Aliana Alvarez has won both elementary races run in Florida this season and ran faster than every boy at the Horse Park. Gabriel Hirakuri Lehmkuhl is two for two on the boys side. Our first elementary top tens, girls and boys, grades K-5.
Florida elementary cross country, season through September 5, 2026
Aliana Alvarez of the Red Sea Running Club won the 3rd-5th grade girls race at the FLYRA state meet last October, and she has started this season the same way she finished the last one. She won the Jim Ryun Invitational elementary race in Lakeland by 77 seconds on August 22, then won the Florida Horse Park Invitational in Ocala by 49 seconds on Saturday in 7:23.8. That was two seconds under her state-winning time, and it was faster than every boy in the Horse Park's elementary race too. She is a fifth grader.
The boys have a two-for-two runner as well. Gabriel Hirakuri Lehmkuhl of the Boca Warriors Track Club, also a fifth grader, won Jim Ryun by six seconds and then held off Julian Vazquez by 2.4 seconds at the Horse Park in 7:36.8. Behind those two, the Horse Park sorted out most of the boys list, and it brought a couple of surprises: a third grader from Miami in the top six, and Holden Griggs of Team FTC Kids, who had no state result last year, third in his first race we have on record.
These are the first elementary lists we have run, so here is what they cover. Two Florida meets have held an elementary race this season, both 2k, both open to kids through fifth grade: Jim Ryun on August 22 and the Horse Park on September 5. Close to 200 kids ran one or both. Every runner below is listed with the time they actually ran, and the number in parentheses is our projection of what that run is worth at the FLYRA state meet in Lakeland at the end of October. The projections set the order, the raced time is the official number, and where two ranked kids met at the Horse Park, the finish there decides. Kids who ran the 3rd-5th grade state race last fall as third or fourth graders and have not raced yet are seeded on that state time and marked that way. Every 2025 fifth grader is gone; they are middle schoolers now and you will find them on our middle school lists. We use data and judgment both, and with fields this young we will miss one or two along the way.
One thing to know before the lists. The same kids ran about a minute faster at the Horse Park than they had at Jim Ryun two weeks earlier, and the ones who also ran state last fall came through Ocala almost exactly on their October times. So a Jim Ryun time gets close to a minute of credit here, and a Horse Park time gets almost none. That is the cautious reading, and it is why a kid who only ran Jim Ryun can sit ahead of a kid who beat that time on Saturday.
Girls Top 10
1. Aliana Alvarez, Red Sea Running Club, 5th grade - 7:23.8 (projects 7:12.1)
Two starts, two wins, and nobody within 49 seconds of her in either one. Her 7:23.8 at the Horse Park is the fastest elementary 2k run in Florida this season by a boy or a girl, and it beat the 7:25.8 that won her the state title last fall by 31 seconds. Her opener at Jim Ryun, 8:05.1 on an August afternoon, projects a few tenths better than Saturday, and it does not matter. First either way, by a lot.
2. Julieta Rosales, CPS Performance, 4th grade - 8:13.3 (projects 8:01.6)
Opened at the Horse Park and ran second, 49 seconds behind Alvarez and ten ahead of Lainey Jessup. She was seventh in the state race last fall in 8:05.4 for West Express Elite, and she is a fourth grader, so she has two more years in this division. The only girl outside Alvarez who has broken 8:20 this season.
3. Gracie Freeman, Naples Christian Academy, 5th grade - 8:05.0 at 2025 state, hasn't raced yet
Fifth in the state race last fall, the second-best returning time we can place in this division behind Alvarez, and no 2026 result yet. The seed gets no credit for the summer, so it is a floor. Rosales raced within a few seconds of it, and a race beats a seed at a small gap, which is why Rosales is ahead of her and Jessup is not. When she opens, this spot is hers to keep or lose.
4. Lainey Jessup, Hillsborough Harriers, 5th grade - 8:23.9 (projects 8:12.2)
Fourth at Jim Ryun in 9:32.3, third at the Horse Park in 8:23.9, and the second time was 68 seconds faster on the clock. She was tenth in the state race last fall in 8:24.7, so she is already a shade under that in September. She beat Avery Maldonado on Saturday after losing to her at Jim Ryun, and the most recent meeting decides.
5. Avery Maldonado, Red Sea Running Club, 5th grade - 8:33.4 (projects 8:21.7)
Second at Jim Ryun behind her teammate, fourth at the Horse Park, and one of three girls in the top four at both meets, with Alvarez and Jessup. She ran 8:14.9 at state last fall, ninth, and neither of her 2026 times has reached that yet. Jessup got her by nearly ten seconds on Saturday. They will see each other again.
6. Nicole Bruce, NEXT - 8:42.7 (projects 8:31.0)
Fifth at the Horse Park in her first race on our books, nine seconds behind Maldonado and four ahead of Sophia Dolan. No state result from last fall to compare, and no grade listed in the results, so we are ranking the run and nothing else. NEXT put two girls in the top eight of the race.
7. Sophia Dolan, Hillsborough Harriers, 4th grade - 8:46.5 (projects 8:34.8)
Fourteenth at Jim Ryun in 12:03.6, then sixth at the Horse Park in 8:46.5, more than three minutes faster. Whatever happened in Lakeland, Saturday was the real one. She is a fourth grader.
8. Ruth Lomoriello, Unattached, 4th grade - 9:28.8 at Jim Ryun (projects 8:35.5)
Third at Jim Ryun, 84 seconds behind Alvarez and seven behind Maldonado, and she did not go to the Horse Park. She ran a 3k in the middle school race at the Panhandle pre-conference meet on September 1 instead, 13:58.4 for tenth against middle schoolers. Her spot rests on one August 2k, which is exactly the kind of run the Horse Park kids just went past.
9. Vivian Hartley, No Excuses RC, 4th grade - 8:30.8 at 2025 state, hasn't raced yet
Thirteenth in the state race last fall as a third grader. No Excuses has not run an elementary race yet this season, so she is seeded on that time, and Bruce, Dolan and Lomoriello all raced within five seconds of it, which is why they sit ahead of her.
10. Madison Mann, St. Paul Lutheran School, 5th grade - 8:31.1 at 2025 state, hasn't raced a 2k yet
Fourteenth at state last fall, three tenths behind Hartley. She has raced this season, just not at this distance: she ran the middle school 3k at Jim Ryun in 14:50.4 as a fifth grader. Her 2k seed holds until she runs one.
Next five: Linley Dziedziejko (No Excuses RC, 5th) 8:40.3 at 2025 state, hasn't raced; Harper Lafser (No Excuses RC, 4th) 8:40.8 at 2025 state, hasn't raced; Isabelle Kay (Team FTC Kids, 5th) 8:57.7 (8:46.0), seventh at the Horse Park; Jimena Rojas (NEXT) 9:01.2 (8:49.5), eighth at the Horse Park; Sofia Gibby (Team FTC Kids, 5th) 9:21.5 (9:09.8).
Also worth knowing: Allison Kay (Team FTC Kids) was 11th at the Horse Park in 9:33.0 and is listed as Class of 2038, which would make her a first grader. Emma Dolan (Hillsborough Harriers, 3rd) was fifth at Jim Ryun in 9:44.6 and 20th at the Horse Park. Hannah Cooper (Tampa Bay HEAT) was sixth at Jim Ryun in 10:26.4 and did not race Saturday.
Boys Top 10
1. Gabriel Hirakuri Lehmkuhl, Boca Warriors Track Club, 5th grade - 7:36.8 (projects 7:25.1)
Won Jim Ryun in 8:26.8 and the Horse Park in 7:36.8, and he has beaten every boy on this list he has lined up against. He was eighth in the state race last fall in 7:42.3, so he is already under that. In between he went to Vero Beach and ran the middle school 3k at Indian River, 11:58.2 for 21st against kids up to three years older. Two wins, one race up a level, and the only boy who has been in front at both meets.
2. Julian Vazquez, SV Performance Training, 5th grade - 7:39.2 (projects 7:27.5)
Second at the Horse Park, 2.4 seconds behind Hirakuri Lehmkuhl and fifteen ahead of everybody else. He did not finish Jim Ryun. His 7:39.2 is twenty seconds under the 7:59.2 he ran at state last fall, when he was 15th, and that is the largest improvement on last year's state time by any boy in this ten who ran that race. The rematch is the boys race of the fall.
3. Brody Milek, Boca Warriors Track Club, 4th grade - 7:22.9 at 2025 state, hasn't raced yet
Fourth in the state race last fall as a third grader, and every boy ahead of him that day is in middle school now. His 7:22.9 is the fastest returning elementary time in Florida, boy or girl. He has not opened, and the two boys above him raced within five seconds of that seed, which is the only reason he is third and not first. When he runs, the top of this list gets interesting. His teammate is No. 1.
4. Zander Noal, Boca Warriors Track Club - 8:32.9 at Jim Ryun (projects 7:39.6)
Second at Jim Ryun, six seconds behind Hirakuri Lehmkuhl and nine ahead of Oscar Molla, and he did not race the Horse Park. No state result from last fall and no grade in the results. His spot is built on one August run and the credit Jim Ryun earns, and Holden Griggs, who raced Saturday, is three seconds behind him on paper.
5. Holden Griggs, Team FTC Kids, 5th grade - 7:54.5 (projects 7:42.8)
Third at the Horse Park in the first race we have for him, fifteen seconds behind Vazquez and eight ahead of Logan DiCarlo. No state result last fall. Team FTC Kids were second in the team standings behind the Harriers, and he was the reason.
6. Richard Destefanis, Unattached, 5th grade - 7:40.8 at 2025 state, hasn't raced yet
Seventh in the state race last fall, a second and a half ahead of Hirakuri Lehmkuhl that day. He has not raced this season. Griggs ran within two seconds of the seed on Saturday and a race beats a seed at that gap. Every boy below him is chasing a number he set ten months ago.
7. Logan DiCarlo, Hillsborough Harriers, 5th grade - 8:02.7 (projects 7:51.0)
Fourth at both meets, 8:47.0 at Jim Ryun and 8:02.7 at the Horse Park, and the Harriers' first finisher on Saturday. He was 27th at state last fall in 8:19.7, and he has taken seventeen seconds off that already. He beat Molla on Saturday after Molla had beaten him at Jim Ryun, and the most recent race decides. The Harriers won both boys team titles.
8. Messiah Patterson, Unattached, 5th grade - 8:07.2 (projects 7:55.5)
Eighth at Jim Ryun in 9:13.9, fifth at the Horse Park in 8:07.2, more than a minute faster on the clock. He also ran the middle school 3k at Indian River in between, 12:29.1. Four and a half seconds behind DiCarlo on Saturday and less than a second ahead of the third grader behind him.
9. David Ladron de Guevara, Miami Vice Project, 3rd grade - 8:08.0 (projects 7:56.3)
Sixth at the Horse Park as a third grader. He won't turn up in the 3rd-5th grade state results from last fall because he was in the K-2 race, where he was fourth in the 1k in 4:00.0 for Conchita Espinosa. He has two full seasons left in this division after this one. The youngest kid in either top ten.
10. Lucas Suarez, Unattached, 5th grade - 8:09.0 (projects 7:57.3)
Seventh at the Horse Park, a second behind Ladron de Guevara and a second ahead of Wyatt Zimmer. He ran 8:26.3 at state last fall for Conchita Espinosa, 34th, and took seventeen seconds off it in his first race of the year. Three boys inside two and a half seconds on Saturday, and he was the middle one.
Next five: Wyatt Zimmer (Unattached, 4th) 8:10.3 (7:58.6), eighth at the Horse Park and four seconds under his state time; Oscar Molla (Hillsborough Harriers, 5th) 8:42.1 at Jim Ryun (7:48.8), third there and ninth at the Horse Park in 8:13.4, where five boys ranked below him on the clock went past him, which is why he is 12th and not seventh; Cana Oyer (San Juan del Rio Catholic, 5th) 7:55.1 at 2025 state, hasn't raced; Tristan Deanna (Hillsborough Harriers, 5th) 8:18.3 (8:06.6); Matthew Perez (Miami Vice Project, 5th) 8:20.6 (8:08.9), 19th at state last fall for Conchita Espinosa.
Also worth knowing: Samuel Hirakuri Lehmkuhl (Boca Warriors Track Club, 3rd) won the K-2 1k at state last fall in 3:50.1 and was 12th at the Horse Park in 8:21.9 as a third grader. Bodhi Teeters (Imagine Town Center, 5th) skipped the elementary race at the Horse Park and ran the middle school 3k instead, 11:29.4 for 36th out of 246. Hudson Austin (No Excuses RC, 5th) was 17th at state last fall in 8:03.1 and has not raced; No Excuses has not run an elementary race yet this season.
Where the teams stand
The Hillsborough Harriers have won three of the four elementary team titles so far. Their boys won Jim Ryun with 29 points over the Boca Warriors (49) and St. Paul Lutheran (60), and won the Horse Park with 20 over Team FTC Kids (45) and RLC (85). Their girls were the only scoring team at Jim Ryun, a perfect 15, and lost the Horse Park to Team FTC Kids by four, 40 to 44, with NEXT third at 78. The Harriers were the state 3rd-5th grade boys champions last fall (51 points over Conchita Espinosa's 57 and the Boca Warriors' 62), and their girls were third behind Red Sea (40) and No Excuses (45). Neither Red Sea nor No Excuses has fielded a full elementary team yet this season.
How these lists were built
- Two meets count: the Jim Ryun Invitational (Lakeland, August 22) and the Florida Horse Park Invitational (Ocala, September 5). Both elementary races were 2k. Any 2k run by a kid in fifth grade or below is eligible.
- The raced time is always the official number. The projection in parentheses converts it to what it is worth at the FLYRA state meet in Lakeland at the end of October, using the kids who have run both this season and the 2025 state 3rd-5th grade race. The projections are only used to order the lists.
- Jim Ryun in August graded out about a minute slow for these kids and the Horse Park graded even with last year's state meet, so Jim Ryun times get credit and Horse Park times get almost none. Where two ranked kids met at the Horse Park, the finish order there decides.
- Returners from the 2025 state 3rd-5th grade race who have not opened are entered at their state time and labeled that way. Those seeds get no credit for the summer, so they are floors. A real result outranks a seed that is a few seconds better.
- Last fall's fifth graders are in middle school now and are not on these lists. Grades come from the meet results and last fall's state file; where neither lists one, we say so.
- A missed meet is not a result and is never held against anyone. Kids who raced up in a middle school 3k are ranked on their 2k only; the 3k is mentioned, not scored.
Milek, Destefanis, Freeman and the whole No Excuses group are sitting on last fall's numbers, and every one of those is built to be beaten. The next big elementary field is whichever meet these clubs pick next, and we will update these lists when it happens. Catch up on the middle schoolers in the week 3 FLYRA rankings, and see every result in the Florida XC results database.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the fastest elementary cross country runner in Florida? expand_more
Aliana Alvarez of the Red Sea Running Club, a fifth grader. She won the 3rd-5th grade girls race at the 2025 FLYRA state meet and has won both elementary 2k races run in Florida this season, the Jim Ryun Invitational by 77 seconds and the Florida Horse Park Invitational by 49. Her 7:23.8 at the Horse Park on September 5 was faster than every boy in that race and two seconds under her state-winning time. The top boy is Gabriel Hirakuri Lehmkuhl of the Boca Warriors Track Club, also a fifth grader, who won both meets and ran 7:36.8 at the Horse Park.
How far do elementary cross country races go in Florida? expand_more
The elementary races at Florida invitationals and at the FLYRA state meet are 2k for grades three through five, with a 1k race for kindergarten through second grade at the state meet. These rankings cover 2k races only, open to any kid in fifth grade or below.
How are these elementary rankings calculated? expand_more
Every 2026 elementary 2k is converted to a projection of what it is worth at the FLYRA state meet in Lakeland at the end of October, using the kids who have run both this season and the 2025 state 3rd-5th grade race. The projection sets the order, but the time listed first is always what the athlete actually ran. Where two ranked kids met at the Horse Park, the finish there decides. Returners who have not raced yet are seeded on their 2025 state time with no credit for the summer, and last fall's fifth graders are left off because they are middle schoolers now.
Why does a Jim Ryun time get credit when a Horse Park time does not? expand_more
The same kids ran about a minute faster at the Horse Park on September 5 than they had at the Jim Ryun Invitational two weeks earlier, and the ones who also ran the state meet last fall came through Ocala almost exactly on their October times. So an August Jim Ryun time is worth close to a minute better than it reads, while a Horse Park time is taken nearly at face value. That is the cautious reading.
When is the FLYRA elementary state championship? expand_more
The FLYRA Middle School State Cross Country Championship at Holloway Park in Lakeland, run at the end of October, includes elementary races: a 2k for 3rd through 5th grade and a 1k for kindergarten through 2nd grade, each with boys and girls divisions.