Week 6 Class 4A boys cross country team rankings for Florida: Nease and Niceville hold the top two, Hagerty third, and nobody in the top ten loses a spot for sitting out Bale-N-Trail week.
Florida Class 4A boys cross country team rankings through six weeks: August 21-September 26, 2026
Most of the top of 4A took the weekend off, and the list treats that the way it should: nobody moves for sitting. Nease is first and Niceville second for the third straight week. Hagerty, Braddock, Columbus, Doral, Spanish River and Flagler Palm Coast hold the same spots they held a week ago, and Lake Minneola and Wiregrass Ranch round out the ten.
The teams that did race earned what they got. Braddock won the Larry Wooten Invitational with 23 points behind Jacob Castanedo's 16:58.1. Wiregrass Ranch won the Stampede Sprint with 49, three in the top seven. Lake Minneola went to Huntsville and was third of 37 in the Championship race at PR'ville, four boys under 15:53. Creekside was second at Bale-N-Trail to Bolles and sits just outside.
Florida Runners is next weekend, Pre-State the week after, and the Great American is coming. The top of this list is going to meet, and the grass will settle what the numbers can't.
A team is ranked on its whole season, with the most recent race counting most, and a meet it won never counts against it. A team that sat out the weekend is not marked down for it. The virtual race behind these scores contains only Class 4A teams, so a team's place here and on the statewide list can differ. As always, this is data plus judgment, and we will miss somebody along the way. A (P) beside a team means it has not put its returning five on a starting line and is entered on what they ran last November. How we sorted it out is at the bottom.
About the times. The average on each line is the converted season figure the scoring uses, in Cecil Field terms, and so are the times beside each runner's name. Times in the write-ups are what the kids actually ran that day; the race log for every runner is on the rankings page.
The statewide lists: Week 6 boys team top 10 and Week 6 girls team top 10. The 4A boys individuals are here, and last week’s edition of this list is here. The other classes this week: 4A girls, 1A boys, 2A boys, 3A boys.
1. Nease (Ponte Vedra): 195 points
Converted average 16:37.6 · 1-5 spread 1:02.2 · finished 10-13-35-60-77 in the class
Matthew Ishee 16:05.8; Rishi Chopra 16:11.3; Joseph Morley 16:40.9; Charles Carlson 17:01.7; Matthew Myers 17:08.0.
Did not race its top five at Bale-N-Trail; Matthew Ishee, Rishi Chopra, Joseph Morley and Charles Carlson ran together in the 11-12 grade race and are not scored for or against the team. The last full race is still the big one: third of 40 at Roy Griak in Minneapolis on Sept. 19. Ishee and Chopra are a one-two nobody in 4A matches. First.
2. Niceville: 193 points
Converted average 16:37.8 · 1-5 spread 1:12.9 · finished 7-32-36-48-70 in the class
Bryant Olson 15:51.6; Brody Mathis 16:37.2; Reid Sadowski 16:42.9; Sebastian Riemer 16:52.6; Carson Jackson 17:04.5.
Did not race. Sixth at the Southern Showcase on Sept. 19, after winning Pine Forest, Pace Patriot and Nights of Thunder. Bryant Olson is the front runner, and Brody Mathis, Reid Sadowski, Sebastian Riemer and Carson Jackson sit inside 30 seconds of each other on the season. Niceville is a hair ahead in the 4A-only virtual race, but Nease beat them at Cecil Field and they have not met since. Second.
3. Hagerty (Oviedo): 283 points
Converted average 16:51.0 · 1-5 spread 1:07.3 · finished 20-22-51-56-134 in the class
Camden Thompson 16:23.8; Nate Winslow 16:26.7; Wesley Lizon 16:55.1; Reid Henson 16:58.3; Elijah Lizon 17:31.1.
Did not race. Won the McKinney Invitational on Sept. 19 with 37, after wins at Trinity Prep and DeLand. Camden Thompson and Nate Winslow go one-two and Wesley Lizon and Reid Henson are close behind; the fifth man is the question. Third, where it was. The statewide list has Hagerty ninth because four South Florida teams edge it when the whole state is in the race; inside 4A the order is Hagerty's.
4. Braddock (Miami): 310 points
Converted average 16:57.5 · 1-5 spread 0:51.0 · finished 25-50-61-62-112 in the class · This week: 1st of 13 at the Larry Wooten Invitational (23).
Yanliet Gomezdelafe 16:29.4; Ian Vicente 16:54.0; Liano Lacayo 17:01.7; Jacob Castanedo 17:01.8; Lucas Knight 17:20.3.
Won the Larry Wooten Invitational on Thursday with 23 points: Jacob Castanedo first in 16:58.1, Yanliet Gomezdelafe second in 17:06.1, Ian Vicente third in 17:25.5, Lucas Knight seventh and Liano Lacayo eleventh. Columbus was second with a group that did not include its top seven. A 51-second spread on the season, the tightest in the ten. Fourth, and still ahead of Columbus and Doral on the Race of Champions result from Sept. 18.
5. Columbus (Miami): 316 points
Converted average 16:56.0 · 1-5 spread 0:52.2 · finished 19-45-75-86-91 in the class
Nicholas Garcia 16:20.3; Lundin Steven 16:49.4; Lucas Saenz 17:07.5; Valerio Rodriguez 17:10.2; Bryce Barger 17:12.5.
Sent a second group to Larry Wooten, which was second to Braddock with 54; none of its top seven ran, so the race does not count for or against the varsity. Beat Doral and Spanish River in the Class 4A scoring of the Spanish River Race of Champions on Sept. 18. Nicholas Garcia leads a pack of five inside 52 seconds. Fifth.
6. Doral Academy: 296 points
Converted average 16:53.1 · 1-5 spread 0:57.6 · finished 14-42-76-80-84 in the class
Martin Fernandez 16:12.2; Rafaele D'Agostino 16:46.8; Javier Parker 17:07.9; Joaquin Cogo 17:08.5; Pedro Rodriguez 17:09.9.
Did not race. Fifth at the Horse Park on Sept. 5 and won Pine Crest on Aug. 28. Martin Fernandez leads, and Rafaele D'Agostino, Javier Parker, Joaquin Cogo and Pedro Rodriguez are bunched behind him. Doral scores better than Braddock and Columbus in the virtual race, but lost to both in the Class 4A scoring at Spanish River on Sept. 18, and that holds until they meet again. Sixth.
7. Spanish River (Boca Raton): 297 points
Converted average 16:53.0 · 1-5 spread 0:56.5 · finished 15-38-73-83-88 in the class
Casey Sangely 16:14.2; Erik Moss 16:43.8; Marcus Benavente 17:07.1; Spencer Singerman 17:09.2; Will Irby 17:10.7.
Sent a second group to the Chief XC Invitational on Wednesday and won it with 15; none of the top seven ran. Casey Sangely leads the team that won Dr. Garcia and was fourth in the 4A scoring of its own Race of Champions. Seventh, a point behind Doral in the virtual race.
8. Flagler Palm Coast: 310 points
Converted average 16:48.3 · 1-5 spread 1:47.3 · finished 6-29-59-66-150 in the class
Douglas Seth 15:48.5; Dylan Ciardi 16:32.7; Enzo McGovern 17:01.6; Mateo Almeida 17:02.9; Owen Stackpole 17:35.8.
Did not race. Fifteenth at the Southern Showcase on Sept. 19, two weeks after finishing second at the Horse Park. Douglas Seth and Dylan Ciardi are a strong front two; the spread behind them is 1:47. Eighth.
9. Lake Minneola: 374 points
Converted average 16:44.6 · 1-5 spread 2:50.5 · finished 3-18-26-40-287 in the class · This week: 3rd of 37 at PR'ville (210).
Quentin Thompson 15:39.3; Jacob Kelly 16:19.1; Drew Sasson 16:29.8; Matthew Lydiard 16:44.9; Noah Perez 18:29.8.
Third of 37 in the Championship race at PR'ville in Huntsville on Saturday: Quentin Thompson 13th in 15:32.7, Matthew Lydiard 21st in 15:37.6, Jacob Kelly 27th in 15:42.6, Drew Sasson 34th in 15:52.3. That front four is as good as anyone's in 4A. PR'ville has no Florida-leveled rating yet, so the race is not in the season figure, and the fifth man is still well back. Ninth, where it was.
10. Wiregrass Ranch (Wesley Chapel): 457 points
Converted average 17:08.1 · 1-5 spread 1:23.7 · finished 24-41-85-120-187 in the class · This week: 1st of 21 at the Stampede Sprint (49).
Avi Bhatia 16:29.1; Bogdan Anghel 16:45.2; Wade Pheffer 17:10.1; Dominic Martin 17:23.5; Christian Gonzalez 17:52.8.
Won the Stampede Sprint on Saturday with 49 over George Steinbrenner's 56: Bogdan Anghel third in 16:03.7, Wade Pheffer fourth in 16:04.4, Avi Bhatia seventh in 16:14.1, then Dominic Martin and Christian Gonzalez. Third win-or-second in four weeks. Tenth.
Just missed
11. Newsome (475) did not race and holds its place over Creekside, which passed it by 15 points on a race Newsome was not in. 12. George Steinbrenner (600) was second at the Stampede Sprint and beat 13. St. Cloud (546) at the North Port Invite on Sept. 19; that stands. 14. Creekside (460) was second at Bale-N-Trail with 69, Eli Scharf fifth in 15:57.9, and has the figure for the top ten but lost to St. Cloud on the call made in week 2 and has not met Newsome.
Where the virtual race disagrees with this list
- Newsome over Creekside: Newsome did not race the week of Sept. 26 and is not passed on a few points of figure by a team that did, when the two have not met (Darrin, 2026-09-29).
- Braddock over Doral Academy: Braddock 78, Columbus 103, Doral 105 and Spanish River 127 in the Class 4A scoring of the Spanish River Race of Champions on Sept. 18, the same race, and none of the four has raced since; the timer scored it by class so the engine cannot see the meeting.
- Columbus over Doral Academy: Columbus beat Doral by two points and Spanish River by 24 in the Class 4A scoring of the Spanish River Race of Champions on Sept. 18; none of the three has raced since.
- St. Cloud over Creekside: St. Cloud over Creekside and Lake Minneola: same five in every race, won its own meet, body of work (Darrin, 2026-09-06).
- George Steinbrenner over St. Cloud: George Steinbrenner beat St. Cloud at the North Port Invite on Sept. 19, 108 to 138, and the two have not met since (Darrin, 2026-09-29: loss stands).
- Nease over Niceville: Niceville lost to Nease at Cecil Field on August 21, 341 to 158, and the two have not met since; a three-point edge in a 4A-only virtual race does not jump a team it lost to, and the class list matches the statewide order (Darrin, 2026-09-21).
How we ranked them
- Every mark is converted to a Cecil Field equivalent through the runners who ran both that course and last year's state meet.
- Each runner is scored 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 never lowers that figure, and a meet a team won never lowers the team's. A school's five best runners on that basis are its team.
- Those five, with a sixth and seventh where they exist, go into one virtual race against every other Class 4A team, scored the way cross country is scored. 129 4A boys teams cleared the bar; 0 of them are projections. Points climb as more teams enter and are not comparable to last week's; compare the order.
- Where two teams in this class have raced each other with at least three of their scoring seven, the team that won ranks ahead of the team it beat. New this week: a win keeps counting when the winner races again, and a team that sat out the weekend does not lose ground to a team that beat nobody it had to beat. A race run without a team's No. 1 or without two of its scoring five is not held against it.
- A team whose returning five have not raced is entered on last November's state times and marked (P).
- Classes are 2026-27, resolved against the FHSAA classification documents.
- Nease's Bale-N-Trail pack in the 11-12 grade race is not scored, the same as its Buchholz JV run in September.
Florida Runners is next weekend, then Pre-State, and the Great American is on the way. Every result behind this list is in the rankings section, and the full weekend is in the weekend recap.
Featured image: logos of Nease High School, Niceville High School and Hagerty High School, restyled by Run Florida Run.