Annabella Tomasic holds first in Class 3A, Lyla Hallick won Speziale by 43 seconds, Lainee Mercer ran a personal best to win the Wild Bulldog, and Piper Ross of Ponte Vedra comes in at tenth.
Florida Class 3A girls cross country through seven weeks: August 21-October 3, 2026
Lyla Hallick of Vanguard won the Craig Speziale Invitational at Ponte Vedra in 18:40.8, 43 seconds ahead of Piper Ross, a Ponte Vedra freshman. Lainee Mercer of Springstead won the Wild Bulldog Invitational in 18:24.7, a personal best by 16 seconds, ahead of Lydia Vincent and Emma Poekert. Emma-Claire Tanenbaum of Chiles was third in the flrunners.com Race of Champions and led Chiles to the team win.
Annabella Tomasic of Bishop Moore stays first. Hallick beat her at the Horse Park on September 5, and from this week results from September 12 and earlier no longer order anybody. Piper Ross comes in at tenth.
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 7 girls top 10 and week 7 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 Hagerty Invitational on September 26 in 17:24.8 by 96 seconds, a week after 17:24.0 at Katie Caples. Those are two of the three fastest times by a Florida girl this fall. Sixth statewide.
2. Lyla Hallick, Vanguard (Ocala), So.
Won the Craig Speziale Invitational on Saturday in 18:40.8, 43 seconds ahead of Piper Ross. Won Rockledge on September 18 in 18:10.8. Seventh statewide.
3. Lainee Mercer, Springstead, Jr.
Won the Wild Bulldog Invitational on Saturday in 18:24.7, a personal best by 16 seconds, ahead of Vincent and Poekert. Won Mitchell on September 19. First out of the statewide ten.
4. Katelin Wilcox, East Lake, Sr.
Did not race. Won the Todd Howsare Memorial on September 26 in 18:51.1 by 49 seconds, and Seffner Christian on September 12.
5. Camila Giles, Bishop Kenny, Jr.
Ran 18:37.1 for 37th of 407 in the Nike XC Town Twilight Race of Champions in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Saturday, two seconds off her best, on a course we cannot price. Second at Katie Caples on September 19 in 18:35.0, behind Tomasic, ahead of Jakab and Valenzuela; won the Buchholz Bobcats Classic on September 12.
Gear
A cushioned spike for girls who race every Saturday.
The ASICS Resurgence XC has more foam under the foot than most cross country spikes, which helps on hard-packed Florida trails and the long October stretch of the season, and the spike plate still grips the grass in the turns.
Check price on AmazonAs an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
6. Emma-Claire Tanenbaum, Chiles, So.
Third in the flrunners.com Race of Champions on Saturday in 19:04.5, behind McMenemy-Hoang of 4A and Wilkinson of 1A, and Chiles won the team race with 48. A sophomore.
7. Lydia Vincent, Zephyrhills, Sr.
Second at the Wild Bulldog Invitational on Saturday in 18:55.0, behind Mercer. Third in the North Port Invite elite race on September 19 in 18:24.8.
8. Jillian Jakab, Bishop Kenny, Sr.
Did not race. Third at Katie Caples on September 19 in 18:38.0, behind Giles.
9. Ella Valentina Valenzuela, Bishop Moore, Jr.
Did not race. Second at the Hagerty Invitational on September 26 in 19:01.2, behind her teammate Tomasic; fifth at Katie Caples, behind Giles and Jakab.
10. Piper Ross, Ponte Vedra, Fr.
Second at the Craig Speziale Invitational on Saturday in 19:23.5, behind Hallick, as a freshman, and Ponte Vedra beat Vanguard for the team title. Ninth at Katie Caples. New to the ten.
Just missed
Emma Poekert (Cypress Creek, Jr.) was third at the Wild Bulldog on Saturday, behind Mercer and Vincent. Cierra Mills (Vanguard, Sr.) and Reese Cartwright (Vanguard, Sr.), who was third at Speziale, are next. Cecelia Lear (Mount Dora, Jr.) won the Harmony Longhorn Invitational on Saturday in 19:18.5.
Honorable mention
Raejanae Ebanks (Dillard, Fr.) won two Broward meets at Quiet Waters, on September 23 in 19:29.7 and on Tuesday in 19:43.8. On our numbers that course reads more than two minutes slow, which would make her the fourth-best runner in the class. In the one big race she has run, the Spanish River Race of Champions on September 18, she was 26th in 20:31.3. We are holding her out until she races a deep field again.
Reader supported
Free to read, no paywall. Every Class 3A girls 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 her whole season, weighted toward the most recent race: this week counts seven times, last week six, 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: head-to-heads from September 12 and earlier no longer order runners. Those races are three weeks and more old, and kids have changed since. The 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.
- Ebanks held out is a call: the Quiet Waters course readings rest on few runners, and her only race against a deep field does not agree with them.
Every result behind this list is in the rankings section, and the full weekend is in the weekend recap.
Logo: Bishop Moore Catholic High School (Orlando). Card art: Run Florida Run.