Will Moss finally raced, ran 16:00 for eighth at the Horse Park, and is second, three seconds behind Noah Carpenter of Nature Coast on a run that is eight days older. Gulliver Prep opened with three boys inside the class top fifteen, and two projections hold the last two places.
Florida Class 2A boys cross country through three weeks: August 21-September 5, 2026
The 2A state champion finally raced. Will Moss opened at the Florida Horse Park on Saturday and ran 16:00.2 for eighth, behind seven boys from bigger classes and ahead of every 2A runner in a 549-man field. That is a solid first race and it is not the 15:35 he won state with, and a returner who has raced is ranked on what he ran. Noah Carpenter of Nature Coast, who has not raced since Whispering Pines, holds first by three seconds on a run that is now eight days older than Moss's. That argument gets settled the first time they share a start line.
Starting this week a runner is ranked on his whole season, with the most recent race counting most, and a race he wins never counts against him. As always, this is data plus judgment, and we will miss somebody along the way. A (P) next to a name means that runner has not opened yet and we are going on last November. How we sorted everybody out is at the bottom. Races are not won until the kids have run. Enjoy.
The statewide lists: Week 3 boys top 10 and Week 3 girls top 10. The week 2 edition of this list is here, and the week 2 2A boys team rankings are here. The other classes this week: 2A girls, 1A boys, 3A boys and 4A boys.
1. Noah Carpenter, Nature Coast, Sr.
Fourth at the Whispering Pines Invitational on August 29 in 16:16.8, on a course that runs slow, worth about 16:03 on neutral ground and still the best figure in the class. He did not race in week three, and the gap to Moss is three seconds. He has no 2025 state result on record, which means the number is the whole case. It is a good number.
2. Will Moss, Montverde Academy, Sr.
The defending 2A champion at 15:35.3 opened at the Horse Park with 16:00.2, eighth in the deepest field of the season and the first 2A boy across the line. On neutral ground that is what it says it is, a 16:05 run, 30 seconds off his state mark. Two weeks on his credential, now one week on a result. He is one good race from the top of this list and probably the state top ten.
3. Frederick Gunther, Pensacola Catholic, So.
Three races, all in the panhandle: 16:57.2 at Pine Forest on opening weekend, 16:32.1 for third at the Eagle Invitational a week later, and 16:50.1 for fifth at the Pace Patriot Invitational on Saturday, on a slow course. The season figure is 16:12. A sophomore who was 56th in 2A at state in 17:21.8 is now third in the class.
4. Aidan Alam, McKeel, So.
Fifth in 2A at state in 16:17.8, the second-fastest returning mark in the class, and 16:46.8 at the Lake Region Invitational on August 29, worth about 16:13 on that course's rating. He has not raced since.
5. Brantley Rigdon, Bolles, Jr.
16:04.0 at Cecil Field on opening night and 16:12.6 for 16th at the Horse Park, the two fairest courses on the calendar, eight seconds apart. Bolles's No. 1 and the anchor of the team we still rank first in 2A.
6. Kayaan Ghaffar, Gulliver Prep, Jr.
Opened at the Horse Park and ran 16:10.5 for 14th out of 549, the fastest raw time by a 2A boy this season after Rigdon's Cecil Field opener. He was 166th in 2A at state in 18:52.5. That is a two-and-a-half minute jump in ten months, one race, and he is sixth on it.
7. Cal Howard, McKeel, Jr.
16:56.5 at Lake Region behind teammate Alam, worth about 16:23 leveled. 34th in 2A at state in 16:55.4, so the summer went well. Not raced since.
8. Aidan Chandler, Bolles, Sr.
16:28.0 at Cecil Field and 16:18.5 for 20th at the Horse Park, ten seconds better the second time. Bolles's second man, and the head-to-head with the two projections below him is why he is eighth rather than tenth: he has raced twice and they have not raced at all.
9. Logan Haley, Suwannee, Jr.: (P)
11th in 2A at state in 16:24.4, and no result yet. Ten Suwannee boys raced in August without him. He holds ninth on November, and the boys around him have raced.
10. Aaron Ches, Episcopal, Jr.: (P)
12th in 2A at state in 16:26.1, and still unraced. Episcopal ran the Horse Park without him on Saturday. Same sentence as Haley: he is here on a credential, and the credential is aging.
Just missed
Michael Gomez (FAU, Sr.) is the first man out and the closest call: sixth in 2A at state in 16:18.6, third at the Pine Crest meet in 16:22.8 on August 28, worth about 16:30 leveled. He sits three seconds behind Ches, and unlike Ches he has raced. Luke Engels (Eastside, Sr.) ran 16:33.0 at Cecil Field. Adrian Iziliaev (Gulliver Prep, Sr.), tenth in 2A at state, ran 16:28.3 at the Horse Park behind Ghaffar. Emilio Perez-Garcia (Gulliver Prep) was a step behind him in 16:36.6, and Gulliver, which had not raced at all until Saturday, now has three boys inside the class top fifteen.
Ryder Dempsey of Geneva Classical Academy, at 16:30.3 leveled, competes as an FHSAA Independent and belongs to no class.
How we ranked them
- Courses do not all run the same speed, so we do not compare raw times. Cecil Field is the yardstick; for other meets we use runners who raced both that course and last year's state meet to work out what a time was worth.
- A runner is ranked on his whole season, weighted toward the most recent race: this week counts three times, last week twice, opening weekend once. A race he won is never allowed to lower that figure.
- Runners who have not opened are ranked on last November and marked (P). A raced runner within a couple of seconds of a projection is ranked ahead of it.
- Whispering Pines has some give in its rating; read it cautiously and Carpenter and Moss swap.
- Grades and classes are 2026-27, resolved against the FHSAA classification documents.
The complete week 3 statewide lists and the team rankings are linked above, and every result behind this page is in the rankings section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the No. 1 ranked Class 2A boys cross country runner in Florida? expand_more
Noah Carpenter of Nature Coast, on his 16:16.8 for fourth at the Whispering Pines Invitational on August 29, worth about 16:03 on neutral ground. Will Moss of Montverde Academy, the defending 2A champion, is three seconds behind him after opening with 16:00.2 at the Florida Horse Park.
Why is Will Moss, the 2A state champion, ranked second? expand_more
A returner who has raced is ranked on what he ran. His 16:00.2 for eighth at the Horse Park is a good first race and about 30 seconds off his 15:35.3 state mark, and Carpenter's season figure is three seconds better.
How are the Class 2A boys rankings calculated? expand_more
A runner is ranked on his whole season, with his best course-leveled mark from each week averaged and the most recent week weighted highest: this week counts three times, last week twice, opening weekend once. A race he wins is never allowed to lower that figure. Times are leveled to Cecil Field using athletes who ran both the course in question and the 2025 FHSAA state meet.