The 2026 track and field season dawned on a beautiful warm and sunny Saturday at San Ramon Valley High School for the Don of the Season Meet. The last day in February felt more like late spring as the Dons tracksters turned in fantastic performances against SRV, Benecia, Concord, Monte Vista and Las Lomas, setting the bar for what promises to be an exciting season.  

Welcome to the first-time competitors and congratulations on your first meet! Also, a tremendous thank you to all the coaches for putting in the work to get everyone prepared for the season.

And now for some highlights from the meet:

         

NCS Leaders

Just a week into the spring season, we have some NCS leaders, with a lot of Dons in the NCS top 10:

• Deonte Littlejohn had a tremendous throwing day, and he leads NCS in both Shotput 51’2” and Discus 163’3”
• Ilias Kaplanes-Jones leads NCS in Long Jump at 22’8”, which puts him at 5^th in the state! He turned in a blistering 10.94 for first place in the 100 (4^th NCS), and he also won the 200 in 22:22 (3^rd NCS)
• Matthew Schwartz took second place at 11.13 (7^th NCS) and Jackson Boselli took third with 11.16 (8^th NCS), with all three Acalanes boys sweeping the 100.
• Our 4×100 boys A relay team consisting of Matthew Schwarz, Illias Kaplanes-Jones, Jackson Boselli, and River Lockwood ran a swift 42.06 with precise handoffs, taking first place at the meet and 2^nd place in NCS
• Our girls 4×100 relay consisting of Julia Munter, Isabelle Agnost, Danica Green, and Olivia Kemp ran a 50.43, putting them 3^rd in NCS
• In the 200, River Lockwood ran 22.73, taking third in the race (6^thNCS)
• Benjamin Michelson (22.84 )and Matthew Schwarz (22.84 ) are tied for 8^th in NCS in the 200
• Already faster than his time last season, Benjamin Michelson ran the 400 in 50.24 (5^th NCS)
• River Lockwood took first in 110 Hurdles with a time of 16.80 (9^thin NCS)
• Blazing around the track, Nevis Murphy won the 1600 in 5:20.63, putting her 9^th in NCS
• Miles Moore took third in the Pole Vault with a jump of 12’0” (3^rdNCS)
• In the Discus, Mackenzie Siewert placed third with a throw of 93’1” (10^th NCS)
• Samantha Griscavage jumped 4’8” in the High Jump, landing her 6^th in NCS

In other notable efforts:

• Flying over the bar, Robyn Sherman took first in the Pole Vault, jumping 7’0”
• Olivia Kemp took 2^nd place in the 400 with 1:02.26
• Julia Munter, looking strong at the start of the season, ran a 26.98 200 for 3^rd place
• Colton Whalen-Schlosser took third place in the long jump with 18’8”
• The boys 4×100 B team made up of Miles Moore, Pengyu Chen, Finneus Aiken, and Joaquin Young took third place with 44.84
• To close out the meet, the boys 4×400 team of Dashiell Tinianow, Alexander Hagen, Nikhil Hunn, and Nael Benmeziane took first running a 4:02.

Frosh/Soph highlights:

• In the relays, the Frosh/Soph 4×100 girls team consisting of newcomers Alexandra Hall, Margaret Stirling, Stella Mason, and Sylvie DuBois took first with 57.89 and in the Frosh/Soph boys all-freshman 4×400, Dane Darby, Matthew Roberts, BradyMichelson, and Greyson Blair took first with 4:05.33
• Freshman Margaret Stirling took 1^st in the 200 with 27.97 and 2^nd in 100 with 13.73
• Kaya Busfield took 1^st in Discus 64’6”
• Alexandra Hall placed 3^rd in 400 running 1:09.80
• In the 800, David Ellerbrock took second with 2:16.97 and Brady Michelson took 3^rd with 2:17.46
• Jason Rossetter took 3^rd in the 1600, running 4:55.51

All-in-all, it was a great day on the track, if unseasonably warm for the last day of February. Our next meet is Thursday, March 5 against Cal High at Acalanes. See you there!

Photo credit: Rachel Whalen