MXC | Men’s Cross Country Set to Open 2026 Season at USF Invitational

Friday, September 4

Golden Gate Park/San Francisco, CA

2:30 PM

Saint Mary's College of California

USF Invitational

Jackson Woolf (242) paced the Gaels at the USF Invitational a year ago

Photo by: Kellen Steplight/SMC Athletics

MXC | Men’s Cross Country Set to Open 2026 Season at USF Invitational

9/2/2026 10:18:00 AM | Men's Cross Country

MORAGA, Calif. — The Saint Mary's men's cross country team is getting its season underway on Friday, September 4 at the USF Invitational at Golden Gate Park.

The Gaels put together a historic 2025 campaign, highlighted by one of the program's strongest performances at the West Coast Conference Championships. Saint Mary's finished fourth out of ten teams, which matches the second-best finish in program history and marks its best WCC Championship result in 25 years. Senior Divan Du Plooy led the way for the Gaels throughout the season, as he earned First Team All-WCC honors after finishing ninth overall at the WCC Championships. He became the first Saint Mary's men's cross country runner to earn the recognition since 2016. While several of the Gaels' top finishers from last season have since graduated, Saint Mary's returns a young group of runners who gained valuable experience in 2025 and will look to continue their development this season. The Gaels also welcome a group of transfers, headlined by Dennis Cheruiyot, Damian Frausto, and Joseph O'Connell, all three of whom were named to the Preseason All-WCC Team. With a promising group of returners and the addition of transfers, Saint Mary's was picked to finish third in the WCC Preseason Poll, as the Gaels look to build on last season's historic performance.

Saint Mary's will send a large group of 19 runners to Golden Gate Park for the season-opening USF Invitational. The Gaels will be represented by freshmen Noah Barthel, Matteo Byrd, Josh Sonoda, and Shane Sparks; sophomores Luke Davis, Emmanuel Moes, Jacob Schuetze, Anthony Sharp, Nick Shoemaker, and Jackson Woolf; juniors Connor McGhee, Luis Muradas, Andrew Perez, and Alan Solari; along with seniors Christopher Chavez, Joel Fischer, Ethan Gray, Moss Michelsen, and Diego Urdiales. Six Gaels will make their Saint Mary's debuts in Friday's season opener.

The Golden Gate Park Cross Country Course is a mostly flat 2000m loop composed of grass and dirt. The course will feature a slight alteration from previous years due to an event taking place at Golden Gate Park. Perez, Michelsen, Davis, Sharp, Woolf, Shoemaker, and Schuetze all competed in the USF Invitational last season, with Woolf pacing the Gaels and Perez finishing just two places behind him.

Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.

#GaelsRise