The 77th edition of the Mt. SAC XC Invitational welcomes thousands of individuals and hundreds of teams to the nation’s largest high school cross country invitational on Friday and Saturday in Walnut, Calif.

 

With postseason approaching, Mt. SAC provides one final tune-up before California’s top prep athletes gear up for championship season. This year’s CIF finals are Saturday Nov. 29 at the iconic Woodward Park, which has already hosted this year’s Clovis Invitational.

 

Friday’s competition begins with Division 3, 4 and 5 team and individual sweepstakes races, beginning at 4:44 pm PT.

 

 

Chiara Dailey of La Jolla CA looks to avenge a second-place finish from last year’s Division 3, 4 and 5 team sweepstakes race and go for a third Mt. SAC title in four years. Dailey, who won Mt. SAC titles as a freshman and sophomore, fell nine seconds shy of last year’s individual title as a junior to Abigail Errington, who led South Pasadena CA to the team title by a single point over Cathedral Catholic CA.

 

In two of the three “Big Meets” in California this season, Dailey finished second at Woodbridge and fourth at Clovis. Dailey’s only wins this season have come at a pair of league meets.

 

Isabella Wroblewski of Yorba Linda, Taylor Biggambler of Flagstaff AZ and Isabel Gladden of Sage Creek CA are among other top individuals in the field.

 

Sage Creek and San Francisco University CA are the two teams expected to challenge for the team title.

 

Olly O’Connor of Viewpoint CA, winner of the Friday championship at Clovis, takes on his biggest challenge of the season in Flagstaff’s Yohanes Van Meerten in the boys team sweepstakes race.

 

Van Meerten returns to racing nearly a month since his second-place run at the Desert Twilight in Mesa, Ariz., on Sept. 26, clocking an incredibly fast 14 minutes, 25.7 seconds over the 5-kilometer distance. Trey Caldwell’s course record of time of 14:46, which was run on the revamped course, will be in jeopardy on the first day.

 

O’Connor, second in last year’s Division 3, 4 and 5 team sweepstakes race, will not only face the challenge of Van Meerten, but also Blake Sigworth of Palos Verdes CA, Emmanuel Lopez of Servite CA and Nathan Wilbur of Cathedral Catholic CA. O’Connor also will look to lead Viewpoint to the team title a year after finishing eighth. West Torrance CA and West Ranch CA, third and 10th last year, respectively, are among other team contenders.

 

Ayanna Hickey of The Bishop’s School CA is the returning champion in the girls Division 3, 4 and 5 individual sweepstakes race. The senior won last year’s title in 17:56, out-leaning Gabriella Peters at the line for the win.

 

Hickey, a Foot Locker Cross Country Championships finalist last fall, will face a field of competitors with other notable accomplishments such as her own: Defending California Division 5 state champion Amelia Sarkisian of Brentwood CA, ASICS Cool Breeze champion Isabella Ramos of Point Loma CA and Sundevil Invitational champion Ari Llorens of Francis Parker CA.

 

The boys Division 3, 4 and 5 individual sweepstakes race is headlined by Kim Duyst Invitational champion Andres Lomeli of Kimball CA, Toren Habbestad of Yorba Linda CA and Maury Young of Ocean View CA.

 

Saturday’s sweepstakes race begin in the morning, starting at 8:41 am PT with the boys Division 1 and 2 individual sweepstakes.

 

Jace Deledonne of Poly (Riverside) CA, this year’s winner of the Sundown Showcase the ASICS Cool Breeze Invitational, returns to Mt. SAC two years after finishing 10th in the 2023 Division 1 and 2 individual sweepstakes race.

 

Evan Nahuat of Valley View CA, third in last year’s Division 1 and 2 individual sweepstakes, is the top returner. Dean Odom of San Marcos CA, Michael Ortega of Ontario CA and Albert Jacinto of Chaffey CA are others to watch in the field.

 

Santiago (Corona) CA standout Braelyn Combe, winner of last year’s girls Division 1 and 2 team sweepstakes race, is slated to race in this year’s Division 1 and 2 individual sweepstakes. The Arkansas commit won last year’s team sweepstakes race in 17:20, finishing 37 seconds ahead of the field.

 

Combe finished seventh at Woodbridge and third at Clovis. Her only wins this fall were at PR City and Fleet Feet Inland Empire Challenge.

 

The only top 25 team match-up of the entire weekend features No. 22 Beckman CA and No. 23 San Clemente CA in the boys Division 1 and 2 team sweepstakes race.

 

Beckman and San Clemente both scored 223 points at the Clovis Invitational two weekends ago. Beckman finished fourth on a sixth-runner tiebreaker and both teams averaged 15:37 on their scoring fives.

 

Beckman won last year’s Division 1 and 2 team sweepstakes with 103 points.

 

Yohan Anderson leads San Clemente and Mason Nguyen leads Beckman. Anderson finished eighth and Nguyen finished ninth at Clovis, separated by one second at the finish. Nguyen finished second and Anderson finished eighth in last year’s Division 1 and 2 team sweepstakes.

 

Nike Portland XC champions Mira Costa CA, eighth at Clovis, is also a factor in that race, along with Redondo Union CA and Crescenta Valley CA.

 

Jaxon Northcutt of Mt. Carmel CA, winner of Sundevil Invitational, Matteo Sanchez of Redondo Union, Sebastian Bell of Trabuco Hills CA, Thomas Barrera of La Serna CA and Cooper Castleberry of Poway CA are the featured individuals.

 

Olivia Campos, two weeks removed from a big win over Jaelyn Williams of Eastlake CA at the Sundevil Invitational, leads Mt. Carmel in the girls Division 1 and 2 team sweepstakes race.

 

Millie Bayles of Trabuco Hills, fifth at Clovis, beat Campos at Woodbridge earlier this year by two spots. Trabuco Hills will also have Skylar Watts and Anna Desormeau on the start line on Saturday.