Belen Jesuit holds the top three in Class 3A and Reed Hagen jumps to fourth; Truman Houk and Jacob Sackenheim come in on head-to-heads, and Robinson's Sackenheim won the Todd Howsare Memorial.
Florida Class 3A boys cross country through six weeks: August 21-September 26, 2026
Belen Jesuit keeps first, second and third: Marcelo Mantecon, Armando Cruz and Jack Michalak, in the order they finished at the Southern Showcase. The big move is Reed Hagen of Fort Myers, a sophomore, from first out to fourth. He was second at the North Port Invite on September 19 in 15:30.3, and the only thing holding him down was three losses from Cecil Field on opening night. From this week opening-weekend results no longer order the list. Six weeks in, kids have improved, and an August finish should not pin anybody.
Two boys come in on head-to-heads. Jacob Sackenheim of Robinson, a senior, won the Todd Howsare Memorial on Saturday in 16:20.5, and at North Port he was third, ahead of Dylan Macias-Buenrostro of Mariner and Jeb Bremerman of Naples, so he goes above both. Truman Houk of East Lake, a senior, beat Sackenheim at Seffner Christian on September 12, so he goes above him. A loss stands until the two meet again. Isaiah Howdeshell of Largo, fourth last week, is out while he is injured, the same call as on the statewide list.
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 6 boys top 10 and week 6 girls top 10. Last week's version of this list is here. The other class lists this week: 3A girls, 1A boys, 2A boys, 4A boys.
1. Marcelo Mantecon, Belen Jesuit, Sr.
Did not race. Won the Southern Showcase championship race on September 19 in 14:41.6, 17 seconds clear of Cruz in a field of 250, the fastest time by a Florida boy this fall. Won the Horse Park before that. Two races, two wins, and he has beaten everyone on this list he has faced.
2. Armando Cruz, Belen Jesuit, Sr.
Did not race. Second at the Southern Showcase in 14:58.6. Won Cecil Field in 15:06.0 on opening night and was second at the Horse Park, 2.3 seconds behind Mantecon. Second until he beats his teammate.
3. Jack Michalak, Belen Jesuit, Jr.
Did not race. Third at the Southern Showcase in 15:01.7, ahead of every Florida boy there but his two teammates. Seventeenth at the Horse Park in 16:13.8, where Kevin Aguilar, Luke Ross and Skylar Manatt beat him. Third is a standing call from last week, not the rule, and it holds until he meets any of them again.
4. Reed Hagen, Fort Myers, So.
Did not race. Second at the North Port Invite on September 19 in 15:30.3, ten seconds behind Luis Rivera of St. Cloud 4A, ahead of Sackenheim, Macias-Buenrostro, Bremerman and Manatt. Won the Fort Myers XC Invite on September 12 in 16:26.6, ahead of Macias-Buenrostro and Bremerman again. Jonathan Kiros, Aguilar and Brody Johnson beat him at Cecil Field in August, and those results no longer order the list. First out to fourth.
5. Truman Houk, East Lake, Sr.
Fourth at Seffner Christian on September 12 in 16:27.5 out of 332, six places ahead of Sackenheim, and second at Parker Valby in 16:22.5. Thirty-fifth at Cecil Field on opening night. He has not raced since Seffner. Fifth on the head-to-head chain: he beat Sackenheim, who beat Macias-Buenrostro and Bremerman at North Port. Hagen, fourth, beat Sackenheim at North Port too.
6. Jacob Sackenheim, Robinson, Sr.
Won the Todd Howsare Memorial on Saturday in 16:20.5 out of 191. Third at the North Port Invite on September 19 in 15:37.1, 1.4 seconds ahead of Macias-Buenrostro and two ahead of Bremerman; a win at Grayling and six races in all. Houk beat him at Seffner Christian and Hagen at North Port. Sixth.
7. Dylan Macias-Buenrostro, Mariner, Jr.
Did not race. Fourth at the North Port Invite on September 19 in 15:38.5, behind Hagen and Sackenheim and ahead of Bremerman. Second at Fort Myers behind Hagen, and wins at Cape Coral and 3D Sommers. His season figure, about 15:58, is the fifth-best in the class; he is seventh because Sackenheim beat him at North Port.
8. Gabriel Harris, Lake Wales, Sr.
Won the Lake Wales Invitational on Saturday in 16:11.0. Third at Katie Caples on September 19 in 16:04.0, twenty seconds ahead of Ross; second at St. Cloud in 15:43.8, three tenths behind Rivera. He has not raced Houk, Sackenheim or Macias-Buenrostro. Eighth, a shade behind Macias-Buenrostro on figure.
9. Jonathan Kiros, Chiles, Sr.
Did not race. Nineteenth at the Southern Showcase on September 19 in 15:36.5. Tenth at the Horse Park, where he beat Ross, Aguilar and Liam Ilea. He was fifth last week partly on his Cecil Field win over Hagen, which no longer counts. Ninth.
10. Jeb Bremerman, Naples, So.
Won the Lakewood Ranch XC Invite on Saturday in 16:02.2 out of 155. Fifth at North Port on September 19 in 15:39.0, half a second behind Macias-Buenrostro; third at Fort Myers and a win at Lehigh. Hagen, Macias-Buenrostro and Sackenheim have beaten him. New to the ten.
Just missed
Luke Ross (Ponte Vedra, Sr.) was fifth at Katie Caples behind Harris; he beat Aguilar, Ilea and Michalak at the Horse Park. Kevin Aguilar (Mater Lakes, Sr.) was third in the Spanish River Race of Champions in 15:48.0. Skylar Manatt (Cypress Creek, Sr.) was sixth at the Stampede Sprint on Saturday. Liam Ilea (Tavares, Jr.) won the Weeki Wachee Invitational on Saturday in 16:24.8, his sixth race; Ross, Aguilar, Kiros and Manatt beat him at the Horse Park. Brody Johnson (Rockledge, Sr.) won the Rockledge Raider Classic on September 18 in 16:01.9; Ilea beat him at Astronaut.
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 six times, last week five, 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.
- New this week: results from opening weekend, Cecil Field on August 21 and Jim Ryun on August 22, no longer order runners. Six weeks in, kids have improved, and a finish from the first weekend of the season should not pin anybody below a runner who beat them in August. Those times still count in the season figure.
- A missed week is never held against anyone.
- Grades and classes are 2026-27, resolved against the FHSAA classification documents.
- Isaiah Howdeshell (Largo) is out while he is injured, the same call as the statewide list. He will be back in when he is racing.
- Belen 1-2-3 is a standing call, not the rule: Aguilar, Ross and Manatt beat Michalak at the Horse Park. It expires the day he races any of them.
- Houk and Sackenheim are the rule, not a call: Houk beat Sackenheim at Seffner Christian, Sackenheim beat Macias-Buenrostro and Bremerman at the North Port Invite, and nobody below them has beaten them since.
Every result behind this list is in the rankings section, and the full weekend is in the weekend recap.