Bishop Kenny opened with 29 points at Buchholz and the projection is gone; the real number is better than the paper, and they are second. Niceville stays first without a race. Bishop Moore holds third on a Horse Park win nobody has answered, and Holy Trinity, which won Astronaut with 66, is first out.
Florida girls cross country team rankings through four weeks: August 21-September 12, 2026
Bishop Kenny ran. The defending 2A champions, up to 3A this year, opened at the Buchholz Bobcats Classic with 29 points in a 19-team field, Camila Giles first in 18:37.2, Jillian Jakab third, Taylor Lawhon sixth, Rebecca McEnany seventh, Alexandra Lumpkin twelfth. A week ago they were third on a projection with a note that said so. The note comes off, and the real number is better than the paper: a 19:38.9 season average on one race, second in Florida.
Niceville is still first, and did not get to race. The Nights of Thunder varsity race, the one with Chiles in it, was called off for lightning, so the Pine Forest run still ranks them and the meeting the season is waiting on is still waiting. Bishop Moore did not race either and holds third, above Creekside, Ponte Vedra, Episcopal, Chiles, Doral and Carrollton, every one of which they beat at the Horse Park eight days ago. Nobody in that group has raced since, so the Horse Park still orders them. Holy Trinity 1A won the Astronaut Invitational with 66 and is first out. St. Thomas Aquinas 4A won King of the Hill with 32 over Lourdes 3A and is twelfth.
How this works, briefly. Every runner is scored on her 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 she 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 boys' team list is here.
1. Niceville, 4A -- 292 points
Season average 19:39.7 · 1-5 spread 0:19.5 Won in week 3; that run is not held against them.
Riley Marise 19:32.4; Anais Almonte 19:32.5; Sophie Clapp 19:40.9; Harmony Holland 19:41.0; Lola Jackson 19:51.9.
Were entered at Nights of Thunder and the varsity race did not run; the JV race is not rated and not scored. Three wins in three starts, Cecil Field by two over Chiles and Creekside, Pine Forest with 15, Pace with 20. The Pine Forest run ranks them, Riley Marise 19:32.4, Anais Almonte 19:32.5, Sophie Clapp 19:40.9, Harmony Holland 19:41.0, Lola Jackson 19:51.9, a 0:19.5 spread that nobody else in Florida is close to. Bishop Kenny and Bishop Moore are the two teams they have not seen.
2. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville), 3A -- 343 points
Season average 19:38.9 · 1-5 spread 1:36.7 · This week: 1st of 19 at the Buchholz Bobcats Classic (29).
Camila Giles 18:38.1; Jillian Jakab 19:21.3; Taylor Lawhon 19:58.6; Rebecca McEnany 20:01.5; Alexandra Lumpkin 20:14.8.
Opened at Buchholz and won it with 29 points: Giles 18:37.2 by 33 seconds, Jakab 19:20.4 third, Lawhon 19:57.7 sixth, McEnany 20:00.6 seventh, Lumpkin 20:13.9 twelfth, on a course that reads about even for girls. One race, a 19:38.9 average, a 1:36.7 spread. The projection that held their place is gone and the result is better than it was. Second in Florida, first in 3A, and they and Bishop Moore have not been on the same starting line.
3. Bishop Moore (Orlando), 3A -- 446 points
Season average 19:43.0 · 1-5 spread 2:47.1
Annabella Tomasic 18:32.7; Ella Valentina Valenzuela 19:09.8; Lauren Susnis 19:30.2; Caroline Byrnes 20:02.8; Ava Hryciw 21:19.8.
Did not race. The Horse Park win with 141 in a 49-team field is the only race they have run, and the virtual race has them sixth on it, with Annabella Tomasic 18:32.7 and Ella Valentina Valenzuela 19:09.8 up front and Ava Hryciw at 21:19.8 as the fifth. They are third because they beat Creekside by 42, Ponte Vedra and Episcopal by more, and Chiles by 111 on that day, and none of those teams has raced since. A head-to-head result stands until one of the teams races again. The next time Bishop Moore runs, the fifth runner decides whether this holds.
4. Creekside (St. Johns), 4A -- 367 points
Season average 19:36.9 · 1-5 spread 2:22.3
Eva Delaney 18:51.0; Emma Godfrey 19:07.7; Ivey Edgell 19:22.6; Hadleigh Roberts 19:30.0; Elena Schultz 21:13.4.
Did not race. The best season average in Florida, 19:36.9, on Eva Delaney 18:51.0, Emma Godfrey 19:07.7, Ivey Edgell 19:22.6, Hadleigh Roberts 19:30.0, and a fifth at 21:13.4 that makes a 2:22 spread. Second at the Horse Park with 183. Fourth here, behind the team that beat them there.
5. Ponte Vedra, 3A -- 575 points
Season average 20:09.6 · 1-5 spread 1:07.0
Savannah LaVasser 19:40.8; Piper Ross 19:42.5; Cailyn Douglas 20:11.0; Rio Ossi 20:26.1; Olivia Kaminsky 20:47.8.
Did not race. Third at the Horse Park with 190, the Spikes & Spurs win before it. Savannah LaVasser 19:40.8, Piper Ross 19:42.5, Cailyn Douglas 20:11.0, Rio Ossi 20:26.1, Olivia Kaminsky 20:47.8, a 1:07 spread and nobody under 19:40. Eighth in the virtual race, fifth here on the Horse Park finish over Chiles.
6. Episcopal (Jacksonville), 2A -- 671 points
Season average 20:16.0 · 1-5 spread 2:01.0
Stella Krueger 19:09.5; Holland McKinney 19:43.2; Audrey Brice 20:15.3; Whitney Morgan 21:01.5; Graziana Gowdy 21:10.5.
Did not race. Fourth at the Horse Park with 215, Stella Krueger 19:09.5 and Holland McKinney 19:43.2 in front and a 2:01 spread behind them. Ninth in the virtual race, sixth here for the same reason as Ponte Vedra.
7. Chiles (Tallahassee), 3A -- 431 points
Season average 19:47.0 · 1-5 spread 1:41.0
Kaia Ables 18:59.0; Emma-Claire Tanenbaum 19:00.3; Chloe Molen 20:03.3; Charlotte Sikes 20:12.1; Madeline Brockmeier 20:40.0.
Were entered at Nights of Thunder and the varsity race did not run. Second at Cecil Field by two points to Niceville, sixth at the Horse Park with 252. Kaia Ables 18:59.0 and Emma-Claire Tanenbaum 19:00.3 are the best one-two in 3A, and the season average of 19:47.0 is fifth in Florida. Seventh, because Bishop Moore, Ponte Vedra and Episcopal all beat them in Ocala and none of the four has raced since. The Niceville rematch has now been rained out once.
8. Doral Academy, 4A -- 746 points
Season average 20:15.3 · 1-5 spread 2:47.0
Nicole Lewis 18:47.2; Madison Chin 19:35.5; Lauren Avila 20:37.6; Estefania Capriles 20:41.9; Emily Castellanos 21:34.2.
Did not race. Seventh at the Horse Park with 265, a week after second at Pine Crest. Nicole Lewis 18:47.2, Madison Chin 19:35.5, and then a 2:47 spread. Fourteenth in the virtual race, eighth here, because they finished one place ahead of Carrollton at the Horse Park and the two have not raced since.
9. Carrollton (Miami), 2A -- 406 points
Season average 19:51.4 · 1-5 spread 1:04.8
Daniela Hernandez 19:12.9; Gabriella Socarras 19:40.2; Eva Martinez-Lejarza 19:59.0; Paola De La Iglesia 20:07.2; Antonia Beltran 20:17.7.
Did not race. The fourth-best season figure in Florida, 19:51.4 on a 1:04.8 spread, Daniela Hernandez 19:12.9 to Antonia Beltran 20:17.7, and ninth on this page. Eighth at the Horse Park with 275, behind six teams ranked above them here and one that is not. The arithmetic likes this team more than the Horse Park did. They can fix that by racing.
10. Spanish River (Boca Raton), 4A -- 512 points (P)
Season average 19:53.1 · 1-5 spread 2:20.2
Alba Antunez-Perez 18:49.1; Lailani Levy 19:11.0; Makaela Morilla 19:43.3; Julia D'Emic 20:32.6; Olivia Downes 21:09.3.
Still a projection. Alba Antunez-Perez and Lailani Levy, the two returners the paper is built on, have not raced; the group that has was second at Dr. Garcia and third at Pine Crest. Entered on last November's times, and tenth on them.
Just missed
Holy Trinity (1A, 690) is first out. They won the Astronaut Invitational with 66 in a 17-team field, Taylor Geraghty fifth in 19:42.7, Kelly Geraghty eighth in 20:25.0, Abby Connors twelfth, Juelle Maaser fourteenth; the win is not held against them, and the Indian River win before it is not either. St. Thomas Aquinas (4A, 733) won King of the Hill with 32 over Lourdes, Elise Brown first by 74 seconds, and the win is not counted for the same reason; they are on Cecil Field. Lourdes (3A, 698) was second there with 57, Sofia Jimenez and Marisa Mantecon second and third, a week after fifth at the Horse Park. Nease (4A, 708) has not raced its varsity since Cecil Field. Ransom Everglades (2A, 778) was second at Astronaut with 98. Dillard (3A, 817) is projected. Bolles (2A, 866), Vanguard (Ocala) (912), Hagerty (951) and Sarasota (999) did not race their varsity.
The girls ranked first through fourth in Florida run for teams nowhere near this page. Riverview (Sarasota), Lake Nona and Wiregrass Ranch are not in the top forty. The individual list and this one are still almost different sports.
Where the virtual race disagrees with this list
- Chiles over Carrollton: 6th and 8th at the Horse Park, and neither has raced since.
- Bishop Moore over Creekside: 1st and 2nd at the Horse Park, and neither has raced since.
- Ponte Vedra over Chiles: 3rd and 6th at the Horse Park, and neither has raced since.
- Episcopal over Chiles: 4th and 6th at the Horse Park, and neither has raced since.
- St. Thomas Aquinas over Lourdes: 1st and 2nd at King of the Hill, and neither has raced since.
- Doral Academy over Carrollton: 7th and 8th at the Horse Park, and neither has raced since.
Method notes
- One virtual race, Cecil Field equivalents, top five score, sixth and seventh displace, five finishers required. Every runner is scored on her whole season, weighted toward the most recent race: her best converted time from each week she raced, averaged with week four counting four times, week three three times, week two twice and week one once. A race a runner won is never allowed to lower her figure, and a meet a team won is never allowed to lower the team's. A school's five best runners on that basis are its team. Where two ranked teams have raced each other with at least three of their scoring seven, and neither has raced since, the result orders them. That is new this week and it is why the Horse Park still orders six teams on this page. 365 scoreable teams, seven of them projected.
- Scores inflate as more teams enter and are not comparable across weeks. Order and averages are.
- Projections (P) enter on their returning five's 2025 state times. Spanish River is the only projected team in the top ten, down from two a week ago.
- Seventy-three courses are in the season and 47 can be rated for the girls. Eleven week-four courses could not be and rank nobody. Buchholz reads about even for girls on the median, which is what Bishop Kenny is priced on; on the mean it reads 17 seconds slow and they would rate a little better still.
- Out-of-state schools are excluded. Non-FHSAA programs are named and not scored.
- Classes are 2026-27, resolved against the FHSAA classification documents.
A word on IMG Academy
IMG Academy in Bradenton is an FHSAA member that competes as an Independent, which means no district meet, no regional and no state meet in November, and it is not scored on this list. IMG did not race this week. Its Summit Challenge run, Emma Balaban 17:14.1, Sydney Johnson 18:01.0, Rashida Reinhardt 18:16.1, Brooklyn Brown 18:35.0 and Brooke Pelkey 18:46.8, is a converted average of 18:19.3, more than a minute a runner better than any team above, and in the virtual race it would be first in Florida by a distance. Balaban, Johnson and Reinhardt are ranked on the individual list, where the same caveat applies: one race, on their own course, against nobody on this page.
Every result behind this page is in the rankings section, the individual list is here, and the full Saturday is in the weekend recap. Where this started: the week 3 girls team rankings.
Photo: Annabella Tomasic of Bishop Moore at the Florida Horse Park Invitational, by Aiden Wright.