Cross Country (2024)

Boys Are Blazing Fast @ 26^th Annual Time Trial

September 9^th, 2024

Tucker Presnell and Javin Schmitt Lead The Pack

Berkeley, CA – It was no surprise that the boys varsity cross country team – last year’s 6^th place finishers at the California State Championships – ran fast at the 26^th annual team time trial at Tilden Park in Berkeley.  But it was HOW fast they ran that got both coaches and athletes buzzing about the season and it’s possibilities.

 

For junior Tucker Presnell and senior Javin Schmitt, the summer has been spent running, recovering and running some more.  Their commitment has fueled a team wide commitment that has spawned heightened expectations, big dreams and now very fast times.  Senior Lia Sullivan

On Monday, no one was surprised that both Tucker and Javin ran scorching fast time times, but 9:49 and 9:53 amounted to the 1^st and 3^rd fastest times ever run… in the history of the school!  Only the legendary likes of current Cal Poly SLO star Mateo Malko-Allen and former Brown University captain Matt Duffy broke the venerable 10:00 minute mark and each of them also have state championship medals in their trophy cases.    

Djali de Chalus & Ian Kopchik

“Both Tucker and Javin are in great shape but more importantly both have this passion… this drive and this inner fire for running that burns deep inside them,” said coach Jeff Rogers afterwards.  “They don’t need to be motivated, cajoled or convinced to show up and work hard. They’ve both graduated into the world of passion – which has been the key to their success.  Look for them both to have big seasons.”

 

Also deserving a lot of praise from the coaching  were the senior duo of Kai Valle and Jacob Demissie.  Kai, whose summer training has been choppy and a bit inconsistent, still managed to grind out a very quick 10:20 which places him as the #8 senior performer of all time. Jacob, whose summer has been very steady and consistent, was not far behind in 10:25. His time was :19 seconds faster than a year ago and suggests that he is also ready for a breakout senior season.

Another eye opener was sophomore Djali de Chalus, who put everyone on high alert that he may someday have something to say about being the school’s fastest of all time.  Djali smoked a 10:31 on the rolling, hilly 1.9 mile course… which as a sophomore has only been exceeded by the aforementioned Matt Duffy.  His improvement was more than a minute and a half faster than a year ago. 

Freshman All-Time #2 Kai Sullivan

Junior teammates Ian Kopchik, Adrian Hall and Mika Mazin also made their presence felt on Monday… each running list-making fast times.   Ian is now the #7 junior in school history with his impressive 10:33.   Adrian’s 10:44 was not far behind and puts him in the top 12 all-time… while Mika’s 10:55  was a whopping 2:26 faster than a year ago! 

 

Finally, a pair of freshman – Kai Sullivan and Khalil Pearson – were able to crack the top ten all-time list.  Kai ran 11:21, making him the #2 freshman of all-time.. behind only Matt Duffy.  Khalil, meanwhile, earned himself a Top 10 All-Time t-shirt with his 12:10… which makes him the #9 freshman performer ever. 

 

Other top performances on the boy’s side came from freshmen Enzo Vargas (12:39) and Elliot Elson (12:47), sophomore Finley Basler (11:32), and seniors Brandon Bosio (10:59) and Jagger Gullov-Singh (12:34).

For the girls, top times were run by senior captain Lia Sullivan and Madi Potter.  Lia ran almost :40 seconds faster than a year ago… finishing in 13:05 and as the #8 senior performer ever.  Madi, only a few steps back, ran 13:14 to vault herself to the #12 position on the all-time senior girls list.  Both Lia and Madi paced  sophomores Sabrina Jackson and Uma Vela… whose 13:44 and 13:51 put them at #11 and #12 respectively on the all-time sophomore list. 

 

Freshman Caty Ruppert was the 5^th girl in at 14:19 (12^th all-time freshman), while sophomore Reva Schmitt made the all-time sophomore list with her 14:29 finish.  Senior Katherine Scannell also ran a lifetime best – breaking the 15:00 barrier while finishing in 14:56.

“Overall, the time trial is a nice way to finish off the summer and usher in the official start to the season,” noted girl’s JV coach Ariana Corwin.  “Now we can see exactly where we are and how we need to progress and improve going forward.  We always hope the time trial not only excites but inspires our runners to keep working and keep improving.”  This Saturday the team officially opens the season at the Ed Sias Invitational at Hidden Valley Park in Martinez, where excitement, inspiration and improvement will certainly be on display.  Good luck to all the Panthers competing on Saturday!