FLYRA Top Fives and the Team Race in Four Divisions: Florida Middle School and Elementary Cross Country

FLYRA middle school and elementary cross country, season through September 12, 2026

The FLYRA middle school state meet at Holloway Park in Lakeland will score its team race in four divisions this fall: Public, Private, Charter and Club. That is four different championships run on the same morning, and the thing that makes Florida middle school cross country hard to read is that the same kid can be a public school runner on Tuesday and a club runner on Saturday. So this is a checkpoint with the season a little more than half done. The five best middle schoolers and the five best elementary runners on each side, and then the team race, division by division, with the jersey questions that will decide most of it.

Above: Dylan Meredith, running unattached, leads Reese McGovern of Belleview Middle School at the Wildwood Invitational on Saturday. Meredith won the boys' race in 13:47.7, a week after finishing fifth at the Grayling Memorial, and McGovern, a seventh grader, won the girls' race in 14:16.2 to lead a Belleview sweep of the first four places. Photo: Lacey McGovern.

How to read the numbers: every runner is listed with the time they actually ran, and the number in parentheses is our projection of what that run is worth at the state meet. The projections set the order, but the raced time is always the official number. When the run that ranks a kid is not the most recent one, the meet is named. We use data and judgment both, and we will miss one or two along the way.

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Middle School Girls Top 5

1. Colette Heffernan, No Excuses RC, 7th grade - 10:44.2 at Cecil Field (projects 9:59.0)

Two starts, two wins, and nobody within seventeen seconds of her in either. She won Cecil Field on opening night and then the Florida Horse Park Invitational out of 169 in 10:17.8, with Alice Ilea second. She has not raced since, and she has not raced Motycka. First either way.

2. Brianna Motycka, Liberty Pines Academy, 8th grade - 11:07.2 at Jim Ryun (projects 10:29.6)

The defending state champion won the Nights of Thunder girls' 3K at Apalachee Regional Park, the high school state course in 10:44.8, eleven seconds ahead of Ilea. Ilea had beaten her by 1.3 seconds at Jim Ryun three weeks earlier, and the most recent meeting is the one that counts. She has raced under Liberty Pines Academy's name both times this fall, but she has run most of her youth career for No Excuses, and won the Club race in that jersey last October. We expect her to run for No Excuses this fall.

3. Alice Ilea, Red Sea Running Club, 8th grade - 11:05.9 at Jim Ryun (projects 10:28.3)

Five races in three weeks, and she is the only girl here who has raced both of the two above her. Wins at Jim Ryun, Indian River and the Windy Hill invitational, second to Heffernan at the Horse Park in 10:35.5, second to Motycka at Nights of Thunder in 10:56.0. Last fall's Public division champion for Tavares Middle School.

4. Amelia Flood, No Excuses RC, 8th grade - 11:23.0 at Cecil Field (projects 10:37.8)

Second to Heffernan at Cecil Field on opening night and has not raced since. Sixth in the Club race at state last fall in 11:20.0, and the seed says she is a minute better than that now.

5. Emily Del Mazo, WIND Runners, 7th grade - 11:27.3 at Jim Ryun (projects 10:49.7)

Third at Jim Ryun behind Ilea and Motycka, and racing high school varsity for Community School of Naples since: she won the Cape Coral Seahawk Invite 5K outright and was second at the Fort Myers XC Invite in 20:37.2. A seventh grader who is already on our 1A girls' list. Her middle school ranking still comes from Jim Ryun.

Next up: Sophia Underwood (Liza Jackson Preparatory School, 7th), who won the Gulf Coast Stampede in 10:58.6 by 43 seconds; Camila Boucher (Boca Warriors Track Club, 8th), 11:11.3 at Nights of Thunder; Valentina Sarcos (Palmer Trinity, 8th); Acadia Hassell (Montford Middle School, 8th), unraced on an 11:04.9 state seed.

Middle School Boys Top 5

1. RJ Destremps, Hillsborough Harriers, 8th grade - 10:08.4 at Jim Ryun (projects 9:30.8)

Two starts, two wins, and nobody within eleven seconds of him in either: Jim Ryun on opening weekend, then the Horse Park in 9:53.8 out of 246. He has not raced since. Lomoriello has now run faster on the clock; Destremps beat him by nine seconds the one time they met.

2. Luke Lomoriello, Hobbs Middle School, 8th grade - 10:17.3 at Jim Ryun (projects 9:39.7)

Won the Gulf Coast Stampede middle school race in 9:42.6, 36 seconds clear of a 171-boy field from four states, the fastest raw 3K by a Florida middle schooler this fall. Three starts: second at Jim Ryun, then wins at Pace and the Stampede by 73 and 36 seconds.

3. Liam Jopling, Ruckel Middle School, 8th grade - 10:25.0 at Nights of Thunder (projects 10:15.9)

The fastest returner in Florida, 10:01.3 at state last November, opened at last at Apalachee Regional Park, the high school state course, and won by twelve seconds over teammate Cael Rusmisel. The night reading of that course undersells him: Jack Ilea of Red Sea was 30 seconds behind Jopling at Nights of Thunder and 29 seconds behind Colton Jobe at the Horse Park a week earlier, which puts Jopling right with Jobe, and the state time breaks the tie. He stays behind Destremps and Lomoriello until he meets one of them.

4. Colton Jobe, Villages Charter Middle School, 8th grade - 10:44.5 at Seffner Christian (projects 9:59.7)

Won the Seffner Christian middle school 3K by 2.4 seconds over Warren Wilson on a slow course, a run worth 9:59.7 in November terms, the week after running 10:05.2 for second at the Horse Park behind Destremps. Moylan, Cardoso, Matyka and Claypool all finished behind him in Ocala and none has beaten him since.

5. Aidan Moylan, Imagine Town Center, 8th grade - 10:05.3 at the Horse Park (projects 10:11.2)

Three courses, three answers, each one faster: Spikes and Spurs in 11:04.9, Indian River in 10:38.7, the Horse Park in 10:05.3 for third, a tenth behind Jobe. Has not raced since.

Next up: Drake Matyka (Unattached, 8th), 10:19.3 at Jim Ryun; Tommy Schulte (Naples Elite, 8th), the same time in the same race and unraced since; Joao Cardoso (Neptune Middle School, 8th), who won the JT Memorial two-mile; Maxwell Claypool (WIND Runners, 8th); Elliot Lasota (No Excuses RC, 7th), who won Cecil Field.

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Elementary Girls Top 5

1. Aliana Alvarez, Red Sea Running Club, 5th grade - 7:23.8 at the Horse Park (projects 7:15.8)

The defending 3rd-5th grade state champion has won both elementary 2k races she has entered by 49 seconds or more, and her 7:23.8 in Ocala was faster than every boy in that race. Then on Saturday she skipped the 2k altogether and ran the middle school 3K at Nights of Thunder for Red Sea's middle school team, finishing third in 11:01.8 behind Motycka and Ilea, the two best eighth graders in the state. That run is mentioned here, not scored. Under a new FLYRA rule this year, fifth graders cannot compete in the middle school division, so in Lakeland she is an elementary runner and this is her list. A fifth grader.

2. Gracie Freeman, Naples Christian Academy, 5th grade - 8:19.2 at the SAC meet (projects 8:05.0)

Opened on Saturday at the SAC Regular Season Meet in Naples and won the elementary girls' 2k by 74 seconds, leading a Naples Christian sweep of the first five places. That run projects to the exact 8:05.0 she ran for fifth at state last fall, and it moves her ahead of Rosales by less than a second on a course we have only a handful of kids to rate it by. Call the two of them even until they meet.

3. Julieta Rosales, CPS Performance, 4th grade - 8:13.3 at the Horse Park (projects 8:05.7)

Second to Alvarez at the Horse Park in 8:13.3, the fastest fourth grader in the state by a wide margin. Seventh at state last fall for West Express Elite in 8:05.4, and she is running right at that number in early September.

4. Lainey Jessup, Hillsborough Harriers, 5th grade - 8:23.9 at the Horse Park (projects 8:16.3)

Fourth at Jim Ryun, third at the Horse Park in 8:23.9, and more than a minute faster between the two. Tenth at state last fall.

5. Avery Maldonado, Red Sea Running Club, 5th grade - 8:33.4 at the Horse Park (projects 8:25.8)

Second at Jim Ryun and fourth at the Horse Park, both times the second Red Sea girl home behind Alvarez. Ninth at state last fall in 8:14.9, a seed she has not yet run down.

Elementary Boys Top 5

1. Gabriel Hirakuri Lehmkuhl, Boca Warriors Track Club, 5th grade - 7:36.8 at the Horse Park (projects 7:29.2)

Two starts, two wins: Jim Ryun by six seconds, then the Horse Park in 7:36.8, holding off Julian Vazquez by 2.4 seconds. Eighth at state last fall, and better than that now.

2. Julian Vazquez, SV Performance Training, 5th grade - 7:39.2 at the Horse Park (projects 7:31.6)

Second at the Horse Park in 7:39.2, twenty seconds under the time he ran for 15th at state last fall. He is the son of Sam Vazquez, the former Flagler Palm Coast miler who ran 4:03 in high school and the 1500 for Puerto Rico at the 2012 Olympics.

3. Brody Milek, Boca Warriors Track Club, 4th grade - 7:22.9 at 2025 state, hasn't raced yet

Fourth at state last fall as a third grader, the fastest returning time in the elementary race. He has not opened, and the two boys above him have raced within a few seconds of his seed. The Boca Warriors have not put him and Hirakuri Lehmkuhl on the same line yet.

4. Zander Noal, Boca Warriors Track Club - 8:32.9 at Jim Ryun (projects 7:43.6)

Second at Jim Ryun, six seconds behind his teammate, and has not raced since. No published grade for him anywhere we have looked.

5. Holden Griggs, Team FTC Kids, 5th grade - 7:54.5 at the Horse Park (projects 7:46.9)

Third at the Horse Park in his first race we have on record, fifteen seconds behind Vazquez. No state result last year, so everything here is what he has shown this season.

Also from Saturday: Thomas Haughey of Naples Christian Academy won the SAC elementary boys' 2k in 8:08.0 by 29 seconds, thirteen seconds faster than he ran at state last fall, and goes in around thirteenth.

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The Team Race, Four Divisions

We score the team race the same way we score the high school lists: every runner's best projected time this season, all the teams dropped into one virtual race, five to score. A runner counts for the jersey they have worn most often this fall. Red Sea Running Club and Tavares Middle School are the same program, so they are scored as one team under the Tavares name in the Public division, which is where they raced and won last October. Division comes from where a team raced at last year's state meet; new teams are placed by what they are.

Public

Girls. Tavares (Public) and Emerald Coast (Public) finished first and second in this race last fall, 53 to 63, and they are first and second again, in either order. Tavares has the front: Alice Ilea, then Kayla Santos and Lilliana Gutfreind at 11:33 and 11:40 on the projections. Aliana Alvarez ran as their second girl at Nights of Thunder, but a new FLYRA rule keeps fifth graders out of the middle school division this year, so Tavares is scored without her. Emerald Coast has the pack: Zoie Hart, Mia Emhoff, Callie Skinner and Corbyn Fellers went 1-2-3-4 at the Panhandle pre-conference meet within twelve seconds of each other, and a 15-point team score. On the projections Emerald Coast is eight seconds a runner better than Tavares' eligible five, on a course reading that rests on a small sample. That is the whole race, and the two have not met. Montford (Public) is third with Acadia Hassell still sitting on her state seed and Natalie Trimble at 12:13; Deerlake (Public) is fourth.

Boys. Ruckel (Public) and Tavares (Public) are a dead heat on the projections, and they have met: Ruckel scored 24 to Red Sea's 35 at Nights of Thunder on Saturday, on the high school state course. Ruckel has Jopling and Cael Rusmisel at the front and three more between 10:51 and 11:05. Tavares runs the tightest pack in the state, Jack Ilea, Gabriel Garback, Joel Cordero, Alexis Hernandez and Alejandro Hernandez, thirty seconds from first to fifth, and Jack Ilea is a sixth grader. Tavares beat Ruckel for the Public title last fall, 68 to 80. Montford (Public) and Deerlake (Public) are third and fourth and have split two Tallahassee meets, Deerlake at the Wolves Run and Montford at the Mustang Run by 22 to 45. Hobbs (Public) has Lomoriello and not much behind him.

Club

Girls. No Excuses RC (Club) has the best five in Florida, in any division, on what has been run: Heffernan, Flood, Madelen Finch, Amaya Mader and Piper Austin, and that is without Motycka, who has raced as Liberty Pines Academy both times this fall but has run most of her youth career for No Excuses and won the Club race in that jersey last October. We expect her to be in it again this fall, and with her the No Excuses scoring five averages under 10:52 on the projections, nearly thirty seconds a runner better than any other team in the state. Boca Warriors (Club) is second on Camila Boucher and Arielle Gorlovetzky, and they won the girls' team race at Indian River over Red Sea, 34 to 37. Imagine Town Center (Club), with Mia Kopcikova, and Hillsborough Harriers (Club), with Bailey Eggleston, are third and fourth.

Boys. This is the closest team race in the state. Hillsborough Harriers (Club) and No Excuses RC (Club) are one point apart in a virtual race, and they have not met. The Harriers have Destremps, then Wesley Taylor, Alex Geisel, Ace Hallinan and Landon Healy between 10:36 and 10:55 on the projections. No Excuses has no runner as fast as Destremps and a better second through fifth: Elliot Lasota, Cooper Finch, Amari Isom, Johnathon Hartley and Dutch Howanitz, 53 seconds from first to fifth. No Excuses won this division last fall by 24 points and won the Open race too; the Harriers were third. WIND Runners (Club), with Claypool and Parker Whittamore in the top twenty, is third and was second last fall. Imagine Town Center (Club) has Moylan and won Spikes and Spurs.

Private

Girls. Ransom Everglades (Private) won this race last fall and is the clear favorite again on Lia Kamar and London Ross, who has not opened. Behind them it is a pack: Episcopal of Jacksonville (Private), whose top five are 32 seconds apart, Bolles (Private), and Palmer Trinity (Private), which has Valentina Sarcos at the front and a long gap after its third runner. Sophia Underwood, who won this division for Saint Mary Catholic last fall, is at Liza Jackson now, and that moves her to the Charter race.

Boys. Belen Jesuit (Private) won this division last fall by 47 points over Ransom Everglades (Private), and the two are within a few seconds a runner of each other now. Ransom has won both Miami middle school meets it has entered, Miami Country Day and the Palmer Trinity invitational, on Nicolas Adler and Ruslan Lefrak, and Antonio Alvarez Valdes, their fastest returner, has not opened. Belen was second at the Horse Park behind NEXT with Jake Rubiera and Aiden Cruz in the top ten there. Calvary Christian Academy of Fort Lauderdale (Private) is third on Elliot Macki, Daniel Hage and Holden Byrd, with Macki racing high school varsity since August, and they have exactly five runners. Tampa Bay HEAT (Private) is fourth on Noah Chandler.

Charter

Girls. Cornerstone Classical Academy (Charter) won this division last fall and Liza Jackson Preparatory School (Charter) is even with them now, two seconds a runner apart. Cornerstone is the pack, Haven Smith through Kenadee Hagensick in 64 seconds, and was third in the girls' team race at the Horse Park. Liza Jackson is the front: Underwood, then Harper Atstupenas at 12:05, and they won the Dolphin Dash with 19 points and were second at the Gulf Coast Stampede. Villages Charter (Charter) and Jacksonville Classical Academy (Charter), with Reagan Harder up front, are next.

Boys. Villages Charter (Charter) is the best charter team by a wide margin and one of the five best boys teams in the state in any division. Colton Jobe and Jace Lewis at the front, Karter James and Eduardo Andrade under eleven minutes on the projections, and a 35-point win at Seffner Christian on Saturday. They were third in this division last fall. Liza Jackson (Charter) is second and won the Dolphin Dash; Florida High (Charter) is third. Cornerstone Classical, last year's champion, has lost its front and is well back on what it has run.

The jersey questions

Most of the drama in Lakeland is going to be settled before the gun, by which singlet a handful of kids pull on. Colette Heffernan ran Cecil Field for No Excuses, ran the Horse Park unattached, and ran state last fall for Landrum Middle School, which finished third in the Public race. Motycka has been Liberty Pines Academy on the entry lists and No Excuses on the podium, and we expect No Excuses in Lakeland. Joao Cardoso and Andrew LaHayne ran state for Soldier City Striders, won the Horse Park team race in a NEXT jersey with 56 points, and then ran the JT Memorial two-mile for Neptune and Harmony middle schools. That is three different names for one group of Osceola County kids, and the Club race has a third contender in it if they show up as one. Camila Boucher has moved from Palm Beach Elite to the Boca Warriors, Sarcos from Conchita Espinosa to Palmer Trinity, Underwood from Saint Mary Catholic to Liza Jackson. And Aliana Alvarez, who just ran for Red Sea's middle school team, will not have that choice in Lakeland: a new FLYRA rule this year keeps fifth graders out of the middle school division, so she runs the elementary 2k, and Tavares' girls are scored without her.

How these lists were built

• Every 2026 middle school 3K and elementary 2k is turned into a projection of what it is worth at the state meet, using the kids who have run both this season and the 2025 state meet. The projection sets the order. The time printed first is what the athlete actually ran.
• A head-to-head result orders two runners until one of them races again. A real result outranks a seed that is a few seconds better. A missed week is not a result and is never held against anyone.
• Returners from the 2025 state meet who have not opened are entered at their state time and labeled that way. Those seeds are floors.
• Middle school lists are grades 6-8; elementary lists are fifth grade and below. Last fall's eighth graders race high school now and last fall's fifth graders are middle schoolers. Grades come from the meet results and last fall's state file, and where neither lists one, we say so.
• Team scores come from a virtual race of every team's best five projected times, seven to displace. A runner counts for the jersey they have worn most often this fall. Red Sea Running Club and Tavares Middle School are one program and are scored as Tavares in the Public division. Fifth graders are not eligible for the middle school division this year, so Aliana Alvarez is scored on the elementary list only. A team's division is where it raced at the 2025 state meet; teams new to the meet are placed by what they are, and we will fix any we have wrong.
• The middle school top fives are unchanged from the week 4 middle school top tens, which carry the full entries and the reasoning on Jopling and Jobe. The elementary lists add Saturday's SAC meet to the elementary top tens published last week; the SAC reading rests on a handful of kids with a state time.
• We use data and judgment, and we will miss one or two along the way. Tell us who.

The next big middle school fields are two weeks out, and the divisions will start sorting themselves when the clubs and the schools finally share a start line. Every result is in the Florida XC results database, and the full rankings live on the rankings page.