Annabella Tomasic and Lyla Hallick hold the top two in Class 3A; Katelin Wilcox won the Todd Howsare Memorial, and Emma Poekert moves past Lydia Vincent after North Port.
Florida Class 3A girls cross country through six weeks: August 21-September 26, 2026
Katelin Wilcox of East Lake, a senior, won the Todd Howsare Memorial on Saturday in 18:51.1 out of 165, her second win in a row. Emma Poekert of Cypress Creek, a junior, was second at the Stampede Sprint in 19:00.8, behind Natalia Gaona-Zelaya of Wiregrass Ranch. Nobody else in the top ten raced.
Annabella Tomasic of Bishop Moore, a sophomore, stays first, the call we made last week after her 17:24.0 at Katie Caples. Lyla Hallick of Vanguard, a sophomore, beat her at the Horse Park and is second. Wilcox's Cecil Field win over Hallick no longer orders the list, since opening-weekend results have been set aside. Poekert goes above Lydia Vincent of Zephyrhills on their newest meeting, at North Port.
A runner is ranked on her whole season, with the most recent race counting most, and a race she won never counts against her. 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 girls top 10 and week 6 boys top 10. Last week's version of this list is here. The other class lists this week: 3A boys, 1A girls, 2A girls, 4A girls.
1. Annabella Tomasic, Bishop Moore, So.
Did not race. Won the Katie Caples Invitational on September 19 in 17:24.0, the fastest time by a 3A girl this fall, ahead of Camila Giles and Jillian Jakab. Third at the Horse Park in 18:28.4, behind Hallick. First is our call over Hallick, who beat her in Ocala, and it holds until they meet again.
2. Lyla Hallick, Vanguard (Ocala), So.
Did not race. Won the Rockledge Raider Classic on September 18 in 18:10.8. Second at the Horse Park in 18:22.5, ahead of Tomasic, Lainee Mercer, Emma-Claire Tanenbaum and Poekert; second at Whispering Pines, ahead of Vincent and Poekert. Tenth statewide. Second.
3. Lainee Mercer, Springstead, Jr.
Did not race. Won the Mitchell Mustang Invite on September 19 in 18:53.7. Fourth at the Horse Park in 18:40.6, behind Hallick and Tomasic and ahead of Tanenbaum and Poekert. Third.
4. Katelin Wilcox, East Lake, Sr.
Won the Todd Howsare Memorial on Saturday in 18:51.1 out of 165, two weeks after she won Seffner Christian. Second at Parker Valby behind Katherine Eudaly of Plant 4A; third at Cecil Field in 18:35.0, ahead of Hallick, a result that no longer orders the list. She and Mercer have not met, and Mercer's season figure is better. Third to fourth.
5. Camila Giles, Bishop Kenny, Jr.
Did not race. Second at Katie Caples on September 19 in 18:35.0, behind Tomasic and ahead of her teammate Jakab, and a win at the Buchholz Bobcats Classic. Fifth.
6. Emma-Claire Tanenbaum, Chiles, So.
Did not race. Seventh at the Horse Park on September 5 in 19:00.2, ahead of Poekert, and sixth at Cecil Field in 18:48.0. She has not raced since the Horse Park. Sixth.
7. Emma Poekert, Cypress Creek (Wesley Chapel), Jr.
Second at the Stampede Sprint on Saturday in 19:00.8 out of 142, behind Gaona-Zelaya. Second at the North Port Invite on September 19 in 18:23.2, 1.6 seconds ahead of Vincent, and a win at Land O' Lakes. Six races. Tanenbaum beat her at the Horse Park. Seventh.
8. Lydia Vincent, Zephyrhills, Sr.
Did not race. Third at North Port in 18:24.8, behind Poekert; third at Whispering Pines in August, ahead of Poekert. The newer meeting puts Poekert in front. Eighth.
9. Kaia Ables, Chiles, Sr.
Has raced once this fall, eleventh at Cecil Field on opening night in 18:59.0. A missed week is never held against anyone. Ninth.
10. Jillian Jakab, Bishop Kenny, Sr.
Did not race. Third at Katie Caples on September 19 in 18:38.0, behind Tomasic and her teammate Giles, and third at Buchholz. Tenth.
Just missed
Ella Valentina Valenzuela (Bishop Moore, Jr.) was fifth at Katie Caples in 18:57.0, behind Jakab. Piper Ross (Ponte Vedra, Fr.) was ninth there and Lauren Susnis (Bishop Moore, Sr.) tenth. Cierra Mills (Vanguard, Sr.) was third at Rockledge in 18:49.9. Cecelia Lear (Mount Dora, Jr.) was second at the Coach Joe McKinney Classic.
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 her 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 she 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 her 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.
- Tomasic over Hallick is a call, not the rule: Hallick beat her at the Horse Park. It holds until they meet again.
- Wilcox's Cecil Field win over Hallick is from opening weekend and no longer orders the list.
Every result behind this list is in the rankings section, and the full weekend is in the weekend recap.