Mantecon and Cruz sat and hold the top, Reed Hagen and Dylan Macias-Buenrostro went one-two at Fort Myers on a course that ran a minute slow, and Jeb Bremerman, third there, is in.
Florida Class 3A boys cross country through four weeks: August 21-September 12, 2026
Marcelo Mantecon and Armando Cruz did not race and are one and two on the Horse Park finish. Isaiah Howdeshell sat and holds third. Then Southwest Florida. Reed Hagen of Fort Myers won the Fort Myers XC Invite out of 233 in 16:26.6, Dylan Macias-Buenrostro of Mariner was second in 16:35.3 and Jeb Bremerman of Naples third in 16:44.3, on a course that ran about a minute slow by the boys who have also run state. Leveled, those are 15:23, 15:31 and 15:40, and they are fourth, fifth and seventh. Gabriel Harris, who did not race, is between them at sixth. Brody Johnson and Noah Childrey of Rockledge were third and fourth at Astronaut; Liam Ilea of Tavares was second there in 16:21.5 and is twelfth on four races. The Fort Myers reading is the one to watch: on the harsher version of it Hagen and Macias-Buenrostro sit sixth and seventh, not fourth and fifth.
A runner is ranked on his whole season, with the most recent race counting most, and a race he won 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 4 boys top 10 and Week 4 girls top 10. The week 3 edition of this list is here, and the week 4 3A boys team rankings are here. The other classes this week: 3A girls, 1A boys, 2A boys, 4A boys.
1. Marcelo Mantecon, Belen Jesuit, Sr.
Did not race. His only run is the Horse Park win out of 549 in 15:22.1, with Cruz 2.3 seconds back, and it is enough: two 3A titles, fourth at Nike Cross Nationals, runner-up at the Brooks national meet, and a win over the one boy in the class with a resume like his. The arithmetic has Howdeshell first on his August race. The grass had Mantecon first, and that is the order.
2. Armando Cruz, Belen Jesuit, Sr.
Did not race. 15:06.0 at Cecil Field, still the fastest raw time by an FHSAA boy this fall, and 15:24.4 at the Horse Park. Two races under 15:25 on two courses, and the only boy who has beaten him is his teammate.
3. Isaiah Howdeshell, Largo, Sr.
Did not race. 15:20.0 for third in the Cecil Field elite race is the run that ranks him; the Parker Valby win in 16:05.8 on a quick course is left out because a win never lowers a runner's figure. Largo dropped to 3A this year, so he is in November's race with both Belen seniors.
4. Reed Hagen, Fort Myers, So.
Won the Fort Myers XC Invite out of 233 in 16:26.6, 8.7 seconds ahead of Macias-Buenrostro, three weeks after 16:19.0 for 27th at Cecil Field. The Fort Myers course reads about a minute slow by the 24 boys who have also run state, so Saturday is worth about 15:23 leveled and it moves a sophomore from outside the ten to fourth. The caveat is the reading: the five fastest of those 24 say the course is half that slow, and on their reading he is sixth.
5. Dylan Macias-Buenrostro, Mariner, Jr.
Second at Fort Myers in 16:35.3, behind Hagen, after winning Cape Coral and the 3D Sommers Invitational, neither of which counts against him. Worth about 15:31 leveled on the same reading as Hagen. Eighth in 3A at state last year, and he has now beaten every 3A boy in Southwest Florida but one.
6. Gabriel Harris, Lake Wales, Sr.
Did not race. Third at Jim Ryun in 16:21.1 and second at the St. Cloud Invitational in 15:43.8, three tenths behind Luis Rivera, worth about 15:33. Fourth to sixth without running, as two Fort Myers boys went past him.
7. Jeb Bremerman, Naples, So.
Third at Fort Myers in 16:44.3, worth about 15:40, three weeks after winning the Lehigh Invite in 16:26.6, a win that is not held against him. A sophomore who ran 16:40.7 at state last fall. New to the ten at seventh, the third boy from the same race.
8. Luke Ross, Ponte Vedra, Sr.
Did not race. Second at Spikes & Spurs in 16:04.9, worth about 15:37 on a course we price with less confidence than most, and 16:02.8 for 11th at the Horse Park on a course we price well. The two readings are 31 seconds apart, and the season sits between them. Eighth, where he was.
9. Noah Childrey, Rockledge, Sr.
Fourth at the Astronaut Invitational in 16:33.8, worth about 16:04, a second behind teammate Brody Johnson. Three races, 15:56.0 at Cecil Field, 16:09.4 at the Kowboy, and Saturday, all within eight seconds of each other leveled. Sixth to ninth as Hagen and Bremerman came in above him.
10. Jonathan Kiros, Chiles, Sr.
Was entered at Nights of Thunder and the varsity race did not run. 15:47.0 at Cecil Field, fourth in 3A at state last fall in 15:46.3, and 16:01.4 for tenth at the Horse Park. Seventh to tenth without racing.
Just missed
Brody Johnson (Rockledge, Sr.) is first out by a second on the season, and he beat Childrey by a second on Saturday: third at Astronaut in 16:32.8, after 16:15.0 at Cecil and 16:04.9 at the Kowboy. The two Rockledge seniors have run six races between them inside 16:34. Liam Ilea (Tavares, Jr.) was second at Astronaut in 16:21.5, 24 seconds behind Sallault, worth about 15:51, the best of his four races; his 16:30.2 at the Horse Park is what holds the season figure at twelfth. Kevin Aguilar (Mater Lakes, Sr.) is on 16:00.0 at Cecil and 16:03.2 at the Horse Park. Skylar Manatt (Cypress Creek, Sr.) won Land O' Lakes in 16:13.4 on Saturday, his fourth race, and the win is not held against him. Jack Michalak (Belen Jesuit, Jr.), Belen's third man, ran 15:47.0 at Cecil and did not race this week. Owen Tucker (Gulf Breeze, Jr.), tenth a week ago, was the first Florida boy at the Gulf Coast Stampede, fourth in 16:26.4, and is sixteenth on two races.
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 four times, last week three, week two twice, opening weekend once. A race he won is never allowed to lower that figure.
- Where two ranked runners have raced each other and neither has raced since, the finish orders them. A real result within a few seconds of a projection outranks the projection.
- Runners who have not opened are ranked on last November and marked (P). A missed week is never held against anyone.
- Grades and classes are 2026-27, resolved against the FHSAA classification documents.