Colette Heffernan won JAC and stays No. 1. Holy Trinity's Zamari Blumenberg leads the boys on his varsity 5ks, and Drake Matyka is the best of the 3K boys after winning at flrunners. Our week 8 middle school top 10s.
Florida middle school cross country rankings, week 8, season through October 10, 2026
Colette Heffernan is still the No. 1 middle school girl in Florida. She won JAC on Saturday by 44 seconds over two No Excuses teammates, her fourth win in four races this fall. The boys' top spot belongs to an eighth grader who has never run a middle school race: Zamari Blumenberg of Holy Trinity, second in the Blue Invitational at Great American on October 3 against high school varsity runners. Drake Matyka is the best of the boys who race at 3K. He has won his last two, including the Roc race at flrunners over RJ Destremps, Tommy Schulte and Luke Lomoriello.
These are the first statewide middle school lists since week 6, and they look different for one reason. Middle schoolers who race high school 5ks for their school are in them now, the way they have been on our division lists. Seven of the twenty runners below got here on a varsity 5k. The FLYRA state meet in November is open to all of them. Whether they come down for it or finish the season with the varsity is their call, and each entry says so.
About the times: every runner is listed with the time they actually ran, and the number in parentheses is what that run projects to at the state meet. For a 5k, it is the 3K we project from it. The projections set the order, and when two ranked runners have met since mid-September, the finish decides.
Boys Top 10
1. Zamari Blumenberg, Holy Trinity Episcopal (Melbourne), 8th grade - 17:21.2 for 5K at Astronaut (projects 9:21.1)
Second in the Blue Invitational at Great American on October 3, 17:13.8, in a field of high school varsity boys. Before that he was 10th in the 1A-2A race at Spanish River in 17:10.6, his fastest time, and 17th at Astronaut, the run that projects best. He has raced only for the Holy Trinity varsity this fall, so he has not met anyone else on this list. Whether he runs FLYRA in November is up to him and his school.
2. Javier Parker, Doral Academy, 8th grade - 16:56.1 for 5K at Pine Crest (projects 9:27.4)
Ran 16:46.9 on Saturday at Snake Bite, 17th in the varsity race and the fastest 5k of his fall. He won the middle school race at Spanish River in September in 9:55.6, ahead of Liam Piper and Alejandro Sancerni, and the rest of his season has been varsity 5ks for Doral Academy. Like Blumenberg, he has not met the 3K boys behind him.
3. Drake Matyka, East Lake Middle School Academy, 8th grade - 10:19.3 at Jim Ryun (projects 9:41.5)
Won the Roc race at flrunners on October 2 in 9:47.7, ahead of Destremps, Schulte, Lomoriello, Warren Wilson and Joao Cardoso, all of them on or near this list. He also beat Destremps at Running on the Range in September. Unattached at most meets; his school, East Lake Middle School Academy, is a charter. His 9:14.0 win at the Todd Howsare meet counts for place only. That course ran short.
4. RJ Destremps, Hillsborough Harriers, 8th grade - 10:08.4 at Jim Ryun (projects 9:30.6)
Second to Matyka twice since mid-September, which is why he sits directly behind him. His projection is still the best of any boy who races 3K. That comes from his opening-day win at Jim Ryun, and he also won the Horse Park in 9:53.8. Second at flrunners in 9:52.9, ahead of Schulte and Lomoriello.
5. Tommy Schulte, Naples Elite, 8th grade - 10:19.3 at Jim Ryun (projects 9:41.5)
Third at flrunners in 9:54.5. He won North Port and AVE in September, beating Maxwell Claypool and Liam Piper at AVE. He raced for Naples Elite three times and for Gulfview Middle School once.
6. Luke Lomoriello, Hobbs Middle School, 8th grade - 10:17.3 at Jim Ryun (projects 9:39.5)
Fourth at flrunners in 10:04.2, behind the three boys above him. His 9:42.6 to win the Gulf Coast Stampede in September is one of the fastest middle school 3Ks run in Florida this fall. Eighth in the public school race at state last year.
7. Maxwell Claypool, WIND Runners, 8th grade - 10:36.5 at Jim Ryun (projects 9:58.7)
Won the varsity race at the 305 Classic on Friday, 12:07.0 for 2.1 miles, and the Friday race at flrunners the week before. Second to Schulte and ahead of Piper at AVE, which puts him directly above Piper here.
8. Liam Piper, Southwest Florida Christian Academy (Fort Myers), 8th grade - 18:40.5 for 5K at Fort Myers (projects 9:46.3)
Nobody on this list has raced more different ways. Five varsity 5ks for Southwest Florida Christian, including 18:30.7 in the Roc race at FLRunners on October 3. He was also second to Parker in the middle school race at Spanish River and third at AVE. The 5k at Fort Myers on September 12 projects best.
9. Alejandro Sancerni, Somerset Academy (Pembroke Pines), 8th grade - 18:11.5 for 5K at Dr. Garcia (projects 9:50.6)
His 18:11.5 in a varsity 5k at Dr. Garcia in early September is the run that puts him here. Ninth at Spanish River behind Parker and Piper, and second at Scheck Hillel on Thursday. His 3K times are well behind his 5k, so he is below the two boys who beat him at Spanish River.
10. Warren Wilson, Sifted Sports, 8th grade - 10:46.9 at Seffner Christian (projects 10:02.1)
Fifth at flrunners in 10:07.2, a step behind Lomoriello and one place ahead of Joao Cardoso. He won the middle school race at our Run Florida XC Invitational in September and the Indian River meet in August.
Just missed: Joao Cardoso (NEXT/Neptune Middle School), whose 10:44.0 for two miles at the JT Memorial projects better than Wilson's best, but Wilson beat him at flrunners. Yahya Barakat (Bolles) ran 14:38.9 for 2.5 miles in a JV race at Manhattan in New York on Saturday, 19th. Colton Jobe (The Villages Charter) has not raced since September 24.
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Girls Top 10
1. Colette Heffernan, No Excuses RC, 7th grade - 10:44.2 at Cecil Field (projects 9:59.1)
Won JAC on Saturday in 10:37.1, 44 seconds ahead of Madelen Finch. Her opening run at Cecil Field is still the fastest projection of any middle schooler in the state. Four races, four wins: Cecil Field, the Horse Park, Bale N Trail and JAC. A seventh grader. She ran for Landrum Middle School at state last year and for No Excuses this fall.
2. Charlotte Roy, All Saints' Academy (Winter Haven), 8th grade - 18:28.5 for 5K at St. Cloud (projects 10:21.7)
Third in the varsity 5k at St. Cloud on September 5 in 18:28.5, then won the high school girls' race at the SSAA meet on September 19. All three of her races are 5ks for All Saints', and she has not raced since the 19th. She is ranked on what she has run, and nobody below her has raced her.
3. Taylor Geraghty, Holy Trinity Episcopal (Melbourne), 8th grade - 18:34.3 for 5K at Great American (projects 10:25.0)
Won the Blue Invitational at Great American on October 3 in 18:34.3, and the 1A-2A race at Spanish River before that. Holy Trinity has two of the top three here. She has dropped more than two minutes since August.
4. Brianna Motycka, Liberty Pines Academy, 8th grade - 11:07.2 at Jim Ryun (projects 10:29.4)
Won the Roc race at flrunners on October 2 in 10:36.6, seven seconds ahead of Alice Ilea. That is why she is ahead of Ilea here, even though Ilea's projection is a shade better. Also won Nights of Thunder. She won the club race at state last year for No Excuses and has raced for Liberty Pines Academy and unattached this fall.
5. Alice Ilea, Tavares Middle School, 8th grade - 11:05.9 at Jim Ryun (projects 10:28.1)
Fourteen races this fall and eleven wins, the latest at her own Tavares meet on Thursday, 11:49.9 for 3,200 meters. The only girls who have beaten her are Heffernan at the Horse Park and Motycka at Nights of Thunder and flrunners. Last year's public school state champion.
6. Madelen Finch, No Excuses RC, 7th grade - 11:21.0 at JAC (projects 11:01.7)
Second at JAC in 11:21.0, 31 seconds ahead of teammate Amelia Flood, who beat her at Cecil Field and Bale N Trail. The newest meeting decides, so she is directly ahead of Flood. On times alone she would be a few places lower, and she has not raced the girls between 6th and 9th. A seventh grader, second in the club race at state last year.
7. Amelia Flood, No Excuses RC, 8th grade - 11:23.0 at Cecil Field (projects 10:37.9)
Her 11:23.0 behind Heffernan at Cecil Field is still one of the best projections on the girls' list. She was second at Bale N Trail, then third at JAC on Saturday in 11:52.0.
8. Esther Dobbin, Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High, 8th grade - 19:59.7 for 5K at Astronaut (projects 10:42.7)
An eighth grader on the Cocoa Beach varsity. She ran 19:59.7 for sixth at Astronaut, 19:25.7 at St. Cloud and third in the varsity race at Harmony on October 3. She has not raced a middle school race, so she has not met anyone here.
9. Zoie Hart, Emerald Coast Middle School, 8th grade - 11:27.2 for two miles at the Panhandle Athletic conference meet (projects 10:49.0)
Won the Panhandle Athletic conference championship on Tuesday in 11:27.2 for two miles, with Emerald Coast teammates Corbyn Fellers and Callie Skinner second and third. That is the best team on the girls' side; see the team rankings.
10. Valentina Sarcos, Palmer Trinity (Miami), 8th grade - 11:43.0 for two miles at Superfly (projects 10:53.7)
Won the middle school race at Spanish River over Camila Boucher, which keeps her ahead of Boucher here. Her best run was the two-mile race at Superfly, 11:43.0. She also won all three Palmer Trinity meets and was second in the Jason Byrne 5k at FLRunners.
Just missed: Camila Boucher (Boca Warriors), who beat Emily Del Mazo (WIND Runners) in the Friday race at flrunners, and Kylie Cook (All Saints'), Roy's teammate, who ran 19:04.2 for 5K at the JT Memorial.
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How we ranked them
- Florida middle schoolers only, grades 6 through 8, every middle school race in the results database through October 10. Two-mile, 2.1-mile, 3,200-meter and 2,900-meter races are converted to 3K. Fifth graders are on the elementary lists only.
- Middle schoolers who race high school 5ks are in. Each 5k is leveled for its course the way our high school lists do it, then turned into a 3K figure using the middle schoolers who have raced both distances this fall. A kid with both keeps the better one.
- Each course gets a reading from the kids who ran it this fall and the state meet last November, and small samples are pulled toward the statewide average. Oak Park, the Todd Howsare middle school race, the third Volusia County meet and the first ACC meet count for finishing order only: the first three ran short, and the first ACC meet read a minute faster than anywhere else.
- When two ranked runners have met, the most recent finish puts the winner directly above the loser, and that stands until they meet again. Meetings from September 12 and earlier no longer bind.
- A runner who has not raced this fall is seeded on last November's state time and holds that place until they race.
The same season split into the four FLYRA state divisions: middle school top 10s by division. Teams: week 8 middle school team rankings. Every result is in the Florida XC results database.