Belen scored 57 to win the Southern Showcase with its top three 1-2-3, Nease was third of 40 at Roy Griak with five under 16:07, and the Spanish River Race of Champions put Braddock and Columbus ahead of Doral on the grass, so both move into the ten.
Florida boys cross country team rankings through five weeks: August 21-September 19, 2026
Belen Jesuit went to Huntsville and won the Southern Showcase championship race with 57 points against 27 other teams, and did it with the first three places: Mantecon 14:41.6, Cruz 14:58.6, Michalak 15:01.7, then Veloso and Bodoh at 15:51 and 15:52. Five under 15:53 in one race. The night before, in Boca Raton, the second seven won the Class 3A scoring of the Spanish River Race of Champions. First, by a distance.
Nease flew to Minnesota and was third of 40 at the Roy Griak Invitational with 240 points, with Matthew Ishee fifteenth in 15:13.2, Rishi Chopra 15:22.8 and five boys under 16:07. Niceville was sixth at the Showcase. Bolles ran the adidas XC Challenge in North Carolina and was seventh; that file is not in the pool yet, so Bolles holds fourth on its Horse Park figures.
The change is in the middle. The Spanish River Race of Champions was scored by FHSAA class, and in the Class 4A scoring Braddock had 78, Columbus 103, Doral 105 and Spanish River 127, all in the same race on the same night. The virtual race had Doral fifth and Braddock twelfth. A result on the grass orders teams that have raced each other, so Braddock and Columbus go in ahead of Doral, and Fort Myers, which won the North Port Invite, is out at eleventh on the Cecil Field loss to Vanguard that we held in place last week. Flagler Palm Coast, third a week ago, was fifteenth at the Showcase with 388 and a 2:04 spread and drops to twelfth; Vanguard, which won Rockledge with 22, comes in at tenth; Gulliver, which won the Class 2A scoring of the Race of Champions, is fourteenth.
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 since, the result on the grass orders them. A team that has not raced at all is projected from its returning five.
Points climb every week 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 what he actually ran. Out-of-state entries are excluded, and IMG Academy competes as an FHSAA Independent outside the state series; there is a word on them at the bottom. The individual list is here, the girls' team list is here.
1. Belen Jesuit (Miami), 3A: 88 points
Season average 15:42.7 · 1-5 spread 1:10.7 · This week: 1st of 28 at the Southern Showcase (57). Won in week 1, week 3; that run is not held against them.
Marcelo Mantecon 15:07.1; Armando Cruz 15:24.1; Jack Michalak 15:27.2; Nicholas Veloso 16:17.2; Davi Bodoh 16:17.8.
First at the Southern Showcase with 57, a 1-2-3 finish and a fourth and fifth man 50 seconds behind the third. The Belen B team won the Class 3A scoring of the Spanish River Race of Champions with 197 the night before. The season figure counts the Showcase run, not the Cecil Field or Horse Park wins, because a meet a team won is never allowed to lower its number.
2. Nease (Ponte Vedra), 4A: 454 points
Season average 16:37.6 · 1-5 spread 1:02.2 · This week: 3rd of 40 at the Roy Griak Invitational (240).
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.
Third of 40 at Roy Griak with 240, behind Sioux Falls Lincoln and Dowling Catholic, in a 383-boy championship race: Ishee 15:13.2, Chopra 15:22.8, Morley 15:49.7, Courson 15:53.4, Carlson 16:06.7. The Griak course reads 55 seconds fast by Nease's own five against the state meet, which is the only sample we have, so the trip barely moved the figure; the five are still ranked mostly on Cecil Field. The performance was the best by a Florida team outside Belen this week and the number does not show it. We say so rather than adjust it.
3. Niceville, 4A: 461 points
Season average 16:37.8 · 1-5 spread 1:12.9 · This week: 6th of 28 at the Southern Showcase (227). Won in week 2, week 3; that run is not held against them.
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.
Sixth at the Southern Showcase with 227: Olson 15:27.6, Mathis 16:02.9, Sadowski 16:14.8, Riemer 16:22.2, Jackson 16:34.7. Held third; Nease and Niceville have not raced each other and are three points apart in the virtual race.
4. Bolles (Jacksonville), 2A: 492 points
Season average 16:41.8 · 1-5 spread 0:57.7
Brantley Rigdon 16:14.4; Aidan Chandler 16:24.8; Armaan Sharma 16:44.0; Vincent Barragan 16:54.0; Wyatt Cleek 17:12.1.
Seventh at the adidas XC Challenge in Cary, North Carolina. That file is not in the pool yet, so the Bulldogs stay on their Horse Park five and hold fourth. Nothing on the grass this week contradicts it.
5. Braddock (Miami), 4A: 718 points
Season average 16:57.5 · 1-5 spread 0:51.0
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 Class 4A scoring of the Spanish River Race of Champions with 78, ahead of Columbus, Doral and Spanish River in the same race: Gomezdelafe seventh in 15:58.5, Castanedo 16:14.1, Lacayo 16:22.4, Vicente 16:26.5, Knight 16:50.9. Twelfth in the virtual race and fifth here, because the three teams it beat had been ranked above it.
6. Columbus (Miami), 4A: 702 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.
Second in the 4A scoring of the Race of Champions with 103, two points ahead of Doral: Nicholas Garcia fourth overall in 15:53.4, then four boys between 16:37 and 16:46. Columbus's second group won the 4A scoring of the 3A-4A race with 38. Eleventh in the virtual race, sixth here on the result.
7. Doral Academy, 4A: 654 points
Season average 16:53.1 · 1-5 spread 0:57.6
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.
Third in the 4A scoring of the Race of Champions with 105: Martin Fernandez second overall in 15:47.8, D'Agostino, Parker, Cogo and Rodriguez between 16:46 and 17:10 on the season figure. Fifth in the virtual race, seventh on the grass.
8. Spanish River (Boca Raton), 4A: 656 points
Season average 16:53.0 · 1-5 spread 0:56.5
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.
Fourth in the 4A scoring of its own Race of Champions with 127, though Casey Sangely won the race in 15:46.4. Sangely, Moss, Benavente, Singerman and Irby give the Sharks a 57-second spread, the tightest in the top ten.
9. Hagerty (Oviedo), 4A: 658 points
Season average 16:51.0 · 1-5 spread 1:07.3 · This week: 1st of 16 at the Coach Joe McKinney Classic (37).
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.
Won the Coach Joe McKinney Classic with 37 against 16 teams, seven points ahead of Tavares: Camden Thompson 16:34.2, Nate Winslow 16:58.7, Lizon, Henson, Lizon. The McKinney course reads 23 seconds slow. Ninth on figure, and it has not met anybody ranked above it.
10. Vanguard (Ocala), 3A: 686 points
Season average 16:50.5 · 1-5 spread 1:25.6 · This week: 1st of 13 at the Rockledge Raider Classic (22).
Trevor Berquist 16:16.5; Lachlan Bryniarski 16:36.3; Jacob Rogers 16:44.0; Christopher Taylor 16:53.5; Cooper Gumpert 17:42.0.
Won the Rockledge Raider Classic with 22 against 13 teams: Berquist 16:02.3, Bryniarski 16:23.1, Taylor 16:30.9, Rogers 16:32.3, four in the top five. Tenth on figure, and holds its Cecil Field win over Fort Myers, which sits directly behind it. Ranked on the runners it has entered.
Just missed
Fort Myers (3A) won the North Port Invite elite race with 84 against 22 teams, 24 ahead of Steinbrenner, with Reed Hagen second in 15:30.3. It is fifth in the virtual race and eleventh here: it lost to Vanguard by seven at Cecil Field, the two have not met since, and that call stands. Flagler Palm Coast (4A) was fifteenth at the Showcase with 388, Seth 15:20.7 and a 2:04 spread; twelfth. Tavares (3A) was second at McKinney, seven behind Hagerty. Gulliver Prep (2A) won the Class 2A scoring of the Race of Champions with 129. Lake Minneola (4A) won Hawks on the Hill with 40, Thompson, Kelly, Sasson and Lydiard in the top six and a fifth man at 18:14; that fifth man is the whole story of its 885 points.
Where the virtual race disagrees with this list
- 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
- Vanguard over Fort Myers: Fort Myers lost to Vanguard by seven points at Cecil Field and the two have not met since; a win on a course priced a minute slow does not jump a team it lost to (Darrin, 2026-09-13)
- The Race of Champions result is the same race for all four teams; the class scoring only changes the points, not who beat whom. We applied it the way the engine applies any head-to-head: winner directly above the highest-ranked team it beat.
Method notes
- Every runner's season figure is built as in the individual list; the course readings for the week are in the boys' individual post. Roy Griak is priced from Nease's own five. The adidas XC Challenge (Bolles, seventh) is not loaded.
- Out-of-state teams at the Southern Showcase and Roy Griak are excluded; the Jesuit that was second to Belen in Huntsville is Jesuit of New Orleans, not Tampa.
- Spanish River scored its meet per FHSAA class, so the engine saw no team rows there; the Race of Champions order above was applied by hand from the timer's 4A scoring.
- A meet a team won never lowers its figure: Belen (weeks 1 and 3), Niceville (weeks 2 and 3), Fort Myers (week 5) each carry a dropped win.
- Points are a virtual-race sum over more than 90 scored teams and move a few points every time a new file enters the pool; compare order and averages, not points, week to week.
A word on IMG Academy
IMG Academy was fourth at the Southern Showcase with 213, Fletcher Rodbro 15:21.6 and Jackson Texada and Lucas Chiang in the 16:40s. IMG is an FHSAA Independent and does not compete in the state series, so it is named here and not scored.
The individual list is here; last week's team list is here; every result is in the rankings section and the weekend recap.
The class team lists are updated separately; the most recent editions: 1A · 2A · 3A · 4A.