Colette Heffernan is unbeaten and the No. 1 middle school girl in Florida in any grade. The boys' top four project within four seconds of each other. The top five seventh-grade boys and girls in the state, from middle school 3ks and high school 5ks alike.
Florida seventh graders, cross country season through September 22, 2026
Colette Heffernan has not lost a race this fall. The No Excuses RC seventh grader won the middle school race at the Cecil Field Summer Classic in August and the Florida Horse Park Invitational on September 5, 18 seconds clear of a 169-girl field. She is the No. 1 middle school girl in Florida in any grade.
The boys' list is much closer. Four seventh-grade boys project within four seconds of each other for 3k. Two of them race 5ks for their high school varsity, and on September 18 at the Spanish River Invitational one of those two beat the other by 32 seconds.
Florida's seventh graders race in two places. Some run FLYRA middle school 3ks for clubs and middle schools. Others race 5ks for high school varsity and JV teams, because a school that spans middle and high school can put its seventh graders there. A few do both. These lists count both. They pick the top five seventh-grade boys and girls in the state, using data and judgment, and with kids this young we will miss one or two.
About the times: every runner is listed with a time they actually ran. The number in parentheses is what we project that run to be worth over 3k at the FLYRA state meet in Lakeland, so a 5k runner and a 3k runner can be compared. The projections set the order, but the raced time is the official one. When two ranked kids have raced each other, the finish decides it, and a loss stands until they meet again.
Seventh Grade Boys Top 5
1. Elliot Lasota, No Excuses RC - 10:49.1 at Cecil Field (projects 10:03.7)
Won the middle school race at Cecil Field in Jacksonville on August 21, the opening night of the season, beating 154 other boys. Marco Garcia of Miami Elite was second, 14.5 seconds back, and teammate Cooper Finch was third. Lasota has not raced since, and a missed meet is never held against anyone. He was seventh in the open race at state last fall. His projection is a hair behind Daniel Hage's 5k figure, but on middle school 3ks alone he is eight seconds clear of Hage, so he goes first.
2. Thomas Carrizo, FAU High (Boca Raton) 2A - 18:11.8 at Pine Crest (projects 10:07.0)
Three varsity 5ks, all under 18:12. He was 38th of 186 at the Pine Crest meet in August and fourth at the Kings Academy Invitational in 18:11.7. At Spanish River he ran 18:00.8 for 41st of 379 in the 1A-2A boys' race, 32 seconds ahead of Hage. That result puts him directly above Hage. He ran 11:00.4 at state last fall for A.D. Henderson University School, FAU's middle school.
3. Daniel Hage, Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale) 2A - 18:38.9 at Dr. Garcia (projects 10:03.4)
He runs both distances. He was eighth of 239 in the middle school race at the Jim Ryun Invitational in 10:49.6. On September 3 he won the JV 5k at the Dr. Garcia Bulldog Invite out of 140, the run that gives him the best projection of any seventh-grade boy. At Spanish River he was 62nd in 18:33.0. He ranks third because Carrizo beat him there, and they have not met since.
4. Wesley Taylor, Hillsborough Harriers - 11:14.4 at Jim Ryun (projects 10:36.4)
Fourth at Running on the Range in The Villages on September 19 in 10:29.4, seven-tenths of a second ahead of Jace Lewis. Earlier he was 13th at Jim Ryun and 18th at the Horse Park, where Lewis beat him. The latest meeting decides it, so Taylor sits directly above Lewis. Hage was five places ahead of him at Jim Ryun.
5. Jace Lewis, Villages Charter Middle School (Middleton) - 10:48.8 at Seffner Christian (projects 10:03.9)
By projection alone he would be in the top three. He was third of 299 at the Seffner Christian Invitational on September 12, 11th of 246 at the Horse Park in 10:31.3, and fifth at Running on the Range in 10:30.1. He is fifth only because of the 0.7 seconds Taylor had on him under the lights, and he can take that back the next time they meet.
Next up: Sutton Bolitho (Aletheia Christian Academy, Pensacola), 18:43.0 at the Pine Forest Eagle Invitational and 18:59.8 at the Pace Patriot Invitational, whose projection of 10:08 is the best outside the top five; Reed Corbett (Lakeland Christian, 1A), whose 17:53.5 for 23rd at the Raider Open is the fastest 5k we have from a Florida seventh grader this fall, on a course that ran fast; Marco Garcia (Miami Elite), second at Cecil Field; Cooper Finch (No Excuses RC), third at Cecil Field and fourth in the open race at state last fall; and Aiden Cruz (Belen Jesuit), third of 314 in the Spanish River middle school race in 10:19.1.
Seventh Grade Girls Top 5
1. Colette Heffernan, No Excuses RC - 10:44.2 at Cecil Field (projects 9:58.8)
Two races, two wins. At Cecil Field she beat Amelia Flood, No. 4 on our statewide middle school list, by 38.8 seconds. At the Horse Park she ran 10:17.8 and beat Alice Ilea by 18 seconds. She tops our week 5 middle school top 10s in any grade and is the only middle school girl projected under 10 minutes. Last fall she was third in the public school race at state for Landrum Middle School in 10:46.4.
2. Emily Del Mazo, WIND Runners / Community School of Naples 1A - 11:27.3 at Jim Ryun (projects 10:49.3)
She races for a club and a high school team. She was third of 160 in the middle school race at Jim Ryun, behind two of the best eighth graders in the state, Alice Ilea and Brianna Motycka. For Community School she won the varsity girls' race at the Cape Coral Seahawk Invite in 20:08.7 out of 151, then was second of 205 at the Fort Myers XC Invite in 20:37.2. Last Saturday she won the middle school 3k at the North Port Invitational in 11:13.1. Her 3k and her 5k project within two seconds of each other.
3. Sophia Underwood, Liza Jackson Preparatory School (Fort Walton Beach) - 10:58.6 at the Gulf Coast Stampede (projects 11:01.0)
She won Dolphin Dash in 11:37.9, then won the middle school race at the Gulf Coast Stampede out of 114, 43 seconds ahead of the runner-up. She has not raced anyone above her.
4. Kaitlyn Conboy, Circle Christian (Winter Park) 1A - 20:07.0 at Cecil Field (projects 11:11)
Her 20:07.0 for 42nd of 343 in the elite girls' race at Cecil Field is the fastest 5k by a Florida seventh-grade girl this fall, a tenth of a second ahead of Natalie Kay. She was 12th of 151 at the St. Cloud Invitational, and on September 19 she won the varsity girls' race at the Bulldog Invitational in 22:33.5. That course read very slow and the field was small, so Cecil Field sets her figure. She and Kay project 0.6 seconds apart and have not met.
5. Natalie Kay, Oak Hall (Gainesville) 1A - 20:07.1 at Buchholz (projects 11:12)
She was tenth of 163 in the varsity girls' race at the Buchholz Bobcats Classic and 13th of 154 at Whispering Pines. Her Oak Hall teammate Madeline Kay, also a seventh grader, was 16th at Buchholz in 20:31.0 and beat her at the Horse Park. Buchholz is the more recent race, so Natalie ranks ahead. Oak Hall also has the No. 1 boy on our sixth-grade top fives.
Next up: Madeline Kay (Oak Hall, 1A), 20:31.0 at Buchholz; London Ross (Ransom Everglades, Miami), fourth in the Spanish River middle school race in 11:31.0 and 21:07.6 in the Astronaut varsity 5k; Madelen Finch (No Excuses RC), third behind Heffernan at Cecil Field; Mia Emhoff (Emerald Coast Middle School), second at the Panhandle Athletic Pre-Conference meet in 11:59.0; and Ana Lucia Barba (FAU High, 2A), 20:21.2 for 18th of 301 in the 1A-2A girls' race at Spanish River.
How we ranked them
- Seventh graders only: Class of 2032, from meet results and last fall's FLYRA state file. We check every high school runner's grade against the result files, because some share a name with a younger runner. Out-of-state seventh graders from the Gulf Coast meets are not included.
- Middle school 3ks use the same method as our week 5 middle school top 10s: each course is priced against last fall's state meet using the kids who ran both. Jim Ryun is run on the state course in August, so its projection is what August runners typically gain by November, not a course adjustment.
- High school 5ks are leveled for how each course ran, the same way as our high school lists. They are then turned into a 3k projection using the middle schoolers who ran both a 5k and a 3k this fall. That step is the least certain one here, so treat the order between a 5k runner and a 3k runner a few seconds apart as a coin flip.
- A head-to-head loss stands until the two runners meet again, and a missed meet is never held against anyone.
These lists will move as these kids start meeting: Lasota against any of the 5k boys, Taylor and Lewis again, Conboy against the Kays, or anyone at the FLYRA state meet in Lakeland. The younger kids are in our sixth-grade top fives, and every result is in the Florida XC results database.
Featured image: the No Excuses Running Club logo (St. Johns), the club's own mark. Both No. 1s run for No Excuses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the fastest seventh-grade cross country runner in Florida? expand_more
Through September 22, 2026, Colette Heffernan of No Excuses RC leads the girls. She is unbeaten this fall, with wins at the Cecil Field Summer Classic and the Florida Horse Park Invitational, where she ran 10:17.8 for 3k. Elliot Lasota of No Excuses RC leads the boys after winning the Cecil Field middle school race, just ahead of the high school varsity runners Thomas Carrizo of FAU High and Daniel Hage of Calvary Christian Academy.
Can seventh graders run high school cross country in Florida? expand_more
Yes. A school whose enrollment includes the middle grades can put seventh graders on its varsity and JV teams. That is why seventh graders from schools like FAU High, Calvary Christian Academy, Circle Christian, Oak Hall and Community School of Naples race 5ks against high schoolers.
What distance do middle school cross country runners race in Florida? expand_more
Most Florida middle school races, including the FLYRA state championship in Lakeland, are 3k. Some school and conference meets run 2 miles, and middle schoolers on high school teams race 5k.