Bolles ran the Manhattan Invitational in New York and Aidan Chandler comes in third in Class 2A, Kayaan Ghaffar was second at Snake Bite, and Noah Carpenter and Will Moss hold the top two.
Florida Class 2A boys cross country through eight weeks: August 21-October 10, 2026
The FSU Pre-State Invitational, the biggest meet of the fall, was canceled for Hurricane Isaias, so most of the state sat out the weekend. Nobody here is marked down for a race they could not run.
Bolles went to the Manhattan University Invitational in the Bronx and ran the Eastern States Championship, the top race of the meet. Aidan Chandler was the first Bolles runner home in 13:05.9 for 36th of 223, with Aaron Ches, Wyatt Cleek and Armaan Sharma next. The Manhattan course is 2.5 miles, so we convert those times to a 5K before we price the course. Chandler's run is the best of his season on that number, and he moves to third. Brantley Rigdon, third last week, finished 183rd in 14:51.3, behind six teammates, and a loss stands until they race again.
Kayaan Ghaffar of Gulliver Prep was second at the Snake Bite Invite in 15:33.8, a second behind Casey Sangely of 4A, and Michael Gomez of FAU was fifth. Adrian Iziliaev, fourth last week, was 24th there and drops out. Aidan Alam of McKeel won the All Saints' Invitational.
A runner is ranked on his whole season, with the most recent race counting most, and a race he won never counts against him. This is data plus judgment, and we will miss somebody along the way. How we sorted everybody out is at the bottom.
The statewide lists: week 8 boys top 10 and week 8 girls top 10. Last week's version of this list is here. The other class lists this week: 2A girls, 1A boys, 3A boys, 4A boys.
1. Noah Carpenter, Nature Coast, Sr.
Did not race. Won the Wild Bulldog Invitational on October 3 in 16:36.9 out of 149, 15 seconds clear. Won his own Nature Coast meet on September 19. He and Moss have not met this season.
2. Will Moss, Montverde Academy, Sr.
Did not race. Won the flrunners.com Race of Champions in Lakeland on October 3 in 16:02.3 out of 153, 12 seconds ahead of Liam Ilea. Second at Katie Caples on September 19 in 15:57.0.
3. Aidan Chandler, Bolles, Sr.
Thirty-sixth of 223 in the Eastern States Championship at Manhattan on Saturday in 13:05.9 for 2.5 miles (16:01 in our 5K terms), the first Bolles runner across, ahead of Ches, Cleek, Sharma and Rigdon. Fourth in the Bale-N-Trail Elite race on September 26 in 15:56.5. Up from seventh.
4. Kayaan Ghaffar, Gulliver Prep, Jr.
Second at the Snake Bite Invite on Saturday in 15:33.8 out of 148, one second behind Casey Sangely of Spanish River (4A), and ahead of Gomez and his teammate Iziliaev. Sixth in the Spanish River Race of Champions on September 18 in 15:55.7.
5. Aaron Ches, Bolles, Jr.
Forty-sixth at Manhattan on Saturday in 13:12.5 (16:10 in our 5K terms), the second Bolles runner in, ahead of Cleek, Sharma and Rigdon. Eighth at Bale-N-Trail on September 26 in 16:13.8. New to the ten: he beat two of the boys who were above him last week.
Gear
The spike a lot of the front of the Race of Champions wears.
The New Balance FuelCell XC7 v5 is built for what Florida courses are, grass and packed dirt with a few roots: a light FuelCell midsole so the last mile does not beat up your calves, and a spike plate that bites in the turns. Comes with removable pins.
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6. Frederick Gunther, Pensacola Catholic, So.
Did not race. Second at the Argonaut Invitational on September 26 in 16:34.7, behind Dominic Ferguson of 1A, and third at the Daphne Invitational in Alabama in 15:52.8.
7. Wyatt Cleek, Bolles, Jr.
Sixtieth at Manhattan on Saturday in 13:23.2 (16:23 in our 5K terms), ahead of Sharma and Rigdon. Eleventh at Bale-N-Trail on September 26 in 16:23.8. New to the ten.
8. Armaan Sharma, Bolles, So.
Seventy-first at Manhattan on Saturday in 13:32.2 (16:34 in our 5K terms), behind Chandler, Ches and Cleek and ahead of Rigdon. Seventh at Bale-N-Trail on September 26 in 16:09.1; 34th at the adidas championship in North Carolina on September 19 in 16:01.5.
9. Michael Gomez, FAU High, Sr.
Fifth at the Snake Bite Invite on Saturday in 15:41.6, behind Ghaffar and ahead of Iziliaev. Won the Spanish River 1A-2A race on September 18 in 16:13.3 out of 379.
10. Aidan Alam, McKeel, So.
Won the All Saints' Invitational in Winter Haven on Saturday in 16:27.5 out of 57, ahead of his teammate Cal Howard. Third at the Harmony Longhorn Invitational on October 3 in 16:19.3.
Just missed
Vincent Barragan (Bolles, Jr.) was 96th at Manhattan in 13:42.7. Brantley Rigdon (Bolles, Jr.) was 183rd there in 14:51.3, a long way off his form, behind six teammates, and stays below them until they race again. Luke Engels (Eastside, Sr.) was sixth at HMT in 17:41.2. Emilio Perez-Garcia (Gulliver Prep, Sr.) was eighth at Snake Bite in 16:07.3, ahead of Adrian Iziliaev (Gulliver Prep, Sr.), who was 24th in 16:53.9.
Up next
Most of the state's top teams race this weekend at the New World Fall Spectacular, October 16-17 at Cecil Field in Jacksonville. Next week's lists will lean heavily on it.
Reader supported
Free to read, no paywall. Every Class 2A boys race this season went into this list, and every head-to-head was checked by hand. If it helps your team or your kid, you can buy us a coffee.
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 eight times, last week seven, and so on back to opening weekend, which counts once. A race he won is never allowed to lower that figure.
- A head-to-head loss stands until the two runners meet again, whatever either has run elsewhere since. Where results form a loop, the most recent meeting decides. A runner who beat someone ranked above him moves up to that runner's spot.
- Head-to-heads from September 12 and earlier no longer order runners. Those races are a month old, and kids have changed since. The times still count in the season figure.
- The FSU Pre-State Invitational, the biggest meet of the fall, was canceled for Hurricane Isaias. Nobody is marked down for a race they could not run.
- A missed week is never held against anyone.
- Grades and classes are 2026-27, resolved against the FHSAA classification documents.
- Manhattan is counted: the times are converted from 2.5 miles to a 5K, and the places between Florida runners in the same race order them like any other race.
- Ches and Cleek above Gunther and Sharma: they beat Rigdon, who was third, and Sharma at Manhattan; Gunther did not race and is not marked down for it.
Every result behind this list is in the rankings section, and the full weekend is in the weekend recap.
Logo: Nature Coast Technical High School (Brooksville). Card art: Run Florida Run.