On Sept. 28, the Jesuit High School Sacramento cross country team traveled to Portland, Oregon for the Nike Portland XC invitational meet. The Marauders dominated, beating the second-place team by 55 points.

The competition marked the continuation of an already successful season for the Marauders, who had taken first place at all of their meets so far this season. The difference in Portland  was that Jesuit wasn’t just competing against local teams, but dominating competition from all over the west.

Mathew Ogilvie ’27, a key contributor to the win, finished third on the team. He cited the high level of competition as a huge factor in the Jesuit’s success. 

“It was challenging, exciting and exhilarating.” Mathew said. “We were all excited to race [the other teams] and excited to win.”

Though running is an individual activity, it takes a team to achieve the success that the Jesuit cross country team has accrued this season. At Portland, six of seven Jesuit runners finished their 5K in under 16 minutes. 

“Everyone gave 110%,” Matthew said. “It was a great team effort.”

One new experience the Marauders encountered playing out of state was wearing spikes. In California, cross country athletes are not allowed to wear spikes when they compete; however, competing in Oregon gave Jesuit the opportunity to compete in them. 

Drake Hoferer ’26 thought this new experience was a great moment for the team.

“We got to wear spikes and that was something we never experienced here,” Drake said, “It was fun to run in them.” 

The addition of a new variable certainly didn’t give the Marauders any trouble in their quest for dominance. The team was confident in their ability to win because they trusted their teammates to show out.

“The moment when we finished and they pulled up the results, we all knew we did our job,” Drake said. “That’s the moment where we all knew we put our pieces together and we did what we came there to do.”

As the team enjoys their hard-fought win in Oregon, they hope to carry their momentum into their next event, the 45th annual Clovis Invitational meet on Saturday, Oct. 12. This meet carries with it even better competition, as well as an opportunity for the Marauders to rise up and establish themselves as one of the best teams in the state.