FLYRA Middle School State Cross Country 2026: Tavares Sweeps Public School Again, Heffernan and Matyka Run the Fastest Times of the Day

FLYRA middle school state championships, Saturday, October 31, 2026, Holloway Park, Lakeland. Results from Elite Timing. Friday's elementary races are covered separately.

Tavares Middle School won both public school team titles for the second year in a row. The girls scored 27 points to Emerald Coast's 40, the same two teams that went 1-2 last year, with Alice Ilea second overall and four more Tavares girls in the top 13. The boys scored 32 to Ruckel's 65, and that one turned on the finish straight: Gabriel Garback, a seventh grader, outkicked Thomas Carrizo for fourth place by three tenths of a second. By head coach Kevin Von Maxey's count it is the girls' sixth straight public school title and the boys' fourth.

The two fastest times of the day came from a seventh-grade girl and an eighth-grade boy. Colette Heffernan of No Excuses RC won the club girls' race in 10:10.8, 15 seconds faster than any other girl ran all weekend and 34 seconds clear of her own teammate. Drake Matyka of East Lake Middle School Academy won the public school boys' race in 9:39.8, 7.2 seconds ahead of Liam Jopling of Ruckel, in the biggest race of the meet.

Brianna Motycka of Liberty Pines Academy beat Ilea for the third time this fall, 10:26.0 to 10:35.1, in the public school girls' race. Ilea, the defending champion, ran seven seconds faster than her winning time from a year ago and finished second. The other five titles went to Tommy Schulte of Naples Elite, who beat RJ Destremps by 1.1 seconds in the club boys' race, Sophia Underwood of Liza Jackson Prep by 28 seconds in the charter girls' race, Valentina Sarcos in the private girls' race, Javier Parker of Doral Academy by 28 seconds in the charter boys' race, and Danny Hage of Calvary Christian, who held off Aiden Cruz of Belen Jesuit by 3.2 seconds in the private boys' race.

Conditions were kinder than Friday's. The 8:00 club girls' race went off at 76 degrees under cloud with an 8 mph wind, and it was 80 degrees and gusting past 20 by the time the private school boys started at 10:30. 1,546 runners finished the eight championship races.

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8:00 a.m. Girls Club Championship

Pl	Runner	Team	Time
1	Colette Heffernan	No Excuses RC	10:10.8
2	Amelia Flood	No Excuses RC	10:44.7
3	Madelen Finch	No Excuses RC	10:54.4
4	Emily Del Mazo	WIND Runners	10:56.5
5	Camila Boucher	Boca Warriors Track Club	10:59.7
6	Arielle Gorlovetzky	Boca Warriors Track Club	11:05.8
7	Katerina Skutnik	Boca Warriors Track Club	11:12.7
8	Brynn Genslinger	WIND Runners	11:17.6
9	Stella Murch	Gulf Coast Runners	11:21.3
10	Mia Kopcikova	Imagine Town Center	11:26.5
11	Piper Austin	No Excuses RC	11:28.9
12	Ella Waite	Gulf Coast Runners	11:34.8
13	Adeline Lammert	Gulf Coast Runners	11:35.4
14	Alexis Theuerkauf	YMCA Camp Cristina	11:39.6
15	Amaya Mader	No Excuses RC	11:44.6

Heffernan was third in the public school race last fall as a Landrum sixth grader in 10:46.4. On Saturday, racing for No Excuses as a seventh grader, she ran 10:10.8 and the race was over by the first turn. It was her fifth win in seven races this fall; the two she did not win were a second to Motycka at New World and a did-not-finish at the North Florida championship a week ago. Amelia Flood, who won North Florida that day, was second in 10:44.7, and Madelen Finch, second there, was third in 10:54.4. No Excuses went 1-2-3 and scored 27.

Emily Del Mazo of WIND Runners, third in this race a year ago for Gulf Coast Runners, was fourth in 10:56.5, three seconds ahead of Camila Boucher. Boca Warriors put Boucher, sixth grader Arielle Gorlovetzky and sixth grader Katerina Skutnik in fifth, sixth and seventh, 13 seconds apart, and scored 46 for second. Brynn Genslinger was eighth, Stella Murch of Gulf Coast Runners ninth in 11:21.3, the only top-ten finisher who was not on our preview, Mia Kopcikova tenth and Piper Austin 11th.

Team: No Excuses RC 27, Boca Warriors Track Club 46, Gulf Coast Runners 79, Imagine Town Center 130.

8:20 a.m. Girls Public School Championship

Pl	Runner	Team	Time
1	Brianna Motycka	Liberty Pines Academy	10:26.0
2	Alice Ilea	Tavares MS	10:35.1
3	Zoie Hart	Emerald Coast MS	11:10.6
4	Lilliana Gutfreind	Tavares MS	11:12.9
5	Kayla Santos	Tavares MS	11:20.3
6	Katelyn McIntyre	Nolan MS	11:25.8
7	Corbyn Fellers	Emerald Coast MS	11:37.0
8	Kate Lankford	Kanapaha MS	11:39.8
9	Amelia Hernandez	Tavares MS	11:40.7
10	Callie Skinner	Emerald Coast MS	11:42.3
11	Makya Rivenburg	Wildwood MS/HS	11:44.4
12	Mia Emhoff	Emerald Coast MS	11:44.7
13	Meadow Sadlemire	Tavares MS	11:51.3
14	Natalie Trimble	Montford MS	11:54.6
15	Ana Lucia Barba	A.D. Henderson	11:56.0

Motycka won this race last fall too, except that it was the club race, for No Excuses, in 10:24.8. This year she is a public school runner for Liberty Pines Academy, and the result was the same: 10:26.0, and nobody within nine seconds. She had beaten Ilea at Flrunners on October 2 and at New World on October 17, and neither of them finished the North Florida championship a week ago. Ilea's 10:35.1 was faster than her winning 10:42.2 from last year; she ran the race she needed and met a better runner.

Zoie Hart of Emerald Coast, who won the Stingray Panhandle championship two weeks ago, was third in 11:10.6, and then Tavares took over. Lilliana Gutfreind was fourth in 11:12.9, Kayla Santos fifth in 11:20.3, Amelia Hernandez ninth and Meadow Sadlemire 13th, with Hope Nesmith and Emma Williams 20th and 22nd. Katelyn McIntyre of Nolan, racing for the first time since September 26, was sixth. Corbyn Fellers of Emerald Coast was seventh, Kate Lankford of Kanapaha eighth in 11:39.8 with only two earlier races in our books, and Callie Skinner tenth, Emerald Coast's third. The race had 282 finishers, the most of any girls' race on the weekend.

Team: Tavares MS 27, Emerald Coast MS 40, Harmony MS 182, Ruckel MS 190. Emerald Coast scored Hart, Fellers, Skinner, Mia Emhoff (12th) and Kendal Cerny (16th) and still lost by 13; Tavares had five of the first 11 scorers.

8:40 a.m. Boys Club Championship

Pl	Runner	Team	Time
1	Tommy Schulte	Naples Elite	9:48.1
2	RJ Destremps	Hillsborough Harriers	9:49.2
3	Aidan Moylan	Imagine Town Center	9:59.9
4	Warren Wilson	Sifted Sports	10:02.1
5	Finn Dempsey	WIND Runners	10:06.1
6	Joao Cardoso	NEXTRUN	10:13.2
7	Andrew LaHayne	NEXTRUN	10:15.3
8	Elliot Lasota	No Excuses RC	10:15.8
9	Banks Stroup	Boca Warriors Track Club	10:16.0
10	Dylan Leuck	Milers Running Club	10:16.0
11	Brayden Milek	Boca Warriors Track Club	10:17.7
12	Amari Isom	No Excuses RC	10:18.0
13	Leonardo Loveland	Palm Beach Elite Track Club	10:21.1
14	Alex Geisel	Hillsborough Harriers	10:21.1
15	Cooper Finch	No Excuses RC	10:31.5

Destremps had beaten Schulte twice this fall, at Jim Ryun in August and at Flrunners three weeks ago, where they were second and third behind Matyka. Saturday went the other way. Schulte, an eighth grader from Naples who won North Port and AVE in September, ran 9:48.1; Destremps, who won the Bay Area championship two weeks ago, ran 9:49.2. Aidan Moylan of Imagine Town Center, who won the North Florida championship last week, was third in 9:59.9, and Warren Wilson of Sifted Sports fourth in 10:02.1.

Finn Dempsey of WIND Runners, who won the Lee County North Region meet for North Fort Myers Academy two weeks ago and was not on our list, was fifth in 10:06.1. Joao Cardoso and Andrew LaHayne of NEXTRUN, first and second at the OCMSAC championship, were sixth and seventh. Elliot Lasota was eighth, and Banks Stroup and Dylan Leuck were both timed in 10:16.0 for ninth and tenth. Brayden Milek was 11th and Amari Isom, who won New World, 12th.

Team: No Excuses RC 65, NEXTRUN 67, Hillsborough Harriers 68, Boca Warriors Track Club 92. Three points covered three teams. No Excuses won without a runner in the top seven, on Lasota, Isom, Cooper Finch (15th), Dutch Howanitz (20th) and Johnathon Hartley (24th); NEXTRUN had the better front two and lost on its fifth, and the Harriers had the race's second-place finisher and lost by three.

9:00 a.m. Boys Public School Championship

Pl	Runner	Team	Time
1	Drake Matyka	East Lake MS Academy	9:39.8
2	Liam Jopling	Ruckel MS	9:47.0
3	Luke Lomoriello	Hobbs MS	9:59.0
4	Gabriel Garback	Tavares MS	10:11.2
5	Thomas Carrizo	A.D. Henderson	10:11.5
6	Gage Meininger	Oakleaf Junior High	10:18.8
7	Lucca Wiseman	Pioneer MS	10:19.8
8	Andre Henfield Jr.	Top of the Flight Miami	10:20.6
9	Abel Roque	A.D. Henderson	10:21.5
10	Christian Psilos	Emerald Coast MS	10:21.7
11	Jack Ilea	Tavares MS	10:22.4
12	Falcon Mesa	Windy Hill MS	10:24.5
13	Noah Lopez	North Naples MS	10:24.9
14	Cael Rusmisel	Ruckel MS	10:26.5
15	Alejandro Hernandez	Tavares MS	10:29.6

Matyka was ninth in this race a year ago, unattached, in 10:20.9. He came back having won Flrunners and the PCAC championship for East Lake, and he ran 9:39.8, 41 seconds faster than last year and the fastest boys' time of the weekend. Jopling, sixth last year, won every race he entered in the Panhandle this fall (Kristine Lynn, the Okaloosa County championship, Nights of Thunder) and ran 9:47.0 for second. Luke Lomoriello of Hobbs, who ran 9:42.6 at the Gulf Coast Stampede in September, was third in 9:59.0. Those were the three we had on top in the preview, in a slightly different order.

Fourth place was the finish of the day. Garback, a Tavares seventh grader who was second at New World and at the Red Sea Central Florida championship, and Carrizo, an A.D. Henderson seventh grader who races the FAU High varsity in 5ks, came down the straight together. Garback got there in 10:11.2, Carrizo in 10:11.5. Gage Meininger of Oakleaf Junior High, fourth at North Florida, was sixth. Lucca Wiseman of Pioneer, racing for the first time since September 30, was seventh. Andre Henfield Jr. of Top of the Flight Miami, running his first race in our database, was eighth in 10:20.6. Abel Roque gave Henderson a second top-ten finisher in ninth and Christian Psilos of Emerald Coast was tenth.

Jack Ilea, a Tavares sixth grader, was 11th in 10:22.4, and Alejandro Hernandez (15th), Alexis Hernandez (18th) and Joel Cordero (19th) followed. Richard Taylor of Frostproof, listed as unattached, was 20th. The race had 323 finishers, the most of the weekend.

Team: Tavares MS 32, Ruckel MS 65, Landrum MS 99, Emerald Coast MS 119, North Naples MS 144. The team table was posted by the timer on Saturday evening. Tavares scored 2-4-7-9-10 in the team race; Ruckel had Jopling and Cael Rusmisel (14th) up front and its third runner in 29th.

9:30 a.m. Girls Charter School Championship

Pl	Runner	Team	Time
1	Sophia Underwood	Liza Jackson Prep	10:58.8
2	Reagan Harder	Jacksonville Classical	11:27.1
3	Brooke Stoneking	Round Lake Charter	11:34.2
4	Katelyn Milla	Cornerstone Classical	11:39.5
5	Haven Smith	Cornerstone Classical	11:39.5
6	Emmie Palacios	Mater Brickell Academy	11:46.0
7	Lia Chaustre	True North Classical Academy	11:57.1
8	Jayne McCarthy	Cornerstone Classical	12:02.1
9	Sophia Ramirez	Mason Classical Academy	12:07.2
10	Mackenzie Dye	Jacksonville Classical	12:08.6
11	Caylin Denis	Imagine School at North Port	12:12.8
12	Melina Focco	Imagine School of South Vero	12:14.1
13	Emma Whittington	Florida High	12:16.0
14	Andie Allison	Pinecrest Lakes Academy	12:16.2
15	Ava Miller	Cornerstone Charter Academy	12:16.5

Underwood won the private school race here last fall as a sixth grader for Saint Mary Catholic in 11:01.2. This year she is at Liza Jackson Prep, a charter school in Fort Walton Beach, and she won again, by more. Her 10:58.8 was 28.3 seconds ahead of Reagan Harder of Jacksonville Classical, a seventh grader who was seventh at the North Florida championship the week before. Underwood has not lost a race this fall: Gulf Coast Stampede, Kristine Lynn, the Okaloosa County championship and now this.

Brooke Stoneking of Round Lake Charter, eighth in this race last year and sixth at the Red Sea Central Florida championship two weeks ago in 12:11, was third in 11:34.2, 37 seconds better than that qualifier run. Katelyn Milla and Haven Smith of Cornerstone Classical were given the same 11:39.5 in fourth and fifth, and with Jayne McCarthy eighth the Jacksonville school won the team title with 53. Emmie Palacios of Mater Brickell, who won the Superfly meet last week, was sixth. Lia Chaustre of True North Classical, whom we had second, was seventh; Sophia Ramirez of Mason Classical ninth; Mackenzie Dye of Jacksonville Classical tenth.

Team: Cornerstone Classical 53, Liza Jackson Prep 102, Villages Charter 119, Jacksonville Classical 123.

9:50 a.m. Girls Private School Championship

Pl	Runner	Team	Time
1	Valentina Sarcos	Alpha Omega Elite	11:15.3
2	Danika Mylett	The Pine School	11:27.6
3	London Ross	Ransom Everglades	11:37.9
4	Lia Kamar	Ransom Everglades	11:40.9
5	Valeria Avila	Conchita Espinosa Academy	11:47.0
6	Quinn Dinola	Bolles	11:48.1
7	Mila Manguart	Unattached	11:52.3
8	Molly Joly	Unattached	11:55.3
9	Callaway Bolt	Foundation Academy	11:55.6
10	Harper McDonald	Seacrest Country Day	12:00.7
11	Anabelle Assad	Unattached	12:02.3
12	Evelyn Liever	Berkeley Prep	12:04.5
13	Lainey Evans	Foundation Academy	12:06.6
14	Noelani Love	Southwest Florida Christian	12:11.6
15	Bri Gladstein	Community of Naples	12:12.3

Sarcos was fifth in this race last fall for Conchita Espinosa. This fall she raced for Palmer Trinity and won nearly everything she entered, including Spanish River in 10:56.6 and the Miami-Dade Youth Fair, and she ran 19:49 for second in the Palm League 5k nine days before state. Entered under the Alpha Omega Elite club name, she won in 11:15.3. Danika Mylett of The Pine School, a seventh grader who ran 20:26 for 5k at Sebastian River the week before, was second in 11:27.6. Adrianna Mattera, her Pine School teammate whom we had second, did not appear in the results.

London Ross and Lia Kamar of Ransom Everglades, seventh-grade teammates who were fourth and fifth at Spanish River, finished third and fourth, 3.0 seconds apart. Valeria Avila of Conchita Espinosa, a seventh grader whose best 3K before Saturday was 12:09 at AVE in September, was fifth in 11:47.0, 22 seconds faster than that. Quinn Dinola of Bolles, a sixth grader, was sixth. Mila Manguart and Molly Joly, both listed as unattached, were seventh and eighth, Callaway Bolt of Foundation Academy ninth and Harper McDonald of Seacrest tenth. Anabelle Assad and Evelyn Liever were 11th and 12th.

Team: Ransom Everglades 46, Southwest Florida Christian 114, Bolles 125, Gulliver Academy 163. Ransom Everglades had the third, fourth, 17th and 22nd finishers and won by 68.

10:10 a.m. Boys Charter School Championship

Pl	Runner	Team	Time
1	Javier Parker	Doral Academy	9:56.7
2	Colton Jobe	Villages Charter	10:25.2
3	Julian Moreno	Mater Brickell Academy	10:40.3
4	Jace Lewis	Villages Charter	10:42.7
5	Landon Avila	Doral Academy	10:46.6
6	Ezekiel Wyman	Florida High	10:48.3
7	Grant Phillips	Florida High	10:53.4
8	Josiah Northington	Florida High	10:54.3
9	Shane Christian	Unattached	10:55.9
10	Jaxson Warnecke	Liza Jackson Prep	10:56.9
11	Eden Albertse	Mater Brickell Academy	10:57.7
12	Andrew Baker	Jacksonville Classical	11:05.4
13	Camaal Reid	Liza Jackson Prep	11:08.5
14	Wesley Wisniewski	LLT South Bay	11:09.5
15	Elias Martinez	True North Classical Academy	11:10.7

Parker spent the fall racing the Doral Academy varsity in 5ks, 16:46.9 at Snake Bite among them, and came down to 3K once, to win the middle school race at Spanish River in 9:55.6. He ran 9:56.7 here and won by 28.5 seconds. Colton Jobe of The Villages Charter, who won the Red Sea Central Florida championship and was third at New World, was second in 10:25.2, and his seventh-grade teammate Jace Lewis fourth in 10:42.7. Between them was Julian Moreno of Mater Brickell in 10:40.3, whose only two previous results in our database were 43rd at the Miami-Dade Youth Fair and 24th at the Superfly meet, both 2.1-mile races. That is a very different runner.

Landon Avila of Doral was fifth. Then Florida High of Tallahassee put Ezekiel Wyman, Grant Phillips and Josiah Northington in sixth, seventh and eighth within six seconds, and that won the team title, 58 to The Villages' 71. Shane Christian, listed as unattached, was ninth and Jaxson Warnecke of Liza Jackson Prep tenth. Raul Binzha-Juarez of Bok Academy, whom we had eighth on one fast race at the Polk County championship, was 45th; that read was thin and we said so.

Team: Florida High 58, Villages Charter 71, Doral Academy 99, Mater Brickell Academy 119.

10:30 a.m. Boys Private School Championship

Pl	Runner	Team	Time
1	Danny Hage	Calvary Christian	9:56.6
2	Aiden Cruz	Belen Jesuit	9:59.8
3	Kaden Webb	Carrollwood Day School	10:02.6
4	Connor Lucas	Foundation Academy	10:11.5
5	Maxwell Claypool	Canterbury	10:12.5
6	Noah Chandler	Tampa Bay HEAT	10:15.0
7	Andres Ferris	NSU University	10:17.3
8	Liam Chong	Beaches Chapel	10:17.9
9	Hunter Espinel	St. Kevin Catholic	10:18.8
10	Benjamin Hidalgo	St. Timothy Parish School	10:18.9
11	Antonio Alvarez Valdez	Ransom Everglades	10:20.4
12	Danny Deptula	Bolles	10:23.5
13	Jackson Laneve	Assumption Catholic	10:25.8
14	Liam Piper	Southwest Florida Christian	10:26.1
15	Nicolas Adler	Ransom Everglades	10:28.6

Hage, a Calvary Christian seventh grader, won the Gold Coast conference meet over 1.5 miles two weeks ago and ran 17:30 in a high school race at New World. We had him fourth here. He ran 9:56.6 and won. Cruz, a Belen Jesuit seventh grader who was seventh in this race last year, won the Miami-Dade Youth Fair middle school race and was third at Spanish River; he was second in 9:59.8 and gave Belen the start it needed. Kaden Webb of Carrollwood Day, who ran 17:36 for 5k at the Tampa Bay private school championship nine days earlier, was third in 10:02.6.

Connor Lucas of Foundation Academy, who had raced high school 5ks since September, was fourth in 10:11.5, a second ahead of Maxwell Claypool of Canterbury, our pick to win. Noah Chandler of Tampa Bay HEAT was sixth, Andres Ferris of NSU University seventh, Liam Chong of Beaches Chapel eighth, Hunter Espinel of St. Kevin Catholic ninth and Benjamin Hidalgo of St. Timothy tenth. Liam Piper, our second pick, was 14th in 10:26.1, and Yahya Barakat 19th. The race was the deepest of the day: 30 scoring teams and 261 finishers, and tenth place to 19th covered 19 seconds.

Team: Belen Jesuit 88, Ransom Everglades 129, Calvary Christian 139, Conchita Espinosa Academy 177, Gulliver Academy 185. Belen Jesuit scored 2-14-15-19-38 and won by 41 over Ransom Everglades; Calvary Christian, with the individual champion, was third.

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Friday's open 3Ks

The two open races ran Friday evening at 82 and 83 degrees with a 15 mph wind, right after the elementary races. Layne Schiebel of Httr Tornadoes, a seventh grader who won the Bay Area championship two weeks ago and chose the open race over the club championship, won the girls' race in 11:45.0 over Caroline Richardson of Central Florida Gliders (11:56.5) and Marli Thompson of Tavares (12:23.3). Tavares put five girls in the top 15 and won the open team title with 29 points, the program's third team title of the weekend. Brayden Erwin of Merritt Island Christian, an eighth grader who spent the fall in high school 5ks, won the boys' race in 10:57.8. Hardee Junior High went 2-3-4-5 behind him with Ausom Torres, Jabes Ruiz, Gonzalo Lucatero and Victor Salazar and scored 22; Belen Jesuit was second with 57.

Team titles

• Girls club: No Excuses RC (27) over Boca Warriors Track Club (46), Gulf Coast Runners (79)
• Girls public school: Tavares (27) over Emerald Coast (40), Harmony (182), Ruckel (190)
• Boys club: No Excuses RC (65) over NEXTRUN (67), Hillsborough Harriers (68), Boca Warriors Track Club (92)
• Boys public school: Tavares (32) over Ruckel (65), Landrum (99), Emerald Coast (119)
• Girls charter school: Cornerstone Classical (53) over Liza Jackson Prep (102), Villages Charter (119), Jacksonville Classical (123)
• Girls private school: Ransom Everglades (46) over Southwest Florida Christian (114), Bolles (125), Gulliver Academy (163)
• Boys charter school: Florida High (58) over Villages Charter (71), Doral Academy (99), Mater Brickell (119)
• Boys private school: Belen Jesuit (88) over Ransom Everglades (129), Calvary Christian (139), Conchita Espinosa Academy (177)
• Friday open: Tavares girls (29), Hardee Junior High boys (22)

What the fall said

Our preview named ten runners in each championship race. In the girls' club race all ten finished in the top 11, and nine of our ten charter girls finished in the top ten. The public school girls went almost to script: Motycka, Ilea and Hart 1-2-3 as listed, eight of our ten in the top ten, with Lankford and Hernandez the two we did not have. The public school boys had our top three on the podium and six of ten in the top ten; Garback, whom we had just outside the ten, was fourth, and Meininger, Henfield and Roque were the surprises.

The private school races were where the lists missed. Seven of our ten private school girls finished in the top ten, but Mattera was not in the results and Avila and Bolt came from outside the list. In the private boys' race only six of ten did: Hage won from fourth on our list, Claypool was fifth from first, Piper 14th from second, and Cruz, Lucas, Ferris and Espinel were not on it at all. The charter boys' race produced the biggest single surprise in Moreno, third off two mid-pack 2.1-mile results. Every one of the weekend's fourteen races is in the Florida XC results database.