. Francis also picked up a win in the 4x200 relay, with the crew of Lucia Vicio, Randall, Emma Bugarin and Jasleen Gandhoke compiling a first-place time of 1:45.41, more than three seconds faster than runner-up Bella Vista (1:48.53). Gandhoke, who placed first in both the 300 hurdles and high jump in Friday's session, also finished second in the 100 hurdles with a season-best 15.13. Only Sheldon's Margot Zemke, who hit a personal-best 14.88, ran faster in that event.

The Troubadours return to action on March 28 for Holy Spikes. While normally a dual with Christian Brothers, this year's invitational version consists of multiple Christian private schools, including Bishop O'Dowd, Cardinal Newman and St. Ignatius from the Bay Area. The meet will also honor 10 seniors: Jordan Brace, Bugarin, Chloe Harrison, Antonija Jezildzic, Colleen Medina, Makayla Miller, Abbey Pavelchik, Gianna Seghesio, Annie Swanson and Vicio.

17TH DUBLIN DISTANCE FIESTA
Dublin High School (Dublin, Calif.)
Events with SF entrants only • Winner plus SF finishers listed

GIRLS' 800 METERS - 1. Kaylee Smith, Whitney, 2:10.95... 23. Bianka Bagatelos, 2:19.70; 43. Sophia Kadel, 2:24.08; 95. Rebecca Dickson, 2:29.03; 113. Celeste Ramos, 2:30.87; 171. Emilia Ryan, 2:33.94; 265. Giuliana Allen, 2:39.90; 339. Violet Panton, 2:43.27; 535. Abi Wallace, 2:55.43; 638. Ellie Olmstead, 3:04.63; 640. Gianna Riquelme, 3:04.80; 679. Amelia Castro-Chambers, 3:10.22.

GIRLS' 1,600 METERS  - 1. Anna Salter, 4:50.12... 8. Alyssa Gutierrez, 4:57.34; 14. Halle Welch, 5:01.44; 42. Miya Menza, 5:13.46; 45. Sophia Kadel, 5:14.47; 56. Emily Colonnello, 5:16.01; 68. Chloe Harrison, 5:17.25; 94. Mia Hollar, 5:20.06; 130. Holly Thorall, 5:26.12; 162. Emilia Ryan, 5:31.77; 163. Sophia Hernandez, 5:32.10; 213. Mackenna Miller, 5:38.39; 217. Celeste Ramos, 5:38.86; 275. Violet Panton, 5:45.12; 276. Giuliana Allen, 5:45.21; 280. Alyssa Tafoya, 5:45.69; 302. Jordan Brace, 5:48.42; 556. Abi Wallace, 6:29.28; 588. Ellie Olmstead, 6:39.39; 620. Gianna Riquelme, 6:49.89; 665. Kalaya Moore, 7:12.16; 693. Amelia Castro-Chambers, 7:35,50. Note: heats 1-13 competed on Friday.

GIRLS' 3,200 METERS - 1. Natalie Arriaza, Patterson, 10:29.67... 3. Alyssa Gutierrez, 10:35.68; 26. Miya Menza, 11:07.90; 45. Halle Welch, 11:35.23; 47. Emily Colonnello, 11:42.41; 50. Chloe Harrison, 11:44.29; 55. Mia Hollar, 11:48.87; 74. Holly Thorall, 12:18.04; 78. Jordan Brace, 12:22.72; 88. Sophia Hernandez, 12:40.72; 90. Mackenna Miller, 12:41.58; 128. Sunny Schranz, 13:26.33; 129. Alyssa Tafoya, 13:27.70. Note: heats 1-8 competed on Saturday.

2026 CAPITAL INVITATIONAL
Hughes Stadium (Sacramento, Calif.)
Events with SF entrants only • Winner plus SF finishers listed

GIRLS' 4x100 RELAY - 1. Cosumnes Oaks, 48.65... 4. St Francis (Vicio, Bugarin, Gustorf, Randall), 49.80; 14. St. Francis 'B' (Zylstra, Medina, Swanson, Dukes), 54.10.

GIRLS' 100 HURDLES - 1. Margot Zemke, Sheldon, 14.88 (w: -0.3)... 2. Jasleen Gandhoke, 15.13 (w: -0.3).

GIRLS' 400 METERS - 1. Alexa Randall, St. Francis, 55.83.

GIRLS' 100 METERS - 1. Naiaja Sizemore, Vanden, 11.82 (w: -1.0)... 20. Lucia Vicio, 13.05 (w: +0.8), Grace Gustorf, 13.99 (w: +0.0)

GIRLS' 4x200 RELAY - 1. St. Francis (Vicio, Randall, Bugarin, Gandhoke), 1:45.41... 6. St. Francis 'B' (Medina, Zylstra, Gustorf, Swanson)