Los Gatos High School track and field coach Danny “Doc” Colton remembers the moment as if it happened yesterday.
It was June 2025, the second day of the CIF State Championships, and Colton was in the stands when then-junior Kaylee Cross struck up a conversation.
“She came up to me and asked what she needed to do (to become elite),” Colton said. “Humbly, she sat down next to me, and I broke down and analyzed how runners run the 400. I told her if you work on the basics and mechanics in preseason, that’s the key. She says, ‘Coach, thank you.’ She started working on speed, form, lifting, and that’s the phenomenal turnaround story. She started working with coach (Andre) Chapman for two to three days a week for like six months, and it just changed.”
Did it ever.
Cross enters the upcoming Stanford Invitational—arguably the top midseason meet in the state—ranked No. 1 in the Central Coast Section in the 200 meters (24.56 seconds), 400 meters (55.35) and No. 3 in the 100-meter dash (11.93). She’s one of several Los Gatos athletes who have shined this season. That list includes junior Madison Kohli, who has the second fastest time in the 400 (55.96) and fourth fastest in the 200 (24.84) among CCS runners.
The Wildcats girls 4×100 relay team of Cross, Kohli, Sofia Akhiyarova and Bridget Moore has the third fastest time in 48.46. Moore is one of the most versatile athletes on the team, ranking No. 6 in the 300 hurdles (45.95) while also being able to contribute in the field events such as the high jump. The 4×800 relay team of Kaley Do, Ella Crites, Kiley Horwitz and Elise Greenstreet had a huge breakthrough in the Dublin Distance Fiesta on March 20, finishing in 9 minutes, 25.42 seconds.
The time ranks No. 3 in the CCS, No. 6 in the state and is the second fastest in school history. Similar to Cross, the boys team has an athlete who has exploded onto the scene. Sophomore Charles Fugit ranks No. 1 in the discus with a throw of 173 feet, 4 inches, and No. 7 in the shot put at 51 feet. Teammate Garrett Bertsch is No. 6 in the shot put with a mark of 51-11.
The boys 4×400 relay team of Hayden Benjamin, Han Tang, Ben Booysen and Kai Jordan ranks No. 1 in 3:22.36. Jordan also has the section’s sixth fastest time in the open 400 (49.50). Colton expects a couple of the other boys relay teams to break into the rankings soon. After the completion of a recent Friday practice, Colton pointed out that Cross, Kohli and Fugit all stayed behind to get extra reps in.
“The top three you’re talking about is at the track,” he said. “They’re on a different level at this point.”
Cross and Fugit’s ascent has been nothing short of meteroic—and that would be considered an understatement. As a freshman last year, Fugit’s best throw in the discus (163-1) came in the CCS Semifinals. The fact that Fugit is throwing the discus 10 feet farther than he did a year ago speaks volumes to his talent and work ethic.
“Charlie is a true multi-event athlete,” Colton said. “He’s a decathlete, easy. He does pole vaulting, long jumping, and he’s training with other decathletes on his off days from here.”
Colton recalls a crucial time period last year when Fugit chose to stay home and practice instead of taking a spring break trip as many students are accustomed to doing. From that moment on, according to Colton, Fugit started to surpass many of his fellow competitors. Colton likens Fugit’s work ethic to Wil Brennan and Levi Romero, who finished seventh- and eighth, respectively, in the 400 meters in the 2023 State Championships.
They also were a part of the record-setting 4×400 relay team that finished second in the State to national power Long Beach Poly.
“Wil and Levi, they pulled the rest of the team up,” Colton said. “Those guys would just work and work. One time Wil was working out and threw up, and he says, ‘OK coach, I want some more. I’ll see you tomorrow.’ You just don’t see that with athletes like that anymore. I think Charlie is like that and Kaylee and Maddie are like that, too. They’re all humble, very coachable and are chomping at the bit to compete at Stanford.”
Cross’ rise has been so spectacular that it’s even left Colton speechless at times. Cross started her junior season on the JV squad—which is customary for first-year competitors. However, it didn’t take long to see that Cross was born to be a sprinter. With about a month remaining in the season, Cross was running fast enough to get pulled up to the varsity team.
She then won the final spot on the 4×400 relay team that advanced to the State Meet.
“Kaylee came out early last season new to the sport and was just kind of there,” Colton said. “Then all of a sudden late in the season she started picking up speed, power; and we’re like, wait a minute, who’s this coming up from the JV to the varsity? It was crazy, a shocker.”
From last year to this season, Cross has improved by over half a second in the 100, a second in the 200 and three seconds in the 400. Anyone with a whiff of knowledge in the sport knows those are dramatic improvements in the sprint events. And the scary thing is, Cross is only getting faster.
“She still hasn’t hit her peak yet,” Colton said. “One reason why she’s gotten to this point is she is a student of the sport. She’s a student in learning about leg turnover, pushing out on the start, using her arms, doing all these fundamental things that are so important to improvement. Maddie is the same way.”
Kohli is following up a breakout sophomore season with a stellar junior campaign. She’s been steadily lowering her times and is close to matching her personal-bests in the 200 and 400. Cross and Kohli currently rank 1-2 in the 400.
“Maddie is going to keep dropping times and she and Kaylee are pushing each other,” Colton said. “When you have one of the fastest people as your training partner, you’re only going to get faster. They’re pushing each other to new limits and we anticipate them obviously advancing in CCS, but we truly anticipate them advancing to day two of State. Getting to State and being a finalist there is the end game.”
