Belen Jesuit went one-two-three at New World behind Marcelo Mantecon's 14:24 course record, Isaiah Howdeshell of Largo comes in fourth, and Luke Ross is fifth in Class 3A.
Florida Class 3A boys cross country through nine weeks: August 21-October 17, 2026
Most of the state's best runners met at the New World Fall Spectacular in Jacksonville on Saturday, the deepest race of the Florida season so far. Where two runners met there, that result orders them. A runner who did not race is not marked down for it.
Marcelo Mantecon won the Boys Elite race in 14:24, a course record, with his Belen Jesuit teammates Armando Cruz (14:50) and Jack Michalak (14:55) second and third. Isaiah Howdeshell of Largo was fourth in 15:01 in his first finish since September 12 and comes in at fourth, where our statewide list has him. Luke Ross of Ponte Vedra was eighth in 15:10 and is fifth.
The next five did not run New World. Behind them, Jonathan Kiros, JP Strombeck, Gabriel Harris, Truman Houk and Nicholas Veloso finished 17th through 25th there, but each has a loss that has not been reversed: Kiros to Liam Ilea and Jeb Bremerman at the flrunners.com Invitational on October 3, and the other four to Kiros on Saturday. They are 11th through 15th. Veloso and Harris were fourth and fifth last week.
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 9 boys top 10 and week 9 girls top 10. The 3A boys team rankings are here. 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.
Won New World in 14:24, a course record, 26 seconds ahead of Cruz. Won the COROS Race of Champions at the Great American on October 3 in 14:35.9 and the Southern Showcase on September 19 in 14:41.6. Runner-up at Brooks nationals and fourth at Nike Cross Nationals last year. First in Florida.
2. Armando Cruz, Belen Jesuit, Sr.
Second at New World in 14:50. Sixth in the COROS Race of Champions on October 3 in 14:50.6, and second to Mantecon at the Southern Showcase. Second.
3. Jack Michalak, Belen Jesuit, Jr.
Third at New World in 14:55, five seconds behind Cruz. Nineteenth in the COROS Race of Champions on October 3 and third at the Southern Showcase in 15:01.7. Third.
4. Isaiah Howdeshell, Largo, Sr.
Fourth at New World in 15:01, ahead of every Florida runner outside Belen, in his first finish since he won the Seffner Christian Invitational on September 12. He is coming back from an injury. Won the Parker Valby Invitational on September 5 and was third at Cecil Field in August in 15:20. Fourth on the statewide list. New to the ten at fourth.
5. Luke Ross, Ponte Vedra, Sr.
Eighth at New World in 15:10. Won his own Speziale Invitational on October 3 in 15:59.1. Ninth on the statewide list. Up from sixth to fifth.
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6. Liam Ilea, Tavares, Jr.
Did not race. Second in the Race of Champions at the flrunners.com Invitational on October 3 in 16:14.2, ahead of Truman Houk, Jeb Bremerman and Jonathan Kiros. Won the Weeki Wachee Invitational on September 26. Up from tenth to sixth.
7. Jacob Sackenheim, Robinson, Sr.
Did not race. Won the Todd Howsare Memorial on September 26 in 16:20.5, and was third at the North Port Invite on September 19 in 15:37.1, ahead of Macias-Buenrostro and Bremerman. Seventh.
8. Dylan Macias-Buenrostro, Mariner, Jr.
Won Lee County Under The Lights on Friday in 15:56.0 out of 237, 28 seconds ahead of Lefko and Bremerman. Fourth at North Port on September 19, 1.4 seconds behind Sackenheim. Eighth.
9. Noah Lefko, Fort Myers, Fr.
Third at Lee County Under The Lights on Friday in 16:24.6, three-tenths of a second ahead of Bremerman, as Fort Myers won the team title. Eleventh at North Port on September 19. New to the ten at ninth.
10. Jeb Bremerman, Naples, So.
Fourth at Lee County Under The Lights on Friday in 16:24.9. Fourth in the flrunners.com Race of Champions on October 3 in 16:28.7, ahead of Kiros, and won the Lakewood Ranch Invitational on September 26. New to the ten.
Just missed
Jonathan Kiros (Chiles) and JP Strombeck (Fleming Island) were 17th and 18th at New World, both in 15:24, and Gabriel Harris (Lake Wales), fifth last week, was 19th in 15:25. Truman Houk (East Lake) was 23rd in 15:30 and Nicholas Veloso (Belen Jesuit), fourth last week, was 25th in 15:32. Brody Johnson (Rockledge), ninth last week, was 87th.
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Free to read, no paywall. Every Class 3A 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 nine times, last week eight, 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.
- This list follows our statewide top 10: a runner on it is ahead of every runner in this class who is not, and runners on both lists are in the same order.
- A missed week is never held against anyone.
- Grades and classes are 2026-27, resolved against the FHSAA classification documents.
- A loss stands until the two runners meet again. Kiros ran 15:24 at New World, but Ilea and Bremerman beat him on October 3, so he sits behind them, and the runners he beat on Saturday sit behind him.
- Howdeshell and Ross are fourth and fifth, their order on the statewide list.
Every result behind this list is in the rankings section, and the full weekend is in the weekend recap.
Logo: Belen Jesuit Preparatory School (Miami)