Acalanes Cross Country opened its DAL League season last Wednesday at Hidden Valley Park, competing in hot conditions for its first league meet of the season. The Dons followed that performance with a strong showing at Saturday’s Be the GOAT Invitational, where Acalanes won both the varsity boys and varsity girls team divisions in the three-mile race in Pinole.

DAL League Meet — Varsity Boys

The Acalanes varsity boys were led by Alexander Hagen, who finished 21st in 18:05.7. Dane Darby followed in 27th at 18:22.4, while Peyton Eagens ran a personal best of 18:35.1 to finish 31st.

The Dons continued with Matt Roberts (37th, 18:46.8), David Ellerbrock (40th, 19:12.6), Dylan Kubiatowicz (46th, 19:51.2), Francis Koskinen (50th, 20:05.6), and Jason Rossetter (56th, 20:36.5). The majority of the varsity boys recorded season-best times, with Eagens posting a personal best.

DAL League Meet — Varsity Girls

The varsity girls were led by Naya Ellis, who ran a personal-best 20:55.2 to place 18th. Harper Blair followed in 28th with a personal best of 22:12.5, while Avery Erb also posted a personal best, finishing 30th in 22:31.5.

Emilia Deutsch Stella ran a personal-best 26:31.8 for 54th, and Charlotte Keyser rounded out the varsity girls with a season-best 26:58.8.

DAL League Meet — JV Boys

The JV boys were led by Sebastian Springfield, who finished 24th in 13:22.6. Ollie Penn followed in 36th at 13:49.8 with a season-best performance, while Milo Anderson finished 45th in 14:19.5.

Emmett Fretwell (59th, 14:48.4) and Martin Bruschi (61st, 14:54.4) were next across the line, followed by Zane Bruschi (75th, 16:02.9), Charlie McIlwain (81st, 16:32.2), Cal Krage Zillas (84th, 17:08.8), Graham Maroney (96th, 18:13.6), Rohan Wining (97th, 18:18.4), Dario Hamidi (106th, 19:38.6), and Declan Peterson (111th, 24:49.9).

DAL League Meet — JV Girls

Samantha Grisavcage led the JV girls with a 31st-place finish in 18:27.9, finishing just one second ahead of teammate Julia Kunz, who placed 32nd in 18:28.9. Natalie Pecci rounded out the Acalanes JV girls with a 53rd-place finish in 23:33.5.

DAL League Meet — Frosh/Soph Boys

The Frosh/Soph boys had a strong showing, led by Aidan Burley, who finished 15th in 12:43.6. Devin Appel placed 20th in 12:53.9, followed by Oliver Anderson (55th, 13:51.3) and Greyson Blair (56th, 13:57.1).

James Ammerman (63rd, 14:10.5), Luke Espiritu (64th, 14:12.8), and Zachary Adams (67th, 14:23.7) also finished in the top 70. Leo Morimoto, Liam Huselid, Isaiah Sargent, Logan Lewis, and Owen Lee were among the additional Acalanes finishers.

The Dons continued to send runners across the finish line, including Aidan Lu, Kaito Kuniyoshi, Aram Mehta, Max Garaway, Maxim Kolovski, Caden Hedrick-Choi, Kaden Travis, Aaron Lockard, and Stone Keyser. Hedrick-Choi recorded a personal best of 16:11.0.

DAL League Meet — Frosh/Soph Girls

Georgia Hansen paced the Frosh/Soph girls with a 28th-place finish in 17:19.1. Juliana San Diego finished 50th in 18:48.8, followed by Alexandra Hall in 51st at 18:53.3.

Phoebe Ambrosini finished 55th in 19:53.1, while Evelyn Oprea (70th, 22:12.5), Maggie Xiang (72nd, 22:16.4), and Sara Lu (74th, 23:00.5) completed the Acalanes contingent.

Be the GOAT Invitational — Pinole

The Dons returned to competition Saturday at the Be the GOAT Invitational, racing three miles in Pinole. Acalanes came away with team victories in both the varsity boys and varsity girls divisions, with strong individual performances across both squads.

The varsity boys were led by Hagen, who took 5th overall in a personal-best 16:35.1. Darby finished 8th in 16:50.0, followed by Rossetter in 9th at 16:52.5 and Ellerbrock in 10th at 17:01.9. Roberts added an 11th-place finish in a personal-best 17:20.2.

Eagens continued his strong weekend with another personal best, finishing 14th in 17:41.6. Kubiatowicz rounded out the Acalanes varsity boys in the top 15, placing 15th in 17:50.5.

The varsity girls also captured the team title, led by Ellis, who finished 3rd overall in a personal-best 19:58.5. Erb was close behind in 4th at 20:01.7, also running a personal best, while Blair placed 6th in another personal-best time of 20:19.8.

Hansen finished 11th in 22:22.1 with a personal best, followed by Keyser in 16th at 22:59.3 and Deutsch Stella in 19th at 23:31.6, both also recording personal-best times.

With two meets in four days, the Dons showed continued progress across the program, highlighted by a pair of varsity team victories at Be the GOAT and a large number of personal- and season-best performances.