Madison Muller won the Raider Open in 17:35.2, Katherine Eudaly won North Port by 46 seconds, Alba Antunez-Perez opened with a 50-second win in the Spanish River Race of Champions and jumps to fifth, and Allison Austin is back in the ten.
Florida Class 4A girls cross country through five weeks: August 21-September 19, 2026
The top four did not move, and two of them won. Madison Muller of Riverview, a junior, won the Raider Open in 17:35.2, 55 seconds ahead of Emma Wilkinson of Lakeland Christian 1A, on a course we could not price this week; the run is listed, not counted, and her Wellen Park win still ranks her. Katherine Eudaly of Plant, a junior, won the North Port Invite elite race in 17:37.3 by 46 seconds and has won every rated race she has entered. Natalia Gaona-Zelaya of Wiregrass Ranch, a senior, four wins in four, and Arabella Duffell of Lake Nona, a junior, did not race, and a missed week is never held against anyone.
Alba Antunez-Perez of Spanish River, a senior, opened her season by winning the Spanish River Race of Champions in 18:03.2, 50 seconds ahead of Nicole Lewis of Doral, a junior, and goes from tenth on a projection to fifth on a race. Eva McMenemy-Hoang of Viera, a senior, was fourth at Rockledge and holds sixth. Avery Hartley of Bartram Trail, a sophomore, was 14th at the Southern Showcase in 19:01.6, slower in Cecil Field terms than her August 18:13, and slides from fifth to seventh; she holds seventh on the rule, because she beat every girl from eighth down at Cecil Field and has met none of them since.
Allison Austin of Atlantic Coast, a sophomore, is back in the ten at ninth after a week out, and Lewis, second in the Race of Champions, is tenth. Eva Delaney of Creekside drops out. The bottom half of this list runs on the head-to-head rule: a loss stands until the two runners meet again, whatever either has run elsewhere since, and most of these girls last met on August 21 at Cecil Field. This is data and judgment, and somebody on this page is in the wrong place; tell us who.
A runner is ranked on her whole season, with the most recent race counting most, and a race she won never counts against her. 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 5 girls top 10 and Week 5 boys top 10. The week 4 edition of this list is here, and the week 5 4A girls team rankings are here. The other classes this week: 4A boys, 1A girls, 2A girls, 3A girls.
1. Madison Muller, Riverview (Sarasota), Jr.
Won the Raider Open in 17:35.2 out of 105, 55 seconds ahead of Emma Wilkinson of Lakeland Christian 1A. We could not price the Raider Open course this week; the few girls who ran it and the state meet disagree too widely, so the run is on the record and not counted, and her 17:52.6 win at Wellen Park, worth about 17:40 at Cecil Field, still ranks her. Three starts, three wins, none of them close. First, where she was, and she and Gaona-Zelaya have still not raced.
2. Natalia Gaona-Zelaya, Wiregrass Ranch, Sr.
Did not race. Four starts, four wins: Ragin' Storm, Whispering Pines, the Horse Park out of 411 in 18:03.8, and Astronaut in 18:22.4 by 47 seconds on a course that reads slow, worth about 17:41 at Cecil Field. The three earlier wins are listed and not counted, because a win never lowers a figure. Second, a second and change behind Muller on the season, and she has beaten Tomasic, Hallick and Mercer of 3A and McMenemy-Hoang and Lewis on this list without losing to anyone.
3. Arabella Duffell, Lake Nona, Jr.
Did not race. Won Cecil Field in 17:53.0 on opening night and St. Cloud in 17:38.5 by 50 seconds, worth about 17:51 at Cecil Field, and beat Hartley, Brown, Austin, Delaney and Godfrey in Jacksonville. Two weeks without a race, and none of it is held against her. Third, where she was; the Muller and Gaona-Zelaya figures are about ten seconds better, and none of the three has raced the others.
4. Katherine Eudaly, Plant, Jr.
Won the North Port Invite elite race in 17:37.3 out of 144, 46 seconds ahead of Emma Poekert of Cypress Creek 3A, her fastest time of the year by a minute. North Port reads about 40 seconds fast for girls, so the run is worth about 18:17 at Cecil Field, and as a win it is not counted; her 18:40.3 at West Hillsborough, worth about 18:04, ranks her. Jim Ryun, West Hillsborough, Parker Valby, North Port: every rated race she has run this fall, she has won, and she beat Katelin Wilcox of East Lake 3A at Parker Valby. Fourth, where she was, and she has not met the three above her.
5. Alba Antunez-Perez, Spanish River, Sr.
Won the Spanish River Race of Champions in 18:03.2 out of 152, 50 seconds ahead of Lewis and 68 ahead of Kendall Parrott of St. Thomas Aquinas, in her first race of the season. Spanish River reads about 33 seconds fast for girls, so the run is worth about 18:37 at Cecil Field. She ran 18:20.3 at state last November, and the projection built on it is gone. Tenth to fifth on one race; the four above her have the better figures, and she has met none of them.
6. Eva McMenemy-Hoang, Viera, Sr.
Fourth at the Rockledge Raider Classic in 18:52.5, behind Hallick, Vignier and Mills, 42 seconds off the win. Second at Astronaut a week earlier in 19:09.9 behind Gaona-Zelaya, on a course that reads slow, worth about 18:28 at Cecil Field; Rockledge reads a few seconds fast, so the two runs level about 30 seconds apart and Astronaut is the better one. Sixth, where she was, on two races. Gaona-Zelaya is the only girl on this list who has beaten her.
7. Avery Hartley, Bartram Trail, So.
Fourteenth at the Southern Showcase championship race in 19:01.6, in a 160-girl field, the third Florida girl outside IMG behind Lola Jackson and Harmony Holland of Niceville. Huntsville reads about half a minute fast for girls, so the run is worth about 19:33 at Cecil Field, 80 seconds slower leveled than her 18:13.0 for second at Cecil Field in August. Fifth to seventh, and she holds seventh on the rule: she beat Brown, Austin, Delaney, Cerasi and Godfrey at Cecil Field, has met none of them since, and a loss stands until they race again. Only Duffell has beaten her.
8. Elise Brown, St. Thomas Aquinas, So.
Has not raced since King of the Hill on September 10, which she won out of 239 in 19:15.7 by 74 seconds on a course that reads slow, worth about 18:49 at Cecil Field. Seventh at Cecil Field in 18:50.0 before that, two runs that say the same thing. Eighth, where she was: Hartley beat her at Cecil Field and holds seventh on that result, and she beat Austin, Cerasi, Delaney and Godfrey in the same race. She and Lewis have not met, and her figure is better by more than 20 seconds.
9. Allison Austin, Atlantic Coast, So.
Did not race. Second at the Buchholz Bobcats Classic on September 12 in 19:10.4, 33 seconds behind Camila Giles of Bishop Kenny 3A, and ninth at Cecil Field in 18:56.0; Buchholz reads about even for girls. Thirteenth to ninth without running: Delaney ran Katie Caples, a fast-reading course, and her figure slipped, and Austin had beaten her at Cecil Field anyway. Duffell, Hartley and Brown beat her there, and that order holds until they meet again.
10. Nicole Lewis, Doral Academy, Jr.
Second in the Spanish River Race of Champions in 18:53.4 out of 152, 50 seconds behind Antunez-Perez and 18 ahead of Parrott, her third race. Won Pine Crest out of 325 in 19:09.1, which is not held against her, and fifth at the Horse Park in 18:43.0, one place ahead of Delaney, the run that ranks her. Spanish River reads about 33 seconds fast for girls, so Friday levels to about 19:27, slower than Ocala, and she slides from seventh to tenth. Gaona-Zelaya and Antunez-Perez are the only girls who have beaten her; she and Austin have not met, and Austin's figure is two seconds better.
Just missed
Peyton Cerasi (Matanzas, Jr.) is first out on 19:07.0 for 13th at Cecil Field; she did not race this week, and her DeLand win came on a course that reads fast and is not held against her. Avalyn Thompson (Lake Brantley, Sr.) did not race either; she won Spruce Creek on September 12 in 18:55.5 by more than two minutes, three wins in three starts, on courses we have not been able to price for girls. Eva Delaney (Creekside, So.) was sixth at the Katie Caples Invitational in 18:58, first home for Creekside in its third-place finish, after 18:44.8 at the Horse Park; Katie Caples reads fast, the figure slipped, and she drops from ninth. Analyse St John (Lennard, Fr.) was fifth at the Raider Open in 19:38.6, two minutes behind Muller, a freshman in the fourteen for the first time. Emma Godfrey (Creekside, Fr.) was seventh at Katie Caples in 19:10, one place behind Delaney, who finished ahead of her at Cecil Field too.
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 five times, last week four, week three three times, week two twice, opening weekend 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 and a newer chain of results outranks an older direct one. 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.
- Course readings this week, in plain words: the Southern Showcase, Katie Caples, North Port and Spanish River all read fast against Cecil Field, Rockledge a few seconds fast, Astronaut and King of the Hill slow. The Raider Open could not be priced for girls: the handful who ran it and the state meet do not agree, so Muller's run is listed and not counted.
- Hartley's seventh is the rule working, not a slight on a 19:01 in Huntsville: she beat Brown, Austin, Delaney, Cerasi and Godfrey at Cecil Field and none of them has raced her since.
- A race a runner won never lowers her figure: Eudaly's North Port win, Gaona-Zelaya's three earlier wins, Duffell's Cecil Field win, Muller's North Port win and Lewis's Pine Crest win are listed and not counted against them.