FOLSOM, Calif. – Seniors Grace Dunham and Ryann Strawn each earned individual medals while leading St. Francis to the Division III girls' title at the Sac-Joaquin Section cross country championships, held at Willow Hill Reservoir Saturday. This marks the 14th overall section banner for the Troubadours, and the first since the program won the D-II title for four straight years from 2016-19.

St. Francis totaled 58 points to edge runner-up Placer by three. Del Oro finished third with 77, with Vista Del Lago (126), Oakdale (153) and Elk Grove (162) next in line among the 10-team Div. III field.

Individually, the UC Davis-bound Dunham placed fifth with a time of 19 minutes, 17.8 seconds; with Strawn not far behind in sixth at 19:29.0. However, perhaps the most impression finish was that of freshman Sunny Schranz, who lost her left shoe near the midway point in the race. She gutted out the last mile-plus, still managing to finish 11th overall (20:09.5). Seniors Pamela Vargas and Emma Dobson respectively took 24th (21:03.8) and 26th (21:09.7), with Kayla Towne and Amelia Bell displacing in 31st (21:33.4) and 40th (21:59.8).

With only a three-point margin of victory, every individual finish makes a difference in the final team standings, especially with the Hillmen claiming the top two individual places. Anna Soares won by seven-second margin ahead of teammate Olivia Passafiume, 19:02.1 to 19:09.3. Placer also had two more runners among the top 15 scorers, but its fifth-place runner finished 39th overall and 31st among scorers.

Earlier in the day, the Troubies won the frosh-soph title, with freshmen Ava Tompkins (13:59.3) and Mia Hollar (14:25.4) crossing more than 16 seconds ahead of any other runner. Lucia Hash placed fifth (14:34.9) and Kalaya Moore went seventh (15:01.3) for two more individual medals. Jamisen Black was the No. 5 SF finishers in 15th (15:55.0) with Chloe Harrison right behind (15:58.9). MacKenzie Olmstead shut the door in 21st place overall (16:42.9), as the Troubies piled up a dominating 22 points – 33 ahead of Elk Grove and 58 in front of Lathrop.

The SF jayvees finished second in the combined race with all five divisions at 59 points, trailing only Whitney's 25. Mykaela Le was sixth overall and tops among D-III runners at 22:40.1. Lucie Pickering Pick, Ashlyn Smith and Ashley Sexauer crossed in succession from 12th through 14th with Chloe' Hickey rounding out the team points in 18th. Zoe Smith and Olivia Charles had the displacing finishes of 32nd and 63rd.

St. Francis owns a stellar history at the section championship, with 14 total wins and nine runner-up finishes. Saturday's meet marked the seventh Division III banner. Overall, the Troubies have two titles at D-I (2011, 2012), five at D-II (1989, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) and now seven at D-III (1990, 1991, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2023).

The top three D-III teams from the Sac-Joaquin Section meet earn spots in the CIF State Championship, held at Fresno's Woodward Park on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 25. Links for tickets and live results will be available on GoTroubies.com as the meet approaches. St. Francis won its only state title at the D-III level back in 2002, scoring 78 points to finish ahead of Campolindo (96), Placer (192), St. Joseph of Lakewood (201) and University City (205).

2023 SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Willow Hill Reservoir (Folsom, Calif.)
Events with SF entrants only • Winner plus SF finishers listed

GIRLS' DIV. III FROSH-SOPH TEAM SCORES - 1. St. Francis, 22; 2. Elk Grove, 55; 3. Lathrop, 80; 4. Sierra, 82; 5. Los Banos, 118.

GIRLS' DIV. III FROSH-SOPH INDIVIDUALS - 1. Ava Tompkins, St. Francis, 13:59.3... 2. Mia Hollar, 14:08.8; 3. Lucia Hash, 14:34.9; 5. Kalaya Moore, 15:01.3; 15. Jamisen Black, 15:55.0; 16. Chloe Harrison, 15:58.9; 21. MacKenzie Olmstead, 16:42.9.

GIRLS' DIV. III VARSITY TEAM SCORES - 1. St. Francis, 58; 2. Placer, 61; 3. Del Oro, 77; 4. Vista Del Lago, 126; 5. Oakdale, 153; 6. Elk Grove, 162; 7. Sierra, 192; 8. Roseville, 192; 9. Ponderosa, 203; 10. Tracy, 205.

GIRLS' DIV. III VARSITY INDIVIDUALS - 1. Anna Soares, Placer, 19:02.1... 5. Grace Dunham, 19:17.8; 6. Ryann Strawn, 19:29.0; 11. Sunny Schranz, 20:09.5; 24. Pamela Vargas, 21:03.8; 26. Emma Dobson, 21:09.7; 31. Kayla Towne, 21:33.4; 40. Amelia Bell, 21:59.8.

GIRLS' DIV. III JV TEAM SCORES - 1. Whitney, 25; 2. St. Francis, 59; 3. Pleasant Grove, 85; 4. Davis, 92; 5. Franklin, 94; 6. Bella Vista, 149; 7. Atwater, 171; 8. Hilmar, 198; 9. Roseville, 280.

GIRLS' DIV. III JV INDIVIDUALS - 1. Sophie Bowen, Whitney, 21:12.9... 6. Mykaela Le, 22:40.1; 12. Lucie Pickering Pick, 23:02.9; 13. Ashlyn Smith, 23:16.7; 14. Ashley Sexauer, 23:24.4; 18. Chloe' Hickey, 23:42.9; 32. Zoe Smith, 24:36.2; 63. Olivia Charles, 27:06.5.