Drake Matyka beat RJ Destremps by four seconds at Running on the Range and takes first, Alice Ilea won two races on the same Saturday, and Lucca Wiseman's Markham Park opener and Javier Parker's 9:55.6 at Spanish River are the new names to watch.
FLYRA middle school cross country, week five: September 13-19, 2026
Running on the Range at The Villages settled the top of the boys' list. Drake Matyka won the middle school 3K in 9:58.3, four seconds ahead of RJ Destremps, who had beaten him at Jim Ryun and at the Horse Park. The most recent meeting counts, and Matyka is first. Colton Jobe was third in the same race, 30 seconds back, and drops. Luke Lomoriello, who beat Matyka at Jim Ryun and has not met him since, sits third because the newer result runs through Destremps, who beat him there.
Alice Ilea won the Bulldog Invitational middle school race in Melbourne in the morning in 10:58.2 and Running on the Range in The Villages that night in 10:46.8, two wins in one day, more than a hundred miles apart. She stays third: Brianna Motycka beat her at Nights of Thunder on September 12 and the two have not met since, and Colette Heffernan has beaten Ilea and not raced Motycka.
Two new names. Lucca Wiseman of Pioneer Middle School opened with a win at Markham Park in 10:43.3 on a course we can barely price, and Javier Parker of Doral Academy won the Spanish River middle school race in 9:55.6, the second-fastest raw 3K by a Florida middle schooler this fall. Wiseman is fifth on the arithmetic; Parker is fourteenth on it and first out of the ten, because Spanish River reads fast and Markham reads slow.
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 FLYRA state meet in November. 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. Runners who have not opened yet are seeded on last November's state time and marked that way. We use data and judgment both, and we will miss one or two along the way.
Girls Top 10
1. Colette Heffernan, No Excuses RC, 7th grade - 10:44.2 at Cecil Field (projects 9:58.7)
Did not race. Won Cecil Field on opening night and the Horse Park in 10:17.8 on September 5, 18 seconds ahead of Ilea. Nobody has beaten her, and she has not raced Motycka.
2. Brianna Motycka, Liberty Pines Academy, 8th grade - 11:07.2 at Jim Ryun (projects 10:29.2)
Did not race. Won Nights of Thunder on the state course in 10:44.8 on September 12, eleven seconds ahead of Ilea, and second to Ilea by 1.3 seconds at Jim Ryun. The most recent meeting orders them, and she holds second until they meet again.
3. Alice Ilea, Red Sea Running Club, 8th grade - 11:05.9 at Jim Ryun (projects 10:27.9)
Won the Bulldog Invitational middle school race in 10:58.2 in the morning and Running on the Range in 10:46.8 that night, 51 seconds ahead of the field at the Range. Eight races, six wins, and the two losses are to the two girls above her. Third because Motycka beat her at Nights of Thunder and they have not met since.
4. Amelia Flood, No Excuses RC, 8th grade - 11:23.0 at Cecil Field (projects 10:37.5)
Has not raced since Cecil Field, where she was second to Heffernan. Four weekends off are not held against her.
5. Emily Del Mazo, WIND Runners, 7th grade - 11:27.3 at Jim Ryun (projects 10:49.3)
Did not race. Third at Jim Ryun behind Ilea and Motycka on August 22, and nothing since. Fifth on that run.
6. Aliana Alvarez, Red Sea Running Club - 11:01.8 at Nights of Thunder (projects 10:52.3)
Second at the Bulldog Invitational in 11:55.4, 57 seconds behind Ilea, on a course that reads 28 seconds slow. Third at Nights of Thunder behind Motycka and Ilea in 11:01.8, the run that ranks her. Red Sea went 1-2-3 at Bulldog.
7. Sophia Underwood, Liza Jackson Preparatory School, 7th grade - 10:58.6 at the Gulf Coast Stampede (projects 11:00.7)
Did not race. Won the Gulf Coast Stampede middle school race in 10:58.6 on September 12 and Dolphin Dash a week before. Seventh; she has not raced anybody above her.
8. Valentina Sarcos, Palmer Trinity (Miami), 8th grade - 10:56.6 at Spanish River (projects 11:05.8)
Won the Spanish River middle school race in 10:56.6 out of 257, 1.2 seconds ahead of Boucher, who had been ranked above her. Third at the Horse Park, won the Palmer Trinity meet. Eighth, directly above Boucher, on Friday's result.
9. Camila Boucher, Boca Warriors Track Club, 8th grade - 11:11.3 at Nights of Thunder (projects 11:01.9)
Second at Spanish River in 10:57.8, 1.2 seconds behind Sarcos, her best raw time of the year on a course that reads nine seconds fast. Fourth at Nights of Thunder. Ninth on the loss to Sarcos.
10. Acadia Hassell, Montford Middle School, 8th grade - 11:04.9 at the FLYRA state meet (seed)
Has not opened. Fourth in the public school race at state last November in 11:04.9 for Montford, and seeded on it. Zoie Hart, who has raced, is 8.4 seconds behind on figure; a raced mark within five seconds of a seed outranks it, and she is outside that window.
Next five: Zoie Hart (Emerald Coast, 8th grade) 11:13.3; Bailey Eggleston (Hillsborough Harriers, 8th grade) 11:15.8, second to Ilea at Running on the Range in 11:37.3; Madelen Finch (No Excuses RC, 7th grade) 11:22.4; Mia Emhoff (Emerald Coast, 7th grade) 11:23.6; Callie Skinner (Emerald Coast, 8th grade) 11:23.9.
Boys Top 10
1. Drake Matyka, Unattached, 8th grade - 10:19.3 at Jim Ryun (projects 9:41.3)
Won Running on the Range in 9:58.3 out of 169, four seconds ahead of Destremps and 30 ahead of Jobe, both of whom had beaten him at the Horse Park. Third at Jim Ryun, sixth at the Horse Park in 10:16.6. The Range course reads eight seconds fast by 70 runners, so Saturday projects 10:06 and his Jim Ryun run still carries the figure. First because he beat Destremps and nobody has beaten him since.
2. RJ Destremps, Hillsborough Harriers, 8th grade - 10:08.4 at Jim Ryun (projects 9:30.4)
Second at Running on the Range in 10:01.9, his first loss of the season after wins at Jim Ryun and the Horse Park. His Jim Ryun run still projects 9:30.4, the best figure on the list by nine seconds. He is second because Matyka beat him on Saturday, and he holds second over Lomoriello because he beat him at Jim Ryun and they have not met since.
3. Luke Lomoriello, Hobbs Middle School, 8th grade - 10:17.3 at Jim Ryun (projects 9:39.3)
Did not race. His 9:42.6 at the Gulf Coast Stampede on September 12 is still the fastest raw time by a Florida middle schooler this fall. He beat Matyka at Jim Ryun on August 22, but Destremps beat him in that race and Matyka beat Destremps on Saturday; the newer chain orders the three, and he is third. The day he races either of them, the grass decides.
4. Tommy Schulte, Naples Elite, 8th grade - 10:19.3 at Jim Ryun (projects 9:41.3)
Has not raced since Jim Ryun, where he finished fourth in the same time as Matyka. Four weekends off are not held against him. Fourth on figure; he has not met Jopling or Jobe.
5. Lucca Wiseman, Pioneer Middle School, 8th grade - 10:43.3 at Markham Park (projects 9:51.2)
Won the middle school race at Week 3 at Markham Park in 10:43.3, 36 seconds ahead of the field, in his first race. Markham is a slow course and the reading here rests on two runners plus the pooled small-meet prior, so the projection is a guess with a number on it. Fifth on the arithmetic, and we will know a lot more the first time he runs a course we have measured.
6. Liam Jopling, Ruckel Middle School, 8th grade - 10:25.0 at Nights of Thunder (projects 10:15.6)
Did not race. Won Nights of Thunder on the Apalachee Regional Park state course in 10:25.0 on September 12; ran 10:01.3 at the FLYRA state meet last November, the fastest returning time in Florida. Sits directly above Jobe on the common-opponent reading made a week ago (Jack Ilea 30 seconds behind Jopling at Nights of Thunder, 29 behind Jobe at the Horse Park) and below the four boys above him, none of whom he has raced.
7. Colton Jobe, VCMS (Middleton), 8th grade - 10:44.5 at Seffner Christian (projects 9:59.6)
Third at Running on the Range in 10:29.0, 30 seconds behind Matyka and 27 behind Destremps, and both go above him for it. Second at the Horse Park in 10:05.2, won Seffner Christian. He holds seventh over Cardoso, Moylan and Claypool because he beat all three at the Horse Park and none of them has met him since.
8. Joao Cardoso, Neptune Middle School, 8th grade - 10:44.0 for two miles at the JT Memorial (projects 9:53.9)
Did not race. Won the JT Memorial two-mile in 10:44.0 on September 11, worth about 9:58 for 3K on the clock, and was fifth at the Horse Park in 10:14.7. Sixth on figure, eighth here because Jobe beat him at the Horse Park and Jopling sits with Jobe.
9. Aidan Moylan, Imagine Town Center, 8th grade - 10:05.3 at the Horse Park (projects 10:11.4)
Did not race. Third at the Horse Park in 10:05.3, a tenth behind Jobe, after wins at Spikes and Spurs and a second at Indian River. Holds ninth over Claypool on the Horse Park result.
10. Maxwell Claypool, WIND Runners, 8th grade - 10:36.5 at Jim Ryun (projects 9:58.5)
Did not race. Fifth at Jim Ryun, seventh at the Horse Park in 10:22.2, where Jobe and Moylan beat him. Tenth for the same reason as a week ago.
Next five: Warren Wilson (Sifted Sports, 8th grade) 10:02.0; Elliot Lasota (No Excuses RC, 7th grade) 10:03.6; Jace Lewis (VCMS Middleton, 7th grade) 10:03.9, fifth at Running on the Range; Javier Parker (Doral Academy, 8th grade) 10:04.8, who won the Spanish River middle school race in 9:55.6 out of 314 on a course that reads nine seconds fast; Andrew LaHayne (Harmony Middle School, 8th grade) 10:04.8.
How these rankings were built
- Every 3K result in the database from middle school races is matched to the runner's 2025 FLYRA state time by name. Each course's reading is the median of those differences, shrunk toward the pooled small-meet reading (20.2 seconds) so a course with two anchors does not get a wild number. This week: Running on the Range -8.2 (n=70), Spanish River -9.2 (n=96), Bulldog +28.5 (n=19), Katie Caples Middle School Meet +17.6 (n=37), Run with the Devils +23.9 (n=10), Gray Middle School (two miles, converted) +53.6 (n=30), Lion's +16.4 (n=5), Hawks on the Hill +31.5 (n=4), Week 3 at Markham Park +52.1 (n=2, essentially the prior).
- A head-to-head loss stands until the two runners meet again. Where results form a loop, the most recent meeting decides and a newer chain of results outranks an older direct one: Matyka beat Destremps on Saturday, Destremps beat Lomoriello at Jim Ryun, so Matyka sits above Lomoriello although Lomoriello beat him at Jim Ryun.
- Jopling sits with Jobe on the common-opponent reading from a week ago; that call is Darrin's and stands until either of them races.
- A raced mark within five seconds of a seeded state time outranks the seed. Runners with no 2025 grad year on file are not seeded.
- Two-mile races are converted to 3K by the Riegel formula before the course reading is applied. Grades are from the timer files; where a grade is missing the heading carries none.
Every result behind these lists is on the site: the rankings section carries the week 5 middle school lists next to the earlier weeks, and the full weekend, elementary races included, is in the weekend recap. Last week: Week 4 Middle School Top 10s. The high school lists: boys, girls, boys teams, girls teams.