Corrected September 15: Quentin Thompson, who beat seven of the nine other boys on this list on the grass, moves from sixth to second. Kiper, Olson and Chopra all sat, Axel Sallault won Astronaut by 24 seconds and is third on the Cecil finish behind Olson, Andrew Sides ran 17:14 at Buchholz and drops out, and Landon Watkins beat Jonas Williams at Seffner Christian to take ninth.
The week 5 list is up: Week 5 Class 4A Boys Top 10, built on the whole season through September 19 with the most recent race weighted highest.
Florida Class 4A boys cross country through four weeks: August 21-September 12, 2026
Correction, September 15. Quentin Thompson of Lake Minneola was sixth on this list on Sunday. That was wrong, and it was our doing, not his. He ran 15:16.0 for second at Cecil Field on opening night, ahead of Chopra, Olson, Sallault and Ishee, and was third at the Horse Park behind only Belen's Mantecon and Cruz, ahead of Seth, Watkins and Williams. Seven of the nine other boys on this list have raced him and all seven finished behind him. We overcompensated in a few areas: the recency weighting counted his Horse Park third three times against his Cecil run once, the arithmetic let that race expire every head-to-head he had won, and the two together dropped him four places below boys he had beaten. The rule we print at the bottom, that a head-to-head loss stands until the two runners meet again, was applied to Olson over Sallault and not to him. It is applied now. He is second, behind Kiper, whom he has not raced; Olson, Sallault, Chopra and Rivera each move down one place.
Axel Sallault of East Ridge won the Astronaut Invitational out of 230 in 15:57.0, 24 seconds clear, on a course that reads about 30 seconds slow. It is the best run of his season by our measure, and he is fourth: Quentin Thompson of Lake Minneola and Bryant Olson of Niceville both beat him at Cecil Field on opening night, and he has not met either of them since. Olson was on the line at Nights of Thunder when the varsity race was called off. Jaxon Kiper has not run a rated course since Jim Ryun and holds first on it. Rishi Chopra did not race at Buchholz, where Nease's August five jogged the JV race; Matthew Ishee was in that group and is ranked on Cecil. Andrew Sides of Buchholz, seventh a week ago, was 17th at his home meet in 17:14.2 and is out of the ten. Landon Watkins of Sickles and Jonas Williams of Newsome were second and third behind Isaiah Howdeshell 3A at Seffner Christian, 16:22.5 to 16:25.4, on a course that reads 16 seconds slow. Williams has the better season figure by three seconds; Watkins beat him on Saturday, so Watkins is ninth and Williams tenth until they meet again. Martin Fernandez of Doral Academy is first out on his Horse Park run. Nicholas Garcia of Columbus won King of the Hill out of 339 in 16:43.1, worth about 16:09, and sits in the twenties.
A runner is ranked on his whole season, with the most recent race counting most, and a race he won never counts against him. As always, this is data plus judgment, and we will miss somebody along the way. A (P) next to a name means that runner has not opened yet and we are going on last November. How we sorted everybody out is at the bottom. Races are not won until the kids have run. Enjoy.
The statewide lists: Week 4 boys top 10 and Week 4 girls top 10. The week 3 edition of this list is here, and the week 4 4A boys team rankings are here. The other classes this week: 4A girls, 1A boys, 2A boys, 3A boys.
1. Jaxon Kiper, Strawberry Crest, Sr.
Has not raced a rated course since Jim Ryun on August 22, where he won out of 276 in 15:54.3, worth about 15:16 leveled and still the best figure in the class by 15 seconds. His 18:06 at Central Hillsborough four days later came on a course we cannot rate and does not count. One number, three weeks old.
2. Quentin Thompson, Lake Minneola, Sr.
Did not race. 15:16.0 for second at Cecil Field on opening night, 23 seconds ahead of Chopra, 28 ahead of Olson, 31 ahead of Sallault and 38 ahead of Ishee, the third-fastest raw time by any Florida boy this fall. Then 15:46.8 for third at the Horse Park, behind Mantecon and Cruz of Belen and ahead of Seth, Watkins, Williams and Fernandez, worth about 15:52 on a course that reads a shade fast. Seven of the nine other boys on this list have raced him and all seven finished behind him; Kiper and Rivera have not raced him. His season figure is 15:43, sixth in the class on the arithmetic, and on Sunday we let the arithmetic rank him. Sixth to second, on the correction at the top, behind Kiper on a Jim Ryun run worth the same 15:16.
3. Bryant Olson, Niceville, So.
Was on the line at Nights of Thunder when the varsity race was called off. 15:44.0 for fifth at Cecil Field, the Pine Forest win, and the Pace Patriot win in 16:07.8 by 20 seconds on a slow course, worth about 15:29. He is third: above Sallault because he beat him by three seconds at Cecil and neither has raced since, and below Thompson because Thompson beat him by 28 seconds in the same race. Sallault's season figure is now two seconds better than his.
4. Axel Sallault, East Ridge, Sr.
Won the Astronaut Invitational out of 230 in 15:57.0, 24 seconds ahead of Liam Ilea of Tavares 3A. Astronaut reads about 30 seconds slow, so the run is worth about 15:27, the best of his three races: 15:47.0 at Cecil, 15:47.0 to win Whispering Pines, 15:57.0 on Saturday. The 4A runner-up last November is fourth only on the Cecil Field finish, behind the two boys who beat him there, and the next time he shares a line with either of them, the grass decides it.
5. Rishi Chopra, Nease, Sr.
15:39.0 for fourth at Cecil Field and nothing since. He did not run at Buchholz, where Nease's August five ran the JV race together. Fifth, on one race from August 21 in which Thompson finished 23 seconds ahead of him, and the boys behind him have raced two or three times.
6. Luis Rivera, St. Cloud, Sr.
Did not race; St. Cloud sent a second group to the JT Memorial. Sixth at Jim Ryun in 16:43.0, the Kowboy win in 16:04.6, and the St. Cloud Invitational win in 15:43.5 by three tenths over Gabriel Harris, worth about 15:33. The Kowboy win is left out because it would lower his figure. Sixth, from fifth, as Thompson went past on the correction; the two have not raced each other.
7. Douglas Seth, Flagler Palm Coast, So.
Did not race. The Spikes & Spurs win in 15:59.5 reads about 15:32 on a course we price with less confidence than most, and 15:52.7 for fourth at the Horse Park reads 15:58 on one we price well. Eighth to seventh as Sides dropped out.
8. Matthew Ishee, Nease, Jr.
15:54.0 for 12th at Cecil Field. He ran the Buchholz JV race with Nease's August group at 19:47 on Saturday, a workout, and we do not count it for or against him. Ninth to eighth.
9. Landon Watkins, Sickles, Jr.
Second at Seffner Christian in 16:22.5, 15 seconds behind Howdeshell and three ahead of Williams, worth 16:06 on a course that reads 16 seconds slow. Before that, Ragin' Storm and West Hillsborough wins that are not held against him and 15:57.9 for sixth at the Horse Park. His season figure is 16:05, three seconds behind Williams; he is ninth because he beat Williams on Saturday, and that stands until they meet again. Tenth to ninth.
10. Jonas Williams, Newsome, Sr.
Third at Seffner Christian in 16:25.4, worth 16:09, three seconds behind Watkins. The Lake Region win in 16:16.5, worth about 15:43, and 15:58.3 for seventh at the Horse Park carry a season figure of 16:01, the better of the two. Ninth to tenth on the Seffner finish, not the arithmetic.
Just missed
Martin Fernandez (Doral Academy, Sr.) is first out on 16:01.4 for ninth at the Horse Park, a week after winning the Pine Crest meet out of 406. Antario Berek (Vero Beach, Jr.) was fifth at Astronaut in 16:38.1, worth 16:08, and has now run three races within four seconds of each other leveled: the Indian River win, third at St. Cloud, fifth on Saturday. Bryce Motycka (Bartram Trail, Sr.) is on 16:09.0 at Cecil Field. Daniel Georgiev (Lake Brantley, Jr.) won Spruce Creek in 16:47.1 on Saturday, worth about 16:10, his third win in three starts; the first two were on courses we could not rate. David Lazo (South Plantation, Sr.) has won both BCAA meets at Heritage Park, in 17:44.3 and 17:59.1, on a course we cannot rate, and is still a projection on his 16:07.1 from state.
Andrew Sides (Buchholz, Jr.), seventh a week ago, was 17th at his home meet in 17:14.2, 85 seconds off his Cecil Field time, and drops out. Nicholas Garcia (Columbus, Jr.) won King of the Hill out of 339 in 16:43.1, worth about 16:09, and sits in the twenties on the season.
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 four times, last week three, week two twice, opening weekend once. A race he won is never allowed to lower that figure.
- Where two ranked runners have raced each other, the finish orders them until they meet again. A real result within a few seconds of a projection outranks the projection.
- Runners who have not opened are ranked on last November and marked (P). A missed week is never held against anyone.
- Grades and classes are 2026-27, resolved against the FHSAA classification documents.
- This edition was updated on Sunday, September 13 to add the Seffner Christian XC Invitational, whose timing file arrived after the morning edition. That course reads about 16 seconds slow for boys and 44 seconds slow for girls against the runners who have also run the state meet.
- This edition was corrected on Tuesday, September 15. Quentin Thompson was ranked on his season figure while the head-to-head rule was applied to the runners around him; he moves from fourteenth to fifth on the statewide list and from sixth to second in 4A. No course reading and no other runner's figure changed.