Conference week leaves the boys ten unchanged: Nease won Middleburg without its New World top five, Columbus beat Braddock again at GMAC, and Niceville, Fort Myers, Flagler Palm Coast and Gulliver Prep all won titles.
Florida boys cross country team rankings through ten weeks: August 21-October 24, 2026
This was conference and county championship week. No two teams in the ten met at full strength, so New World, on October 17, is still the newest meeting for nearly every pair, and the order holds. Below is what each team did this week.
Seven of the ten raced, and all seven won. Nease (4A) won the Middleburg Bronco Classic with 46 and none of the five who scored for it at New World. Niceville (4A) won Okaloosa County, Fort Myers (3A) the LCAC Championship, Flagler Palm Coast (4A) the 5 Star Conference, Gulliver Prep (2A) the Palm League and Columbus (4A) the GMAC Championship. Belen Jesuit (3A), Bolles (2A), Hagerty (4A) and Doral Academy (4A) did not race.
The one meeting near the line was at GMAC, where Columbus beat Braddock (4A) 24 to 31. It is the second time in two weeks, and Braddock stays just outside the ten.
How this works, briefly. Every runner is scored on his whole season, with the most recent race counting most. A school's five best runners on that basis go into one virtual race with every other school's, scored the way cross country is scored. Times are leveled to Cecil Field through the runners who ran both the 2025 state meet and the course in question. A meet a team won is never allowed to lower its figure. Where two teams have raced each other and neither has raced its top runners since, the result on the grass orders them. A team that has not raced at all is projected from its returning five.
Points climb as more teams enter and are not comparable to last week's; compare the order and the averages. The averages below are converted season figures; the times next to each runner are his season figures in Cecil Field terms. Out-of-state entries are excluded, and IMG Academy competes as an FHSAA Independent outside the state series. The individual list is here, the girls' team list is here.
1. Belen Jesuit (Miami), 3A: 93 points
Season average 15:47.6 · 1-5 spread 1:27.6
Marcelo Mantecon 15:06.4; Armando Cruz 15:21.1; Jack Michalak 15:38.8; Nicholas Veloso 16:17.9; Dominic De Armas 16:34.0.
Did not race. Won New World on October 17 with 55, its top three going one-two-three: Marcelo Mantecon in 14:24, a course record, Armando Cruz in 14:50, Jack Michalak in 14:55. Second of 40 in the Great American Race of Champions. First by more than 200 points in the virtual race.
2. Nease (Ponte Vedra), 4A: 295 points
Season average 16:31.9 · 1-5 spread 0:42.3
Matthew Ishee 16:06.3; Rishi Chopra 16:19.8; Charles Carlson 16:41.2; Joseph Morley 16:43.4; Austin Courson 16:48.6.
Won the Middleburg Bronco Classic on October 24 with 46, 45 points ahead of Bishop Kenny, without Matthew Ishee, Rishi Chopra, Charles Carlson, Joseph Morley or Austin Courson: Ayden Dixon won in 16:36.2, then Luke Massaglia sixth, Leyton Shaw ninth, Preston Prine 14th and Evan Johns 16th. Creekside, 12th last week, was sixth. Second at New World with 93. Second.
3. Bolles (Jacksonville), 2A: 357 points
Season average 16:37.6 · 1-5 spread 0:37.4
Aidan Chandler 16:22.2; Aaron Ches 16:23.7; Armaan Sharma 16:35.7; Wyatt Cleek 16:47.0; Vincent Barragan 16:59.6.
Did not race. Fourth at New World with 218, the third team in the state series: Aaron Ches 26th in 15:32, Aidan Chandler 42nd, Armaan Sharma 49th. Eighth of 32 in the Eastern States Championship at Manhattan. Third.
4. Niceville, 4A: 411 points
Season average 16:39.8 · 1-5 spread 0:59.7
Bryant Olson 15:59.6; Brody Mathis 16:32.0; Sebastian Riemer 16:53.6; Reid Sadowski 16:54.4; Carson Jackson 16:59.4.
Won the Okaloosa County Championship on October 20 with 26: Bryant Olson first in 15:34.5, Brody Mathis fourth, Carson Jackson, Sebastian Riemer and Reid Sadowski sixth through eighth, 1.4 seconds apart. Fifth at New World with 270. Fourth.
5. Fort Myers, 3A: 548 points
Season average 16:38.5 · 1-5 spread 1:58.3
Reed Hagen 15:33.9; Trae Britton 16:20.0; Noah Lefko 16:27.9; Elijah Brown 17:18.5; Brock Jackson 17:32.2.
Won the LCAC Championship on October 24 with 20, 50 points ahead of North Fort Myers: Ben Moss second in 15:58.0, Elijah Brown third a tenth behind him, Trae Britton fourth, Noah Lefko fifth, Karol Mika sixth. Dylan Macias-Buenrostro of Mariner won the race. Holds fifth: it did not run New World and has not met the teams behind it since early September.
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6. Hagerty (Oviedo), 4A: 583 points
Season average 16:51.0 · 1-5 spread 1:07.3
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 its own Hagerty Invitational on September 26 with 95. Holds sixth: a missed week is not scored, and it has not met any of the teams below it since early September.
7. Flagler Palm Coast, 4A: 538 points
Season average 16:47.1 · 1-5 spread 1:25.9
Douglas Seth 16:04.2; Dylan Ciardi 16:34.9; Mateo Almeida 16:40.5; Enzo McGovern 17:05.9; Owen Stackpole 17:30.1.
Won the 5 Star Conference Championship on October 24 with 27, with its full lineup: Douglas Seth first in 17:00.4, Dylan Ciardi second, Mateo Almeida third, Enzo McGovern and Brayden Murray tied at 18:10.3 in 10th and 11th. Almeida, missing at New World, is back. Seventh.
8. Gulliver Prep (Pinecrest), 2A: 962 points
Season average 17:10.2 · 1-5 spread 1:20.6
Kayaan Ghaffar 16:21.2; Emilio Perez-Garcia 16:53.9; Adrian Iziliaev 17:13.7; Aston Conrad 17:40.5; Nicolas Altaba 17:41.8.
Won the Palm League Championship on October 22 with 23, with Adrian Iziliaev, Kayaan Ghaffar and Emilio Perez-Garcia first, second and third in 16:17.3, 16:24.6 and 16:29.4. Tyler Keating and Nathan Brooks were eighth and ninth. Sixth at New World with 344. Eighth.
9. Columbus (Miami), 4A: 608 points
Season average 16:56.0 · 1-5 spread 0:52.2
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.
Won the GMAC Championship on October 23 with 24, seven points ahead of Braddock: Nicholas Garcia first in 16:34.9, Lundin Steven second, Jeremiah Elington, Thomas Stanley and Bryce Barger sixth through eighth. Its second win over Braddock in two weeks, after New World. Ninth.
10. Doral Academy, 4A: 860 points
Season average 17:07.2 · 1-5 spread 1:20.8
Martin Fernandez 16:17.2; Rafaele D'Agostino 17:06.5; Pedro Rodriguez 17:13.3; Joaquin Cogo 17:21.0; Javier Parker 17:37.9.
Did not race. Eighth at New World with 353: Martin Fernandez 11th in 15:12, then Rafaele D'Agostino, Joaquin Cogo, Pedro Rodriguez and Sebastian Omegna. Beat Creekside and Braddock there. Tenth.
Just missed
Braddock (4A) was second at GMAC with 31, seven points behind Columbus, with Jacob Castanedo, Yanliet Gomezdelafe and Ian Vicente third through fifth. It stays 11th. Creekside (4A) was sixth at Middleburg with 155, without Eli Scharf, and is 12th. Wiregrass Ranch (4A) won SAC East with 21, Bogdan Anghel and Wade Pheffer first and second. Vanguard (3A) won the Marion Athletic Conference with 20 for its 28th straight title (MAC recap). Tavares (3A) beat Lake Minneola (4A) 30 to 41 at Lake County. Ponte Vedra (3A) and Buchholz (4A) did not race. IMG Academy is an FHSAA Independent and is not part of this list.
Where the virtual race disagrees with this list
- Fort Myers, Hagerty and Flagler Palm Coast are still ordered by last week's calls: Fort Myers and Hagerty did not run New World and have not met the teams around them since early September, and Flagler Palm Coast is placed on its full-strength New World score.
- Nease won Middleburg with a second group. That says a lot about its depth, but its place rests on New World.
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Method notes
- Where two teams have met at full strength, the newest meeting orders them. New World on October 17 is still that meeting for every pair in the ten except Columbus and Braddock, who met again at GMAC.
- Full-strength scoring from last week stands: Flagler Palm Coast is ranked on its New World score with Mateo Almeida placed at 16:06, a conservative estimate. Almeida ran this week.
- A team only counts as having raced when at least three of its season top seven ran. Teams that did not race hold their places.
- Head-to-head results from September 12 and earlier no longer order teams. The times still count in the figures.
- 40 meets from October 18 to 24 are new in the numbers, most of them conference and county championships. Middle school and elementary races and races shorter than 5K are left out. Several courses read differently for boys and girls this week; none of them decides a place on this list.
- Out-of-state teams are left out of the course readings and the virtual race. IMG Academy is an FHSAA Independent.
- Points are a virtual-race sum and move every time a new file enters the pool; compare order and averages, not points, week to week.
The individual list is here; last week's team list is here.
Featured image: Doral Academy's Martin Fernandez (left) and Nease's Matthew Ishee in the Boys Elite race at New World, October 17, 2026. Photo by Darrin DeTorres.