ANGELS CAMP, Calif. – Sophomore Emily Colonnello led a first- through 10th-place St. Francis finish in the Division III frosh-soph race, junior Mia Hollar won the girls' junior varsity event, and Halle Welch led a tight pack of Troubadours to team victory in the D-III varsity section of the Sac-Joaquin Subsection cross country championships, hosted by Bret Harte High School at "Frogtown, USA" on the Calaveras County Fairgrounds Saturday.

All three St. Francis teams advance to the Sac-Joaquin Section championship meet in Folsom at the Willow Hill Reservoir on November 15. The top 10 varsity teams move on to that meet, as do the top six from the frosh-soph and JV events for each division.

Welch crossed the finish line in 19 minutes, 40.5 seconds, with Miya Menza (19:41.2), Sophia Kadel (19:41.4), Alyssa Gutierrez (19:41.5) and Sunny Schranz (19:41.6) effectively following together for the remaining scorers toward a team total of 50 points. Chloe Harrison and Rebecca Dickson followed in 17th and 18th places, respectively, as the Troubies' displacement finishers.

This also resulted in a close battle for second through fifth in the varsity team standings, with Oakdale (112), Ponderosa (113), Beyer (118) and Elk Grove (119) claiming those spots. Pondo boasted the top two individuals in junior Emelyn Angelo (18:52.5) and freshman Sadi Angelo (18:53.5), but the next Bruin through the chute finished 10 places behind the last SF runner.

Still, as dominant the seven Troubies were in the varsity event, nothing compares to the accomplishment of the SF frosh-soph group. Colonnello, Bianka Bagatelos, Holly Thorall, Sophia Hernandez and Emilia Ryan formed a perfect 1-2-3-4-5 scoring finish, with Celeste Ramos and Maclynn McCurdy taking sixth and seventh for the displacing spots. However, the dominance continued with five more Troubies in the top 15: Mackenna Miller in eighth, Alyssa Tafoya in ninth, Giuliana Allen in 10th, Violet Panton in 12th and Abi Wallace in 14th. In fact, only Elk Grove's Mia Berns in 11th and Kimball's Katherine Kaczorowsk in 13th prevented St. Francis from sweeping the top 12.

The Troubadours' perfect 15 points in the frosh-soph represented a 49-point margin ahead of runner-up Kimball in a six-team field.

St. Francis also snared the top places in the JV race, with Mia Hollar winning at 19:52.8 – more than a full minute ahead of teammate and runner-up Jordan Brace (20:59.0). Ariana Lugo followed in eighth, with MacKenzie Olmstead and Bianca Espanola coming through together in 22nd and 23rd for the final scoring finishes. Isabella Uribe (26th) and Maddy Cheatham (28th) were the Troubie displacers.

As a team, the SF jayvees scored 51 points for second place behind Del Oro's 40. The Golden Eagles had three of the next four places after the Hollar-Brace exacta: Rubi Mendoza in third, Olivia Rhoades in fourth and Sophia Rhoades in sixth. Adding DO's Liz Baldus in 13th was more than enough to offset the Troubies' 1-2 at the top of the leaderboard.

St. Francis looks to capture a third straight SJS Division III championship and a 16th overall banner. The D-III frosh-soph race starts at 9:20 a.m., the varsity 40 minutes later at 10 a.m., then the JV competes in a 1:02 p.m. race that features all five divisions and shares the course with the boys' JV event. Race times are approximate. The top three teams in D-III advance to the CIF state meet on November 29.

2025 SAC-JOAQUIN SUBSECTION CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Calaveras County Fairgrounds (Angels Camp, Calif.)
Events with SF entrants only • Winners plus SF finishers listed

DIVISION III FROSH-SOPH GIRLS - 1. Emily Colonnello, St. Francis, 13:14.1... 2. Bianka Bagatelos, 13:17.0; 3. Holly Thorall, 13:29.6; 4. Sophia Hernandez, 13:36.0; 5. Emilia Ryan, 13:53.8; 6. Celeste Ramos, 14:15.2; 7. Maclynn McCurdy, 14:27.6; 8. Mackenna Miller, 14:32.7; 9. Alyssa Tafoya, 14:33.0; 10. Giuliana Allen, 14:34.8; 12. Violet Panton, 14:49.1; 14. Abi Wallace, 15:13.9; 24. Grace Zylstra, 16:03.2; 25. Andrea Silva, 16:03.5; 28. Eleanora Olmstead, 16:19.0; 29. Robyn Peralta, 16:27.5; 32. Eva Bugatto, 17:01.8; 40. Nathea Genelza, 17:50.7; 42. Emmy Cheatham, 18:01.9.

DIVISION III FROSH-SOPH GIRLS TEAM SCORES - 1. St. Francis, 15; 2. Kimball, 64; 3. Elk Grove, 82; 4. Oakmont, 103; 5. Lathrop, 134; 6. Los Banos, 140.

DIVISION III JUNIOR VARSITY GIRLS - 1. Mia Hollar, St. Francis, 19:52.8... 2. Jordan Brace, 20:59.0; 8. Ariana Lugo, 24:14.9; 22. MacKenzie Olmstead, 26:42.8; 23. Bianca Espanola, 26:43.2; 26. Isabella Uribe, 26:59.1; 28. Maddy Cheatham, 27:15.2.

DIVISION III JUNIOR VARSITY GIRLS TEAM SCORES - 1. Del Oro, 40; 2. St. Francis, 51; 3. Hilmar, 53; 4. Elk Grove, 97; 5. Lathrop, 118; 6. Christian Brothers, 127;  
DIVISION III VARSITY GIRLS - 1. Emelyn Angelo, Ponderosa, 18:52.5... 8. Halle Welch, 19:40.5; 9. Miya Menza, 19:41.2; 10. Sophia Kadel, 19:41.4; 11. Alyssa Gutierrez, 19:41.5; 12. Sunny Schranz, 19:41.6; 18. Chloe Harrison, 20:24.9; 19. Rebecca Dickson, 20:25.0

DIVISION III VARSITY GIRLS TEAM SCORES - 1. St. Francis, 50; 2. Oakdale, 112; 3. Ponderosa, 113; 4. Beyer, 118; 5. Elk Grove, 119; 6. Roseville, 167; 7. Del Oro, 171; 8. Sierra, 203; 9. Nevada Union, 204; 10. River Valley, 205; 11. Lathrop, 274; 12. Yuba City, 332; 13. Del Campo, 373; 14. Los Banos, 449; 15. Valley, 451.