Colette Heffernan, a seventh grader, ran 10:10.8 at FLYRA state, the fastest girls' time of the weekend, and is our 2026 middle school Runner of the Year. Brianna Motycka, Charlotte Roy, Alice Ilea, Taylor Geraghty, Amelia Flood and Madelen Finch fill out the All-Florida team.
Colette Heffernan won five of the six races she finished this fall. The one she lost, at New World, she lost to the second girl on this team. Then she went to FLYRA state on October 31 and ran 10:10.8, 15 seconds faster than any other girl ran all weekend. She is a seventh grader.
That is our 2026 middle school Runner of the Year. The six girls with her are the best middle school runners in Florida this fall, from public schools, private schools and clubs, and two of them never ran a middle school race. Three come from one club. We will most likely get one or two wrong, and we would rather hear about it than not.
| Runner | Team | Grade | Season best 3K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROY | Colette Heffernan | No Excuses RC | 7th | 10:10.8 |
| Brianna Motycka | Liberty Pines Academy | 8th | 10:26.0 | |
| Charlotte Roy | All Saints' 1A | 8th | 18:00 (5k) | |
| Alice Ilea | Tavares MS | 8th | 10:35.1 | |
| Taylor Geraghty | Holy Trinity 1A | 8th | 18:28 (5k) | |
| Amelia Flood | No Excuses RC | 8th | 10:44.7 | |
| Madelen Finch | No Excuses RC | 7th | 10:54.4 |
Runner of the Year: Colette Heffernan
No Excuses RC · 7th grade
She opened at Cecil Field in August with a win, then won the Horse Park on September 5 in 10:17.8, 18 seconds clear of a 169-girl field. She won Bale N Trail in 10:22.9 and JAC in 10:37.1, by 44 seconds.
Her one loss came at New World on October 17, second to Brianna Motycka by seven seconds. Two weeks later she won the club race at state in 10:10.8, 34 seconds ahead of her teammate Amelia Flood. No Excuses won the team title with 27 points.
Motycka beat her the one time they met, and that is a fair case for Motycka. Heffernan gets it on the whole fall: five wins, the fastest time at state, and a year younger. Last year, as a sixth grader for Landrum, she was third in the public school race at state.
Brianna Motycka
Liberty Pines Academy · 8th grade
The only girl to beat Heffernan this fall. Motycka won Nights of Thunder and flrunners ahead of Alice Ilea, then won the middle school race at New World in 10:28.0, seven seconds ahead of Heffernan.
At state she won the public school race in 10:26.0, nine seconds clear of Ilea, the second-fastest girls' time of the meet. That is four wins in four tries over Ilea. She won the club race at state last year for No Excuses.
Charlotte Roy
All Saints' 1A · 8th grade
Roy has raced all fall on the All Saints' varsity in Winter Haven and has never run a middle school 3K, so she has not met the girls above or below her. Her times put her here anyway.
She was second at Kowboy in 19:14.4 and third at St. Cloud in 18:28.5, then ran 18:00 in the girls' Elite race at New World, the fastest 5k by a Florida middle schooler this fall. She won the Polk County championship in 18:39.3 and, on Wednesday, 1A District 5 in 18:17.8. Her season is not over.
Alice Ilea
Tavares MS · 8th grade
Last year's public school state champion. Ilea has won 13 of 18 races this fall, including the Red Sea Central Florida championship and the Lake County championship, and the only girls to beat her are Heffernan and Motycka.
She was second to Heffernan at the Horse Park, second to Motycka at Nights of Thunder, flrunners and state, and third at New World. Her 10:35.1 at state led Tavares to its sixth straight public school girls' title, with 27 points.
Taylor Geraghty
Holy Trinity 1A · 8th grade
Another eighth grader who has only raced high school 5ks, for Holy Trinity in Melbourne. She was fifth at Astronaut, won the 1A-2A race at Spanish River in 18:50.7, and was second in the Blue Invitational at Great American in 18:34.3.
At New World she ran 18:28, 28 seconds behind Roy, which is why Roy sits above her. She won 1A District 4 on Wednesday.
Amelia Flood
No Excuses RC · 8th grade
Flood has spent the fall right behind Heffernan. She was second to her at Cecil Field and Bale N Trail, then won Eagles on the River on October 13 in 11:05.0 and the North Florida championship on October 24.
At state she was second in the club race in 10:44.7, the fourth-fastest girls' time of the weekend behind Heffernan, Motycka and Ilea. She was also fourth at New World, one place ahead of Madelen Finch.
Madelen Finch
No Excuses RC · 7th grade
The third No Excuses girl and the second seventh grader. Finch beat Flood at JAC and was second to her at Eagles on the River, New World and the North Florida championship.
At state she was third in the club race in 10:54.4. Only four girls ran faster all weekend. She takes the last spot over Esther Dobbin, who was seventh on our week 9 list, because Finch's fall ended faster.
Honorable mention
Emily Del Mazo (WIND Runners), fourth in the club race at state in 10:56.5. Sophia Underwood (Liza Jackson Prep, 7th), who won the charter school race in 10:58.8 for her second straight state title. Camila Boucher (Boca Warriors), fifth in the club race in 10:59.7. Esther Dobbin (Cocoa Beach 2A, 8th), 19:02.1 at the Cape Coast conference meet. Zoie Hart (Emerald Coast MS), third in the public school race. Valentina Sarcos (Alpha Omega Elite), the private school champion.
Most of these girls are eighth graders, so next fall they will be racing high school 5ks. Heffernan and Finch get one more year of middle school. Roy and Geraghty are still racing this month. We will follow all of them on our Florida XC data pages. The full weekend is in our state meet recap.
How we picked
- Grades 6 through 8 only, from any school or club. Middle schoolers who raced only high school varsity 5ks count, the same as on our weekly lists.
- We started from our week 9 middle school list and moved runners only where FLYRA state settled something: a head-to-head, or a common course on the same day.
- Times are what the runner actually ran. Fall 2026 races only.
- The Runner of the Year is a judgment call on the whole fall, not just one race. Every result is in our Florida XC results database.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the 2026 Florida middle school girls cross country Runner of the Year? expand_more
Colette Heffernan of No Excuses RC, a seventh grader. She won five of the six races she finished in fall 2026, including the Florida Horse Park Invitational, Bale N Trail, JAC and the FLYRA state club race in 10:10.8, the fastest girls' time of the state meet.
Who made the 2026 All-Florida middle school girls cross country team? expand_more
Colette Heffernan (No Excuses RC), Brianna Motycka (Liberty Pines Academy), Charlotte Roy (All Saints'), Alice Ilea (Tavares Middle School), Taylor Geraghty (Holy Trinity), Amelia Flood (No Excuses RC) and Madelen Finch (No Excuses RC).
Can middle schoolers who race high school varsity make the All-Florida middle school team? expand_more
Yes. Florida private schools often race sixth, seventh and eighth graders on their high school varsity. Charlotte Roy of All Saints' and Taylor Geraghty of Holy Trinity raced only varsity 5ks in 2026 and made the team on those times.