As Jesuit High School Sacramento’s fall sports kickoff, its cross country program, headed by legendary Head Cross Country Coach Walt Lange, looks stronger than ever. 

After Saturday, Aug. 17’s intrasquad race, “The meeting of the Marauders,” Assistant Cross Country Coach Thomas Witzgall ’98 is confident that the team will excel this season.

“As a team, I think we’re probably one of the best teams Jesuit’s ever had,” Coach Witzgall said.

With one of the best up and coming programs in the nation, and boasting a depth most programs will never see, the varsity team is ready to rival that of any in America. Varsity runner Navin Kadel ‘25 who has ran for several years on the cross country and track team, shares Coach Witzgall’s sentiment about the team’s skill.

“Our team is really deep, especially in the mile,” Navin said, “I think our number 6 guy runs a 4:21 in the mile which is insane. I think it’s better than any other high school in the country right now.”

Jesuit cross country reaches the state meet just about every year. and while they performed well last season, with such an elite varsity squad this year, they’ve set their sights even higher.

“We are basically going to win division two state, that’s not really a question, but our main goal is to win the merge, which is basically all the divisions [in the state],” Navin said. “We have a pretty good shot at that and if we do that then we’re probably making it to NXN [Nike Cross Nationals],”

As Navin stated, one of the key components to the team’s confidence is the level of depth this season, which transcends that of the past decades. That depth could take the team very far. Coach Witzgall also notes the significance of a strong team further into the roster. 

“The depth is great, we have at least ten guys that are fighting for varsity spots and it’s an advantage to have that because there’s always some injuries and illnesses,” Coach Witzgall said, “Some years we’ve had only five guys and if one’s missing, we’re not as good. This year we could be missing one or two and it doesn’t affect us that much.”

Isaac Abbott ’26, one of the team’s top runners, provides a different perspective about the team’s depth. 

“It’s good to know that you have people behind you that are ready to step up,” Isaac said. “During practices we have plenty of people to run with and it just makes practice and the team culture a lot more fun,” Isaac said.