Florida's Top Twelfth-Grade Cross Country Runners: Boys and Girls Top 10

Florida twelfth graders, cross country season through September 22, 2026

Eight of the ten boys on our week 5 statewide boys top 10 are seniors. The best of them is Marcelo Mantecon of Belen Jesuit. He won the Florida Horse Park Invitational out of 549, then won the championship race at the Southern Showcase in Alabama on September 19 in 14:41.6, the fastest 5k by a Florida runner this fall. His teammate Armando Cruz was second in 14:58.6.

Natalia Gaona-Zelaya of Wiregrass Ranch leads the senior girls. She has raced four times and won all four, including the Horse Park out of 411. She is third on our week 5 statewide girls top 10, behind two juniors.

The juniors are in our eleventh-grade top 10s, and the underclassmen are in our ninth-grade and tenth-grade lists. 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.

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Twelfth Grade Boys Top 10

1. Marcelo Mantecon, Belen Jesuit (Miami) 3A - 14:41.6 at the Southern Showcase (15:07.1)

Two races, two wins. He won the Horse Park in 15:22.1, ahead of Cruz, Quentin Thompson and Jonas Williams, and won the Showcase out of 250, 17 seconds ahead of Cruz. Sean Cunningham was 11th. He is No. 1 statewide.

2. Armando Cruz, Belen Jesuit (Miami) 3A - 15:06.0 at the Cecil Field Summer Classic (15:06.0)

He won the elite race at Cecil Field Summer Classic out of 354, ahead of Thompson, Isaiah Howdeshell, Rishi Chopra and Axel Sallault. He has been second to Mantecon twice since, at the Horse Park and the Showcase. He is second statewide.

3. Axel Sallault, East Ridge (Clermont) 4A - 15:05.9 at the Hawks on the Hill Invitational (15:13.3)

Eighth at Cecil Field, behind Cruz, Thompson, Howdeshell and Chopra, then three straight wins: the Whispering Pines Invitational, the Astronaut Invitational and Hawks on the Hill Invitational on September 19, 23 seconds ahead of Thompson. He is No. 1 in 4A and third statewide, and this list keeps that published order over the Cecil Field results.

4. Quentin Thompson, Lake Minneola 4A - 15:16.0 at the Cecil Field Summer Classic (15:16.0)

Second at Cecil Field, ahead of Howdeshell, Chopra and Cunningham, third at the Horse Park and second to Sallault at Hawks on the Hill in 15:29.0. He is fourth statewide.

5. Isaiah Howdeshell, Largo 3A - 15:20.0 at the Cecil Field Summer Classic (15:20.0)

Third at Cecil Field, then wins at the Parker Valby Invitational and the Seffner Christian Invitational, first of 332, ahead of Jonas Williams. He beat Sallault at Cecil Field in August. Our published statewide list has Sallault ahead after his three wins since, and this list follows it. He is sixth statewide.

6. Sean Cunningham, Providence (Jacksonville) 1A - 15:15.7 at the Southern Showcase (15:41.2)

Eleventh of 250 at the Showcase, the best finish by a Florida runner in that race outside Belen. He won the Coach Hope Invitational. Thompson, Howdeshell, Chopra and Sallault beat him at Cecil Field. He is No. 1 in 1A and seventh statewide, and that published order holds here.

7. Jaxon Kiper, Strawberry Crest (Dover) 4A - 15:54.3 at the Jim Ryun Invitational (15:16.1)

He won Jim Ryun Invitational out of 276 on August 22, 49 seconds ahead of Luis Rivera. Jim Ryun runs slow, and that run is one of the best marks in the state. He is ninth statewide.

8. Luis Rivera, St. Cloud 4A - 15:43.5 at the St. Cloud Invitational (15:32.9)

Three straight wins since Jim Ryun: the Kowboy XC Invitational, the St. Cloud Invitational and the North Port Invite on September 19 in 15:20.2, first of 184. Kiper beat him in their only meeting. He is tenth statewide.

9. Dominic Ferguson, Rocky Bayou Christian (Niceville) 1A - 16:28.3 at the Pace Patriot Invitational (15:49.4)

Second of 165 at the Pace Patriot Invitational, behind sophomore Bryant Olson of Niceville, on a course that runs slow. It is his only race in our results. He is second in 1A.

10. Rishi Chopra, Nease (Ponte Vedra) 4A - 15:39.0 at the Cecil Field Summer Classic (15:39.0)

Fourth at Cecil Field, ahead of Sallault and Cunningham, then 15:22.8 for 24th of 383 at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minnesota on September 19. Both of them are ahead of him on our published week 5 lists. He is eighth in 4A.

Next up: Jonas Williams (Newsome, 4A), who won the Raider Open in 15:27.0 and was seventh at the Horse Park; Noah Carpenter (Nature Coast, 2A), No. 1 in 2A; Will Moss (Montverde Academy, 2A), second at Katie Caples; Casey Sangely (Spanish River, 4A), who won the Spanish River Race of Champions in 15:46.4; and Martin Fernandez (Doral Academy, 4A), second in that race.

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Twelfth Grade Girls Top 10

1. Natalia Gaona-Zelaya, Wiregrass Ranch (Wesley Chapel) 4A - 18:22.4 at the Astronaut Invitational (17:40.9)

Four races, four wins: the Ragin' Storm XC Challenge, the Whispering Pines Invitational ahead of Lydia Vincent, the Florida Horse Park Invitational in 18:03.8, first of 411, and the Astronaut Invitational ahead of Eva McMenemy-Hoang. She is third statewide and second in 4A.

2. Katelin Wilcox, East Lake (Tarpon Springs) 3A - 19:15.9 at the Seffner Christian Invitational (18:32.2)

Third at Cecil Field Summer Classic in 18:35.0, ahead of Kaia Ables and Cierra Mills, and a win at the Seffner Christian Invitational, first of 240. She is eighth statewide.

3. Alba Antunez-Perez, Spanish River (Boca Raton) 4A - 18:03.2 at the Spanish River Invitational (18:36.5)

She won the Race of Champions at her home meet on September 18, first of 152. It is her only race in our results. She is ninth statewide.

4. Lydia Vincent, Zephyrhills 3A - 18:40.7 at the Lecanto Invitational (18:37.1)

Second at the Lecanto Invitational, third at Whispering Pines behind Gaona-Zelaya, a win at the Grayling Memorial Invitational, and 18:24.8 for third at the North Port Invite on September 19. She is eighth in 3A.

5. Kaia Ables, Chiles (Tallahassee) 3A - 18:59.0 at the Cecil Field Summer Classic (18:59.0)

Eleventh of 343 at Cecil Field, behind Wilcox and ahead of Mills. It is her only race in our results, and a missed meet does not count against her. She is ninth in 3A.

6. Daniela Hernandez, Carrollton (Miami) 2A - 19:16.7 at the Pine Crest meet (19:12.9)

Second of 325 at the Pine Crest meet in August, ahead of Giuliana Serra. It is her only race in our results. She is second in 2A.

7. Giuliana Serra, Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale) 2A - 21:04.6 at the BCAA meet at Markham Park (18:56.0)

She won the BCAA meet at Markham Park on September 15, first of 48, on a course that runs about two minutes slow. She was fifth in the 1A-2A race at Spanish River in 19:30.4 and sixth at Pine Crest, behind Hernandez. She is fourth in 2A.

8. Jillian Jakab, Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) 3A - 18:38.0 at the Katie Caples Invitational (19:07.8)

Third at the Buchholz Bobcats Classic and third at the Katie Caples Invitational on September 19, ahead of Lauren Susnis. She is tenth in 3A.

9. Naeha Akella, St. Stephen's Episcopal (Bradenton) 1A - 18:38.6 at the IMGA XC Summit Challenge (18:47.3)

Fifth at the IMGA XC Summit Challenge and second at the SSAA championship on September 19. She is fifth in 1A.

10. Lauren Susnis, Bishop Moore (Orlando) 3A - 19:25.9 at the Florida Horse Park Invitational (19:30.2)

Sixteenth of 411 at the Horse Park, ahead of Brianna Bergin and Mills, and tenth at Katie Caples, behind Jakab.

Next up: Brianna Bergin (Carrollwood, 1A), third at Nature Coast; Cierra Mills (Vanguard, 3A), 18:49.9 for third at Rockledge, ahead of McMenemy-Hoang; Eva McMenemy-Hoang (Viera, 4A), second at the Astronaut Invitational in 19:09.9, who sits behind Mills on their Rockledge result; Avalyn Thompson (Lake Brantley, 4A), unbeaten in three races; and Samantha Helfant (Palm Beach Central, 4A), fourth in the Spanish River Race of Champions.

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How we ranked them

• Twelfth graders only: Class of 2027, 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. Where no race settles it, the season figures do. A missed meet is never held against anyone.
• Results through September 22, including the adidas XC Challenge in North Carolina. Meets outside Florida count only for Florida runners.

Rematches will move these lists. Howdeshell and Sallault have not raced since Cecil Field, Kiper and Rivera not since Jim Ryun, and McMenemy-Hoang gets a place back the day she beats Mills. The juniors are in our eleventh-grade top 10s, and every result is in the Florida XC results database.

Featured image: the Belen Jesuit Preparatory School shield (Miami) and the Wiregrass Ranch High School logo (Wesley Chapel), each the school's own mark.