Cross Country 2026

Panthers Make Early Statement at Ed Sias Invitational

September 12th, 2026

Martinez, CA - The Saint Mary’s Panthers opened their 2026 cross country season Saturday at the always competitive Ed Sias Invitational, and if the season opener was any indication, the Panthers are once again ready to compete with the best. The Ed Sias Invitational routinely draws some of Northern California’s top teams and individual runners, making it an ideal early-season test for programs looking to measure themselves against elite competition. For the Panthers, Saturday’s meet provided an important first look at a team with high expectations and championship aspirations.

~ Click Here To See All The Photos From The Meet ~

 

Despite losing five seniors from last year’s TCAL, North Coast Section and Ed Sias championship team, the Panthers’ varsity boys made it clear that the 2026 squad has plenty of firepower of its own. Running with just the five runners needed to score, Saint Mary’s battled throughout the race against defending Division III state champion Campolindo and eventual team champion and state-ranked Maria Carrillo of Santa Rosa. When the final scores were tallied, the Panthers came up short of the team title—but their performance suggests they will be a tough out all season long.

Leading the way was returning All-State standout Djali de Chalus. After taking the lead midway through the race, Djali slipped back slightly over the closing stages and finished fourth overall.  His time - 10:20 - was :09 seconds faster than his 2025 run at Ed Sias a year ago.

Junior Kai Sullivan also delivered a major improvement, finishing 11th overall in 10:44—nearly 40 seconds faster than his time at the meet last year. Just behind Kai was junior Khalil Pearson, who Coach Jeff Rogers singled out as having the “best race of the day” for the Panthers. Khalil finished 12th in 10:47 and helped keep the Panthers firmly in the team-title hunt.

Sophomore Nico Cadelago continued the Panthers’ impressive showing by placing 18th overall in 10:56, a remarkable 35-second improvement over his 2025 run.

Rounding out the scoring five was sophomore Nic Preas, who finished 45th overall in 11:43. The team’s performance certainly rubber stamped the team’s pre-season North Coast Section Division IV #1 ranking.   

Panthers Girls Impress While Short-Handed

The varsity girls followed the boys onto the course facing an equally difficult challenge. Running without senior captain Uma Vela and preseason all-state hopeful Paula Devine, the Panthers entered the race short-handed. Still, the squad responded with an impressive performance.

Junior Caty Ruppert was the fastest Panther of the day, finishing 10th overall in 12:46. Evelyn Bird was next, running 13:42 – good enough for 22nd overall.  Jessie Ruppert, already on her way to a breakout 2026 season, ran 14:23, which was nearly 2 minutes faster than the time she ran as a 9th grader.  Rounding out the four person squad was senior Gianna Hernandez, who ran 1:30 faster than she did last year.  Good job, Gianna!

Freshman Class Makes Immediate Impact

Finally, and not to be out done, the highly touted 2026 freshman boys class backed up there scintillating time trial performance on Tuesday with another eye-opener at Ed Sias. The freshman trifecta of Alexander and Zach Wetter and Avi Jain finish 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the freshmen boys race to lead the team to a commanding 30 point win. They were backed up by Eli Torrez, Leo Steinberg, Ethan Chu, and Zidan Bowden – all of whom ran really well according to Coach Sutphin and Coach Gabe. Their times compared favorably to their time trial times and suggest this group may one day run themselves into the school history books.

 

 “I thought we had a solid season opener today,” remarked Coach Gabe afterwards. “I remember running at this meet in high school.  The course is not easy and the competition is really good. I was happy with how our group did not back down from the challenge and instead competed intensely. I think it’s a good start to the season.”

The Panthers will get another major test next when they travel to Southern California for the Woodbridge Invitational, widely regarded as one of the most competitive high school cross country meets in the country.

Saint Mary’s will then return home to open TCAL competition on September 24 at Point Pinole Regional Park.

A Fast Start: Nine Panthers Earn Spots on Panthers All-Time Time Trial List

September 8th, 2026

BERKELEY, CA — If Tuesday’s annual Tilden Park time trial is any indication, the Saint Mary’s cross country team may have something special brewing in 2026.

Nine Panthers ran their way onto the program’s prestigious all-time top-10 lists during the annual 2.0-mile race on Tilden Park’s rolling hills, providing an impressive early snapshot of a group that hopes to contend at the TCAL, North Coast Section (NCS) and State Championship levels this fall.

~ Click Here To See All The Photos From The Time Trial ~

Now in its 28th consecutive year, the Saint Mary’s time trial is hardly an ordinary preseason workout.  The event has developed a storied place in the Panthers’ program over the years, featuring runners who have gone on to become North Coast Section and California State Champions, collegiate standouts and NCAA All-Americans.  It’s quite an understatement then to say that breaking into the program’s all-time top 10 is a significant accomplishment.

On Tuesday, NINE Panther runners accomplished the feat! Leading the Panthers was senior Djali de Chalus, who continued his assault on the Saint Mary’s record book with a spectacular 9:53. The time moved Djali into third place all-time on the program’s storied time trial list.

 

Fellow senior Paula Devine – running in not only her first time trial but her FIRST high school cross country race ever - immediately made history. She broke the vaunted 12-minute barrier, crossing the line in 11:54, making her the 2nd fastest senior girl in school history and the 5th fastest lady Panther to ever compete.

The Panthers’ junior class also made an early statement. Kai Sullivan ran 10:20, good for the 6th fastest junior performance in school history. Meanwhile, Caty Ruppert delivered quite an improvement from the #4 sophomore time she ran a year ago.  Caty finished in 12:08, nearly :25 seconds faster than her time in 2025 – and now ranks 6th all-time among Saint Mary’s juniors and 7th all-time for all girls no matter the year in school!

Not to be outdone, the sophomore class was equally hungry and equally impressive. Nico Cadelago chopped nearly :45 seconds from his 2025 time, finishing in 10:31 and moving into a tie for the 3rd fastest sophomore performance in school history. Teammate Sam Kelly – brand new to the Panther program -  also made an immediate impact and etched his name into the record book. Sam ran 10:43 and is now the 7th fastest 10th grader in school history. 

Still, and perhaps the most encouraging development of the day, was the performance of the freshman boys.  Brothers Alex and Zach Wetter along with Avi Jain all cracked the program’s all-time list, giving the Panthers three of the fastest freshmen they’ve ever had.  Alex led the way with a #4 all-time 11:31, with Avi next at 11:46 (#7) and Zach at 11:50 (#9). These performances maybe an indication that the Panthers’ current success may have quite a long runway.

Finally, the 9 all-time performances were only part of the story. Many other Panthers turned in dramatic improvements while narrowly missing the program’s top 10.

Other notable performances came from:

•       Junior Scott St. Clair - who missed the top 10 all-time list by a scant :01 -  but improved his 2025 time by :24 seconds
•        Fellow junior Jessie Ruppert, whose 2025 times was 14:49 and who ran 13:25 on Tuesday!
•        Sophomore Nic Preas -  who ran the time trial course twice in 2025 and never broke 13:00 minutes.  In 2026, he ran 11:07!
•       Junior Lukas McAndrew-Kvaerno who improved his best time by 1:24 seconds
•       Junior Khalil Pearson - who narrowly missed the 11th grade all-time list - but still ran :30 seconds faster than he did in 2025.

Taken together, the performances point toward something that could become one of the Panthers biggest strengths this season: depth.

Veteran girls head coach Denis Mohun was encouraged by the team’s progress but knows the time trial is only the beginning.

“In all, I think our runners—and I know our coaches—are happy with how we’re progressing and how we competed today,” Mohun said. “We had some solid efforts and some that were just a bit off for whatever reason. We’ll keep working, and I’m confident that we’ll be where we need to be when we need to be there.”

For a program with championship aspirations, Tuesday provided an encouraging opening.  The time trial doesn't award championships but it may be… and hopefully is… an indicator of things to come.

The Panthers officially open the 2026 cross country season on Saturday at Hidden Valley Park in Martinez at the annual Ed Sias Invitational.