Isaiah Renn of Leon and Rashida Reinhardt of IMG Academy lead Florida's freshmen. The top ten ninth-grade boys and girls in the state, with three Niceville freshmen on the girls' list.
Florida ninth graders, cross country season through September 22, 2026
Rashida Reinhardt of IMG Academy ran 18:16.1 at her own school's IMGA XC Summit Challenge on September 5, then went to Alabama and finished fourth of 160 in the championship race at the Southern Showcase. No Florida freshman girl has been close to her. On the boys' side, Leon's Isaiah Renn has raced once in our results, and that one run leads the class: he won Dueling Summits on August 22, first of 170.
Two more stories stand out. Niceville, the No. 1 girls' team in the state, has three freshmen in the girls' top ten. And the fastest 5k by a Florida freshman boy this fall, Noah Lefko's 16:01.1 at the North Port Invite, is only good for ninth. Three boys beat him on opening night at Cecil Field, and he has not raced any of them since.
This is the first of two lists for high school underclassmen. The sophomores are in our tenth-grade top 10s. We use data and judgment, and we will miss one or two along the way.
About the times: every runner is listed with a time they actually ran. The number in parentheses is what we think that run is worth on the Cecil Field course in Jacksonville, the same scale as our weekly high school rankings, so a fast course and a slow course can be compared. When two ranked runners have raced each other, the finish decides it, and a loss stands until they meet again.
Ninth Grade Boys Top 10
1. Isaiah Renn, Leon (Tallahassee) 3A - 17:09.8 at Dueling Summits (16:13.4)
He won Dueling Summits on August 22, first of 170, and it is his only race in our results. Dueling Summits is a slow course, and that run is worth the best mark by any Florida freshman boy this fall. He has not raced anyone else on this list. A missed meet never counts against him.
2. Willie McKenney, American Heritage (Plantation) 3A - 16:42.0 at the Dr. Garcia Bulldog Invite (16:14.9)
Second of 232 at the Dr. Garcia Bulldog Invite, second of 339 at King of the Hill Invitational, then 16:06.3 for 11th in the Race of Champions at the Spanish River Invitational. That is the second-fastest 5k by a Florida freshman this fall. Emilio Tobon, Joaquin Cogo and Pedro Rodriguez were all behind him that day. His Garcia run and Renn's win are two seconds apart on our scale.
3. Emiliano Lozano, Tavares 3A - 17:05.2 at the Coach Joe McKinney Classic (16:42.1)
He and teammate Navid Lozano have raced five times. Navid won the first four: Jim Ryun Invitational, Whispering Pines Invitational, the Horse Park and the Astronaut Invitational. Emiliano won the latest, fourth at the Coach Joe McKinney Classic in New Smyrna Beach on September 19, eight tenths of a second ahead. The most recent meeting decides it.
4. Navid Lozano, Tavares 3A - 16:55.2 at the Whispering Pines Invitational (16:41.0)
Five varsity races, all between 16:55 and 17:40. At the Florida Horse Park Invitational he was 68th of 549 in 17:01.0, ahead of Collin Langston by two tenths, Bryce Cunningham, Joaquin Cogo and Pedro Rodriguez. He sits fourth only because his teammate beat him last Saturday.
5. Collin Langston, Sunlake (Land O' Lakes) 4A - 17:18.4 at the Lecanto Invitational (16:56.3)
He won the Lecanto Invitational in August, first of 71, then ran 17:01.2 at the Horse Park and 16:24.6 for second at the Nature Coast Shark Invitational on September 19. Nature Coast ran fast, so that 16:24.6 is worth less than it looks. At the Horse Park he finished right behind Navid Lozano and ahead of Cunningham, Cogo and Rodriguez.
6. Bryce Cunningham, Creekside (St. Johns) 4A - 16:51.0 at the Cecil Field Summer Classic (16:51.0)
He was 63rd of 354 in the elite race at Cecil Field Summer Classic on August 21, ahead of Peter Curet, Clayton Downer and Noah Lefko. On September 19 he ran 16:44.0 for eighth of 101 at the Katie Caples Invitational, again ahead of Downer.
7. Peter Curet, Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) 4A - 16:34.1 at the Buchholz Bobcats Classic (16:45.8)
Fourth of 203 at the Buchholz Bobcats Classic on September 12. At Cecil Field he was three seconds behind Cunningham and ahead of Downer and Lefko.
8. Clayton Downer, Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) 4A - 16:59.0 at the Cecil Field Summer Classic (16:59.0)
He is here on a head-to-head. He was 74th at Cecil Field, seven seconds ahead of Noah Lefko, and the two have not raced since. He ran 17:35.0 at Katie Caples on September 19.
9. Noah Lefko, Fort Myers 3A - 17:09.6 at the Fort Myers XC Invite (16:05.7)
On times alone he would be third. He was fourth of 233 at the Fort Myers XC Invite, a slow course, and then ran 16:01.1 for 11th of 184 at the North Port Invite on September 19, the fastest 5k by a Florida freshman this fall. But Cunningham, Curet and Downer all beat him at Cecil Field in August. Those losses stand until he races them again. He beat Emilio Tobon at the 3D Sommers Invitational.
10. Emilio Tobon, Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale) 2A - 16:31.8 at the Spanish River Invitational (16:59.6)
He was 21st in the Race of Champions at Spanish River, ahead of Joaquin Cogo and Pedro Rodriguez, and 12th of 406 at the Pine Crest meet in August. Lefko beat him at 3D Sommers, and McKenney beat him at Spanish River.
Next up: Joaquin Cogo and Pedro Rodriguez (Doral Academy, 4A), 27th and 34th in the Spanish River Race of Champions; Gabriel Perez (Belen Jesuit, 3A), 16:52.7 at Spanish River; Summit Yannotta (Jupiter, 4A), 12th of 232 at the Dr. Garcia Bulldog Invite; and Will Irby (Spanish River, 4A), seventh at Dr. Garcia.
Ninth Grade Girls Top 10
1. Rashida Reinhardt, IMG Academy (Bradenton) - 18:16.1 at the IMGA XC Summit Challenge (18:24.8)
Third of 64 at the IMGA XC Summit Challenge on September 5, then fourth of 160 in the championship race at the Southern Showcase in Alabama in 18:32.0. All three Niceville freshmen on this list were behind her there. Her 18:16.1 is the fastest 5k by a Florida freshman girl this fall by 40 seconds.
2. Joanie Webb, Donahue Academy (Ave Maria) 1A - 20:07.5 at the Fort Myers XC Invite (19:25.0)
Two races, two wins. She won the Lehigh Invite out of 203 in 19:42.8 in August and the Fort Myers XC Invite out of 205 on September 12, where Gabriella Vazquez was sixth. She is fourth on our week 5 1A list.
3. Gabriella Vazquez, Dunbar (Fort Myers) 3A - 20:43.5 at the Jim Ryun Invitational (19:56.4)
Fourth of 232 at Jim Ryun Invitational in August, two places ahead of Analyse St. John. Webb beat her at Fort Myers, which puts her third. On September 19 she won the afternoon high school race at the North Port Invite in 20:46.4.
4. Analyse St. John, Lennard (Ruskin) 4A - 19:46.1 at the Seffner Christian Invitational (19:02.4)
Second of 240 at the Seffner Christian Invitational on September 12. Only Reinhardt's run is worth more among freshman girls. She also ran 19:38.6 for fifth at the Raider Open on September 19. She sits behind Vazquez on their Jim Ryun result until they meet again.
5. Olivia Davis, Satellite (Satellite Beach) 3A - 19:39.6 at the Astronaut Invitational (18:58.1)
She won the Indian River Fairgrounds Invitational out of 135 in August and was fourth of 155 at the Astronaut Invitational, ahead of Julianna Hart and Kelly Geraghty. She ran 19:25.9 at the Rockledge Raider Classic on September 18.
6. Emma Godfrey, Creekside (St. Johns) 4A - 19:03.3 at the Florida Horse Park Invitational (19:07.5)
The steadiest freshman in the state: 19:08.0 for 14th at Cecil Field, 19:03.3 for eighth of 411 at the Florida Horse Park Invitational, 19:10.0 for seventh at the Katie Caples Invitational. She has beaten Piper Ross twice and was ahead of Lola Jackson and Anais Almonte at Cecil Field.
7. Piper Ross, Ponte Vedra 3A - 19:39.7 at the Spikes & Spurs Classic (19:06.1)
She won the Spikes & Spurs Classic in August, first of 155. She was ninth at Katie Caples in 19:20.0, ten seconds behind Godfrey.
8. Lola Jackson, Niceville 4A - 18:56.9 at the Southern Showcase (19:27.8)
Her Showcase run, 11th of 160, is the second-fastest 5k by a Florida freshman girl this fall. Anais Almonte had beaten her in each of her first three races. Jackson beat both Almonte and Sophie Clapp in Alabama, the most recent meeting.
9. Sophie Clapp, Niceville 4A - 20:05.1 at the Eagle Invitational at Pine Forest (19:40.9)
Fourth at the Eagle Invitational at Pine Forest in August and 19th at the Showcase in 19:19.5, nine seconds ahead of Almonte. She has traded wins with both of her freshman teammates.
10. Anais Almonte, Niceville 4A - 19:18.0 at the Cecil Field Summer Classic (19:18.0)
She was 19th of 343 at Cecil Field and won the Eagle Invitational at Pine Forest, first of 109. She was ahead of Jackson and Clapp until the Showcase. Three freshmen in the top ten is part of why Niceville is the No. 1 girls' team in Florida.
Next up: Faith Dykens (Cornerstone Classical, 1A), 20:23.0 at Cecil Field, where she beat Kelly Geraghty; Kelly Geraghty (Holy Trinity, 1A), fourth in the 1A-2A race at Spanish River in 19:29.6; Julianna Hart (Ransom Everglades, 2A), who won at Palmer Trinity; Quynh Tollon (Osceola, Seminole); and Mia Jucha (Fort Walton Beach), who won the Dolphin Dash.
How we ranked them
- Ninth graders only: Class of 2030, from the result files and last fall's state meet file. We checked every runner's grade against every meet they ran.
- Every 5k is leveled for how that course ran, the same way as our weekly lists, and the order starts from the same board as our week 5 rankings. Where a runner is already placed on a published week 5 list, that order holds here too.
- A head-to-head loss stands until the two runners meet again. When results go in a circle, the most recent race decides it. A missed meet is never held against anyone.
- Results through September 22. Meets outside Florida count only for Florida runners.
Rematches will move these lists: Lefko against the three boys who beat him at Cecil Field, Renn against anyone, and Webb against St. John and Davis. The younger kids are in our eighth-grade, seventh-grade and sixth-grade lists, and every result is in the Florida XC results database.
Featured image: the Leon High School logo (Tallahassee) and the IMG Academy logo (Bradenton), each the school's own mark.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the fastest ninth-grade cross country runner in Florida? expand_more
Through September 22, 2026, Isaiah Renn of Leon High School in Tallahassee leads the freshman boys on his Dueling Summits win (17:09.8, first of 170). Rashida Reinhardt of IMG Academy leads the freshman girls. Her 18:16.1 at the IMGA XC Summit Challenge is the fastest 5k by a Florida freshman girl this fall.
What is the fastest 5k by a Florida freshman boy in 2026? expand_more
Noah Lefko of Fort Myers High School ran 16:01.1 for 11th at the North Port Invite on September 19, 2026. Willie McKenney of American Heritage ran 16:06.3 in the Spanish River Race of Champions the day before.