California Golden Bears Athletics
Friday, September 4
San Francisco, CA
2:30 PM PT
California
at
USF Invitational
Cal opens 2026 campaign at annual Golden Gate Park meet.
Photo by: Catharyn Hayne/KLC Fotos
Cal Squads Have Strong Outing At USF Invitational
9/4/2026 5:25 PM | Cross Country
Cal Men Take 3rd, Women Finish 4th
SAN FRANCISCO – For the second straight season, the California men's cross country team notched third place at the USF Invitational hosted at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on Friday afternoon, while the women's squad took fourth place as a team, highlighted by senior Sophie Tau's bronze-medal finish. It was the first competition under newly minted Associate Head Cross Country Coach Ryan Hill.
The men's squad was in lockstep as Kyle McNatt, Hayden Beauchemin and Kiefer Willcox finished in 12th, 13th and 14th place, respectively, in their collegiate debuts.
Senior Alexander Lodewick was not far behind, finishing the course in 18th and junior Zac Gibson rounded out the Bears' five racers in the top-30 with his finish in 26th.
On the women's side, senior Tau paced the Bears and stood atop the meet podium with her third-place finish with a final time of 20:32. Junior Fiona McGrath notched 13th place with fellow junior Sabine Kim just behind her in 19th overall.
Freshmen Adriana Ingargiola and Sophia Grant finished in 29th and 31st, respectively, in their collegiate debuts.
"It was a really good start for the team," Hill said. "We are still training hard with big goals toward the end of the season so today was just supposed to be a hard effort. It was a race environment so things got competitive, which was also good to see how we handle those situations. We have to keep improving and I'll do everything I can to help the team race cross country."
The complete list of results from the meet can be found here.
Next up for the Bears is the Saint Mary's Invitational on September 18.
RESULTS
Men's 8k
12. Kyle McNatt – 24:30.6
13. Hayden Beauchemin – 24:30.7
14. Kiefer Willcox – 24:33.0
18. Alexander Lodewick – 24:41.1
26. Zac Gibson – 24:52.5
49. Sam Franco – 25:21.8
61. Ernesto Jalomo – 25:40.9
63. Lamarr Kirk Jr. – 25:45.4
67. Cooper Downing – 25:48.7
69. Gabriel Rodriguez – 25:51.0
Women's 6k
3. Sophie Tau – 20:32.0
13. Fiona McGrath – 21:12.1
19. Sabine Kim – 21:26.6
31. Adriana Ingargiola – 21:53.4
35. Sophia Grant – 22:01.1
37. Addie Johnson – 22:05.4
68. Ava Kopec – 22:46.7
83. Chloe Leduc – 23:09.2
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal cross country, follow the Bears on X (@CalTFXC), Instagram (@caltfxc) and Facebook (/CalTFXC/)
The men's squad was in lockstep as Kyle McNatt, Hayden Beauchemin and Kiefer Willcox finished in 12th, 13th and 14th place, respectively, in their collegiate debuts.
Senior Alexander Lodewick was not far behind, finishing the course in 18th and junior Zac Gibson rounded out the Bears' five racers in the top-30 with his finish in 26th.
On the women's side, senior Tau paced the Bears and stood atop the meet podium with her third-place finish with a final time of 20:32. Junior Fiona McGrath notched 13th place with fellow junior Sabine Kim just behind her in 19th overall.
Freshmen Adriana Ingargiola and Sophia Grant finished in 29th and 31st, respectively, in their collegiate debuts.
"It was a really good start for the team," Hill said. "We are still training hard with big goals toward the end of the season so today was just supposed to be a hard effort. It was a race environment so things got competitive, which was also good to see how we handle those situations. We have to keep improving and I'll do everything I can to help the team race cross country."
The complete list of results from the meet can be found here.
Next up for the Bears is the Saint Mary's Invitational on September 18.
RESULTS
Men's 8k
12. Kyle McNatt – 24:30.6
13. Hayden Beauchemin – 24:30.7
14. Kiefer Willcox – 24:33.0
18. Alexander Lodewick – 24:41.1
26. Zac Gibson – 24:52.5
49. Sam Franco – 25:21.8
61. Ernesto Jalomo – 25:40.9
63. Lamarr Kirk Jr. – 25:45.4
67. Cooper Downing – 25:48.7
69. Gabriel Rodriguez – 25:51.0
Women's 6k
3. Sophie Tau – 20:32.0
13. Fiona McGrath – 21:12.1
19. Sabine Kim – 21:26.6
31. Adriana Ingargiola – 21:53.4
35. Sophia Grant – 22:01.1
37. Addie Johnson – 22:05.4
68. Ava Kopec – 22:46.7
83. Chloe Leduc – 23:09.2
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal cross country, follow the Bears on X (@CalTFXC), Instagram (@caltfxc) and Facebook (/CalTFXC/)
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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