The Branson cross-country teams concluded their historic season with a Division 5 state championship and Division 5 NCS championship for the girls. The boys team earned a spot at the state championship with a third-place finish in Division 5 NCS.
In the MCAL playoffs at the College of Marin Indian Valley campus, the girls team finished in second place with two Top 10 finishes from Audrey Spaly ‘25 and Farah Allen ‘27. The boys team placed fifth, led by a fourth-place finish from Jasper James ‘25.
The season was a successful one for the Bulls, marked with milestones such as a trip to the prestigious Mt. SAC Invitational in Walnut, California, in Orange County. The team did well, with both boys and girls winning their races in their respective heats.
Additionally, many members of the junior varsity teams medaled for finishing Top 15 in their races.
“It was really fun and exciting because the meet was so massive,” Luke Vilhauer ‘26 said. “Something like 14,000 high schoolers ran over the course of two days, and it was sponsored by companies like Gatorade and Nike. It was also just a great bonding experience with the team, getting to fly together and go on a team trip.”
Audrey Spaly was the winner of one of the varsity heats in Divisions 3,4 and 5 at the Mt. SAC Invitational. A determined and driven student-athlete, Spaly shined light on her experience with the Branson cross-country team at one of their tournaments. She talked about what it was like running for Branson at a big-time race like the Mt. SAC Invitational and how it felt to bring home a gold medal.
“Going into it, I had no expectations,” Spaly said. “I didn’t really know any of the competition so I didn’t know how I was going to do. Once the race started, though, I pushed up to the front and kept myself there through the finish line.”
Asked to identify one specific takeaway from the race, Spaly said, “Well, in this race it was all three Branson girls in the Top 3, which was super awesome since it was such a big success outside of myself. Watching the other girls win with me was a great experience and it definitely stuck with me.”
On her big win, Spaly exhaled before saying, “To be fully honest, it did make me realize the level of the race — even though it was a big deal to come across the finish line. They were filming me with music in the background and a big medal, which was a super fun experience that I don’t think I’ll ever get to have again. Even though the race may have been a lower-level race, the people at Mt. SAC made sure to make everyone in my race feel special and as though they were accomplishing something big — which we were!”
Spaly also had some insight to offer future Branson runners. “I would say 100 percent join,” she said. “The culture of the sport is so different than any other sport that I have played. It’s positive and fun and everyone is kind to each other. Your biggest competitor is yourself, which is really nice because it puts you in control of your own outcome.”
