Belen Jesuit went one-two-three at New World and won with 55, Nease was second, Flagler Palm Coast moves up to seventh on a conservative full-strength score, and Gulliver Prep and Doral join the ten while Ponte Vedra and Vanguard drop out.
Florida boys cross country team rankings through nine weeks: August 21-October 17, 2026
Almost every team on these lists met at the New World Fall Spectacular in Jacksonville on Saturday, in Elite races of 46 boys teams and 45 girls teams. It was the deepest meet of the Florida season so far, and our weekend recap has the full story. Where two teams met there, the order on the grass decides. A team that did not race holds the place its season earned.
Belen Jesuit (3A) won the Boys Elite race with 55. Marcelo Mantecon ran 14:24, a course record, with Armando Cruz and Jack Michalak right behind him. Nease (4A) was second with 93, more than 100 points clear of every other Florida team, and holds second. Bolles (2A) and Niceville (4A) were the next two Florida teams across and stay third and fourth.
Fort Myers (3A) and Hagerty (4A) did not race at New World and hold fifth and sixth. Fort Myers won Lee County Under The Lights on Friday with 26. Hagerty has not raced since winning its own invitational on September 26.
The bottom of the ten turns over. Flagler Palm Coast (4A) ran New World without Mateo Almeida, its No. 3, and scored 397. We scored the race as if every team had its full top five, placing missing runners conservatively, and with Almeida in at 16:06, slower than his season says he runs, Flagler Palm Coast scores 307, ahead of every team below it. It moves up from tenth to seventh, behind Fort Myers and Hagerty, which held their places last week and have not met it since. How we placed the missing runners is at the bottom.
Gulliver Prep (2A) was the next Florida team at New World with 344, then Columbus (4A) at 349 and Doral Academy (4A) at 353; they are eighth through tenth, with Gulliver and Doral new to the ten. Creekside (4A) beat Braddock (4A) by one point on the day, 372 to 373, but at full strength the two tie at 380, Braddock wins the sixth-runner tiebreaker, and both are just outside the ten. Vanguard (3A) was 15th with 480 and Ponte Vedra (3A) 19th with 532, and both drop out.
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: 102 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.
Won the Boys Elite race at New World with 55, its top three going one-two-three: Mantecon first in 14:24, a course record, Cruz second in 14:50, Michalak third in 14:55. Nicholas Veloso was 25th in 15:32 and David Jaramillo 41st. Second of 40 in the Great American Race of Champions on October 3. First by more than 200 points in the virtual race.
2. Nease (Ponte Vedra), 4A: 317 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.
Second at New World with 93: Matthew Ishee 12th in 15:13, Rishi Chopra 21st, Charles Carlson 27th, Austin Courson 29th, Joseph Morley 36th, a one-to-five spread of 27 seconds. Third at Roy Griak and seventh of 40 in the Great American Race of Champions. Second.
3. Bolles (Jacksonville), 2A: 376 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.
Fourth at New World with 218, the third team in the state series (IMG Academy was third): Aaron Ches 26th in 15:32, Aidan Chandler 42nd, Armaan Sharma 49th, Wyatt Cleek and Vincent Barragan next. Eighth of 32 in the Eastern States Championship at Manhattan the week before. Third.
4. Niceville, 4A: 432 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.
Fifth at New World with 270, a week after Hurricane Isaias closed its school: Bryant Olson ninth in 15:11, Brody Mathis 51st, Reid Sadowski 68th, Sebastian Riemer and Carson Jackson next. Won the Wildcat Invitational on October 3 with 22. Fourth.
5. Fort Myers, 3A: 564 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.
Did not run New World. Won Lee County Under The Lights on Friday with 26, 43 points ahead of Naples: Noah Lefko third in 16:24.6, Trae Britton fifth, Reed Hagen seventh, Ben Moss eighth, Elijah Brown 11th. Won the Race of Champions at the flrunners.com Invitational on October 3 with 86. Holds fifth: it has not met any of the teams behind it since early September.
Spikes
The spike for the championship stretch.
The championship meets are next, and most of the runners in these lineups will race them in a spike. The ASICS Resurgence XC is a cross country spike built for grass and dirt, with enough underfoot for 5K and a price well below the elite models.
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6. Hagerty (Oviedo), 4A: 598 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, two points ahead of Lake Highland Prep, with Camden Thompson third. Holds sixth: a missed week is not scored, and it has not met any of the New World teams below it since early September.
7. Flagler Palm Coast, 4A: 573 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.
Eleventh at New World with 397, without Mateo Almeida, its No. 3 on the season: Douglas Seth 20th in 15:26, Dylan Ciardi 28th, Enzo McGovern 86th, Owen Stackpole 165th, Brayden Murray 177th. With Almeida placed at 16:06, about 70th, it scores 307 at full strength, 46 points ahead of Gulliver Prep. Third of 25 in its varsity section at Manhattan the week before. Seventh, behind Fort Myers and Hagerty, which have not met it since early September.
8. Gulliver Prep (Pinecrest), 2A: 977 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.
Sixth at New World with 344, the fifth team in the state series: Kayaan Ghaffar 13th in 15:19, Emilio Perez-Garcia 48th, Nicolas Altaba 99th, Adrian Iziliaev and Tyler Keating next. Fifth at Snake Bite the week before with 87, behind Columbus, Braddock and Doral; New World is the newer meeting, and Gulliver beat all three. Eighth.
9. Columbus (Miami), 4A: 639 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.
Seventh at New World with 349, five points behind Gulliver and four ahead of Doral: Nicholas Garcia 37th in 15:40, Lundin Steven 61st, Jeremiah Elington, Jose Luis Cordero and Thomas Stanley within six seconds of each other. Its second group was second in the HS Boys B race, ahead of Bolles. Won Snake Bite on October 10. Ninth.
10. Doral Academy, 4A: 882 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.
Eighth at New World with 353: Martin Fernandez 11th in 15:12, then Rafaele D'Agostino 76th, Joaquin Cogo 89th, Pedro Rodriguez and Sebastian Omegna. Beat Creekside and Braddock, at full strength and on the day. Tenth.
Just missed
Braddock (4A) and Creekside (4A) are 11th and 12th. Creekside beat Braddock by one point at New World, 372 to 373, but at full strength they tie at 380 and Braddock wins the sixth-runner tiebreaker, 157th to 189th. Eli Scharf led Creekside in 15:31 and Yanliet Gomezdelafe led Braddock in 15:54. Buchholz (4A) ran without Finn Richards, its No. 3, and was 471; at full strength it is 407, still outside the ten. Wiregrass Ranch (4A) was 433. Vanguard (3A) was 15th with 480, led by Christopher Taylor in 15:56, and Ponte Vedra (3A) was 19th with 532 although Luke Ross was eighth in 15:10; both leave the ten. Lake Minneola (4A) did not race at New World. IMG Academy was third at New World with 201, behind Belen and Nease; it is an FHSAA Independent and is not part of this list.
Where the virtual race disagrees with this list
- Flagler Palm Coast is ranked on its full-strength score, 307, not the 397 it ran without Mateo Almeida. Every other team in and near the ten raced its full top five except Buchholz, which stays out either way.
- Fort Myers and Hagerty hold fifth and sixth on the missed-week rule. Neither has met any of the New World teams below them since early September.
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Method notes
- Full-strength scoring, how it works: for every Florida team at New World that was missing one of its season top five, we put the missing runner back into the race at his season figure converted to the New World course, then added 19 seconds to be conservative, and re-scored the whole race. Mateo Almeida went in at 16:06. Every other runner kept the place he actually ran.
- Those added times are estimates, not results, and they are deliberately slower than the season says. A team ranked on them moves the next time it races at full strength, up or down.
- New World is our standard for 2026 team evaluation. In 2023-25, the New World order held at the state meet for about 84 percent of team pairs, but the time gap between the two meets moved from year to year, so we use its order, not a fixed conversion.
- Where two teams met at New World, the full-strength result orders them, ahead of any older meeting. Teams that did not race hold their places.
- New World reads 54 seconds fast for boys, measured on 206 runners who ran both it and last year's state meet. Mantecon's 14:24 is a course record.
- A team only counts as having raced when at least three of its season top seven ran.
- Head-to-head results from September 12 and earlier no longer order teams. The times still count in the figures.
- Not rated this week: Clearwater Central Catholic, Walton County Home Meet 1 and Trenton, where the boys' and girls' readings disagree, plus meets with too few runners to measure.
- Out-of-state teams at New World are left out of the course readings and the virtual race. IMG Academy is an FHSAA Independent.
- Points are a virtual-race sum over more than 90 scored teams 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: Belen Jesuit's Dominic De Armas and Liam Salom in the Boys Elite race at New World, October 17, 2026. Photo by Darrin DeTorres.