The Acalanes Cross Country team opened September with a strong showing at the St. Mary’s Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 5, with runners from every level of the program taking advantage of the competitive field to post fast times and numerous personal bests.

The Acalanes varsity boys were led by senior Alexander Hagen, who finished 38th in 10:52.01. Sophomore Dane Darby followed in 11:00.55, with junior David Ellerbrock close behind at 11:02.36. Sophomore Jason Rossetter ran 11:04.77, followed by sophomore Matt Roberts in 11:18.25. Senior Peyton Eagens rounded out the top seven in 11:25.95, setting a personal best, while sophomore Francis Koskinen finished in 11:38.80.

The younger boys also turned in impressive performances. In the freshman boys race, Acalanes was represented by a large group, led by Oliver Anderson, who finished 14th overall in 12:21.13. Max Mayer ran 13:02.14, followed by Luke Espiritu at 13:09.39 and Isaiah Sargent at 13:24.97. Aram Mehta (13:30.62), Leo Morimoto (13:31.90), Kaito Kuniyoshi (14:01.77), Max Garaway (14:08.03), Kaden Travis (14:21.39) and Aidan Lu (14:36.65) completed the Acalanes contingent.

The sophomore boys were led by Dylan Kubiatowicz, who finished 12th in 11:24.17 and recorded a personal best. Aidan Burley ran 12:27.31, followed by Greyson Blair in 12:32.94, also a personal best. Cade Yen (13:19.46), Liam Huselid (13:24.90), Owen Lee (13:39.23) and Kane Morimoto (15:46.21) also competed for Acalanes.

The boys’ overflow race featured an especially strong showing from the Acalanes team. Junior Milo Anderson finished eighth in 13:09.40, followed by junior Lachlan Tidd in 13:20.66 and junior Charles McIlwain in 13:28.52. Freshman Brooks Tierney was 13th in 13:30.43, while junior Zane Bruschi finished 14th in 13:31.02. Freshman Stone Keyser ran 13:38.05, also a personal best, and junior Emmett Fretwell finished in 13:45.48. Additional Acalanes runners included Martin Bruschi (14:03.19), Gus Greeson (14:11.90), Dominic He (14:39.02), Aaron Lockard (14:57.27), Tamim Burley (16:03.28), Bram Polster (16:05.83, PB), Rohan Winnig (16:29.44), Declan Peterson (16:36.35, PB), Dario Hamidi (17:48.34), and Henry Zhao (18:53.38, PB).

On the girls’ side, varsity runner Avery Erb led Acalanes with a 39th-place finish in 13:08.32 and a personal best. Naya Ellis followed in 13:16.11, also a PB, while senior Stella Hamilton ran 13:23.37 for another personal best. Georgia Hansen finished in 14:45.28, followed by Charlotte Keyser at 14:51.51. Emilia Deutsch Stella ran 15:04.92, setting a PB, and Lucy Hamilton finished in 15:09.61. Alexandra Hall rounded out the varsity group in 16:16.51.

The girls’ overflow race produced several more standout performances. Freshman Juliana San Diego finished 21st in 15:32.83, setting a PB, while junior Julia Kunz ran 16:11.74 for another PB. Phoebe Ambrosini finished in 18:10.44, followed closely by sophomore Evelyn Oprea at 18:11.15, a PB. Senior Natalie Pecci ran 19:03.64, sophomore Maggie Xiang finished in 20:25.23, and freshman Claire Birdsong ran 20:56.60. Sara Lu (21:06.82), sophomore Violette Cline (22:10.32, PB), and senior Chloe Harvey (22:44.98) completed the Acalanes entries shown in the results.

With runners competing across varsity, class-level and overflow races, the St. Mary’s Invitational provided an early-season opportunity for the Acalanes program to test itself against a deep field. The number of personal-best performances across the team—particularly among both the varsity squads and younger runners—offers an encouraging start to the season as the Dons continue building toward the championship portion of the cross country schedule.