On Saturday, Sept. 20, the Jesuit High School Sacramento cross country team competed in the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic.

Jesuit came into the meet with high expectations after winning the state championship last year. To defend their title, they know they need to continue to work.

“We met over the summer pretty consistently as a group and we are holding each other accountable throughout the summer to keep up the training,” said Isaac Abbott ’26. “We just try to focus on ourselves and our own performances and let our race do the talking.”

The Woodbridge meet is one of the biggest in the country, with over 500 schools coming to participate. Jesuit competed in the A-boys sweepstakes and placed 2nd as a team, with individual runners Isaac, Kyle Jakary ’26, Matthew Ogilvie ’27, Drake Hoferer ’26, Lucas Alberts ’27, Rafael Jopson ’27, and Ryan Tait ’27 placing 10th, 29th, 42nd, 68th, 73rd, 92nd, and 165th respectively out of 269 runners. 

“I think the meet went very well,” Kyle said. “It was our first year going there. It has been one of the most popular meets in the country. So this was kind of our first sighting there. And I think it went pretty well. We got to get a little fitness test of how our team was early this season and got to race a lot of big teams from elsewhere and kind of see how we stack up pretty early on.”

Defending their title won’t be an easy task in such a competitive state like California, but the team’s aim this year is to continue pushing their potential with hopes to represent Jesuit at the national level.

“California is one of the best states in the country for cross country, so we know we are going to have our hands full with plenty of talented teams,” Isaac said. “It’s going to be a challenge, but we feel that if we can win a state championship, we will have a shot at competing at nationals and hopefully for a national championship.”

The team believes that they will be able to use Woodbridge as a learning experience as they look ahead to the many meets over the rest of the season.

“I think we are just kind of seeing a fraction of what we can do,” Isaac said. “I think we are kind of built for the longer end and built for the end of the season. So as long as we are proactive, keep staying injury free, and keep the energy, I think we will perform very well in the end.”