Thursday through Saturday, October 1 to 3, meet by meet: Marcelo Mantecon of Belen Jesuit wins the COROS Race of Champions at the Great American XC Festival in Cary in 14:35.9, the fastest time by a Florida boy this season, with Armando Cruz sixth and Belen second of 40 teams on a hilly, humid morning that slowed the rest of the Florida contingent. Will Moss and Eva McMenemy-Hoang win the Race of Champions titles at flrunners.com in Lakeland and Fort Myers and Chiles take the team races, Luke Ross runs 15:59 as Ponte Vedra beats Vanguard twice at the Craig Speziale Invitational, Jaxon Kiper returns with a 15:24 at Don Bishop, Brody Johnson beats Luis Rivera by half a second at Harmony, Lainee Mercer runs 18:24 at Wild Bulldog, and Madison Muller stays unbeaten at Venice. Twenty-four meets and more than 11,100 results.
Florida cross country, Thursday through Saturday, October 1 to 3, 2026
Twenty-four meets and more than 11,100 results, about 7,600 of them from Florida schools. The biggest story of the weekend happened in North Carolina. Marcelo Mantecon of Belen Jesuit won the COROS Race of Champions at the Great American XC Festival in 14:35.9, the fastest time by a Florida boy this season, and beat a 340-runner field drawn from Texas, New York, California and most of the East Coast. His teammate Armando Cruz was sixth and Belen was second of 40 teams. Everyone else who made the trip from Florida found out how different the course in Cary is from the ones at home.
Back in Florida, Will Moss of Montverde Academy and Eva McMenemy-Hoang of Viera won the Race of Champions titles at the flrunners.com Invitational in Lakeland, and Fort Myers and Chiles won the team races. Luke Ross of Ponte Vedra ran 15:59 to win the Craig Speziale Invitational at home, and Ponte Vedra beat Vanguard of Ocala by three points in the boys' race and by sixteen in the girls'. Jaxon Kiper came back from five weeks away and ran 15:24 at the Don Bishop Invitational. Madison Muller won again at Venice. Twenty more meets are below.
Every meet with a link goes to its full results in our database. Times are the times that were run. Where a runner or team has a rank next to the name, it is from our week 6 boys, week 6 girls, boys' team, girls' team, middle school or class lists, all written before any of this happened.
The photo up top is Mantecon crossing the line in Cary, a screen grab from the RunnerSpace broadcast of the race. If you shot a Florida meet this weekend, send us yours through our cross country photos page. We feature one, you get a hat or a shirt.
Great American XC Festival, WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, North Carolina
Ten Florida programs made the trip: Belen Jesuit, Nease, Buchholz, Spanish River, IMG Academy, Episcopal of Jacksonville, Holy Trinity of Melbourne, Providence of Jacksonville, Fernandina Beach and American Heritage of Delray Beach. They were ten of nearly 250 schools. The Race of Champions fields had 81 schools on the boys' side and 60 on the girls'.
The times need a word first. The course at WakeMed rolls in a way that almost nothing in Florida does, most of these teams spent Thursday or Friday on a bus or a plane, and Saturday morning was humid. Put those together and most of the Florida contingent ran 20 to 60 seconds slower than its best. Nease's Matthew Ishee was 22 seconds off, Sean Cunningham 35, IMG's Rashida Reinhardt 65 and Sydney Johnson 97. That is the trip, not the runners, and the places still count. The exception was the front of the Belen line, which ran faster than it ever has.
Boys' Race of Champions: Mantecon wins it, Belen second of 40
Marcelo Mantecon (Belen Jesuit, Sr., No. 1 in Florida, No. 1 3A) had run 14:41.6 to win the Southern Showcase two weeks earlier. On Saturday he ran 14:35.9 and won the Race of Champions by three seconds over Ruel Newberry of Denton Guyer, Texas, with Brooks Barbee of Christ School, North Carolina, and Ryan Sykes of Horace Greeley, New York, behind them. It is the fastest time by a Florida boy in 2026, and he has now won the two biggest races he has entered this year.
Armando Cruz (Belen Jesuit, Sr., No. 2 in Florida) was sixth in 14:50.6, eight seconds under his own best. Jack Michalak (Belen, Jr., No. 5 in Florida) was 19th in 15:15.5. Christ School of Arden, North Carolina, won the team race with 83, and Belen was second with 117, ahead of Calvert Hall of Maryland, Broughton of Raleigh and Castle View of Colorado. Nease (No. 2 in Florida, No. 1 4A) was seventh with 291, Buchholz 18th, Spanish River (No. 8 in Florida) 27th and IMG 30th.
Ishee (Nease, Jr., No. 8 4A) was the first Florida runner outside Belen, 37th in 15:35.4. Andrew Sides (Buchholz, Jr., 4A) was 45th in 15:39.8, a personal best by nine seconds on a day when almost nobody ran one. Nicholas Veloso (Belen, Jr.) was 55th, Cunningham (Providence, Sr., No. 6 in Florida, No. 1 1A) 59th in 15:50.8, and Rishi Chopra (Nease, Sr.) 62nd. Finn Richards (Buchholz, Sr.) ran 15:58.9, 41 seconds under his previous best. Fletcher Rodbro (IMG, Jr., No. 9 in Florida) did not finish.
Florida finishers, boys' Race of Champions (340 ran)
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcelo Mantecon, Sr. | Belen Jesuit 3A | 14:35.9 |
| 6 | Armando Cruz, Sr. | Belen Jesuit 3A | 14:50.6 |
| 19 | Jack Michalak, Jr. | Belen Jesuit 3A | 15:15.5 |
| 37 | Matthew Ishee, Jr. | Nease 4A | 15:35.4 |
| 45 | Andrew Sides, Jr. | Buchholz 4A | 15:39.8 |
| 55 | Nicholas Veloso, Jr. | Belen Jesuit 3A | 15:47.3 |
| 59 | Sean Cunningham, Sr. | Providence 1A | 15:50.8 |
| 62 | Rishi Chopra, Sr. | Nease 4A | 15:52.5 |
| 77 | Finn Richards, Sr. | Buchholz 4A | 15:58.9 |
| 87 | Casey Sangely, Sr. | Spanish River 4A | 16:07.2 |
| 94 | Charles Carlson, Sr. | Nease 4A | 16:11.9 |
| 98 | Dominic De Armas, So. | Belen Jesuit 3A | 16:13.3 |
Girls' Race of Champions: Balaban 15th, three Florida teams in the top 18
Averi Lowen of Bowdon, Georgia, won in 16:33.8, three seconds ahead of Elle Dawson of Ragsdale, North Carolina. Emma Balaban (IMG Academy, Jr., No. 2 in Florida) was the first Floridian, 15th in 17:42.9, two seconds faster than her Southern Showcase win and 29 off her best from the IMG course. Alba Antunez-Perez (Spanish River, Sr., No. 5 4A) was 32nd in 18:05.0, within two seconds of her best, and was the second Florida girl across.
Then a gap. Stella Krueger (Episcopal, Jr., No. 7 2A) was 82nd in 19:13.9, Reinhardt (IMG, Fr., No. 7 in Florida) 90th in 19:20.7, Whitney Morgan (Episcopal, Sr.) 103rd in 19:28.5, Holland McKinney (Episcopal, So., No. 6 2A) 112th and Johnson (IMG, Jr., No. 8 in Florida) 117th in 19:37.7. J Serra Catholic of California won the team race with 164 over William Penn Charter of Philadelphia. IMG was 13th of 41 with 468, Episcopal (No. 8 in Florida, No. 2 2A) 17th with 553 and Spanish River (No. 7 in Florida, No. 2 4A) 18th with 561.
Florida finishers, girls' Race of Champions (324 ran)
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Emma Balaban, Jr. | IMG Academy | 17:42.9 |
| 32 | Alba Antunez-Perez, Sr. | Spanish River 4A | 18:05.0 |
| 82 | Stella Krueger, Jr. | Episcopal 2A | 19:13.9 |
| 90 | Rashida Reinhardt, Fr. | IMG Academy | 19:20.7 |
| 103 | Whitney Morgan, Sr. | Episcopal 2A | 19:28.5 |
| 112 | Holland McKinney, So. | Episcopal 2A | 19:36.7 |
| 117 | Sydney Johnson, Jr. | IMG Academy | 19:37.7 |
| 121 | Makaela Morilla, Fr. | Spanish River 4A | 19:40.2 |
The other races: Belen's second seven wins the Red, an eighth grader is second in the Blue
Belen's next seven ran the Red Invitational and won it. Nicolas Garcia (Jr.) was 16th in 16:27.9, Andrew Lima (So.) 18th in 16:29.2, and Gabriel Perez, Daniel Garmendia and Lucas Manzano all finished inside the top 41 of 357. Belen scored 129 and beat Charlotte Latin by four. Nease's second group was tenth in the same race with 378, led by Luke Massaglia in 17:01.0.
Taylor Geraghty (Holy Trinity, 8th grade, No. 8 1A) was second in the girls' Blue Invitational in 18:34.3, a personal best by 16 seconds, behind only Cadee Benz of North Gwinnett, Georgia. Her sister Kelly Geraghty (Fr.) was 21st in 19:23.5, and Holy Trinity (No. 1 1A) was tenth of 47 teams with 366. Holy Trinity's boys were 29th in the Blue, with Jesus Martinez (Jr.) first for them in 17:12.3, a 13-second personal best, and Zamari Blumenberg (8th grade) 1.5 seconds behind him.
Nease was seventh in the boys' JV race, led by Dash Nordlander in 18:04.9, with Buchholz 16th and Holy Trinity 20th. Episcopal's girls were seventh in theirs; Liza Haley (Sr.) ran 21:25.1, a minute better than she had run all year. Tyler Schiff ran 18:01.7 in the Blue for American Heritage, and John William Martin 18:55.8 in the Red for Fernandina Beach.
Gear
The watch on the Race of Champions banner.
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flrunners.com Invitational, Holloway Park, Lakeland (Friday and Saturday)
Fourteen races over two days and nearly 2,450 finishers. Friday was the open varsity races, the middle school 3Ks, the elementary 2Ks and two college races for Florida schools. Saturday was the Jason Byrne 5Ks, the middle school Race of Champions 3Ks and the Race of Champions 5Ks. The out-of-state teams were in Friday's races and mostly went home with the trophies there.
Boys' Race of Champions: Moss by 12 seconds, Fort Myers by 25 points
Will Moss (Montverde Academy, Sr., No. 2 2A) had run 15:57 for second at Katie Caples two weeks ago. On Saturday he ran 16:02.3 and won by 12 seconds. Liam Ilea (Tavares, Jr., 3A) was second in 16:14.2, five seconds under his best, with Truman Houk (East Lake, Sr., No. 5 3A) 0.6 behind him in third, also a personal best. Jeb Bremerman (Naples, So., No. 10 3A) was fourth and Jonathan Kiros (Chiles, Sr., No. 9 3A) fifth. Reed Hagen (Fort Myers, So., No. 4 3A), who ran 15:30 at North Port, was 16th in 16:54.0.
Fort Myers (No. 3 3A) won the team race anyway, 86 to Tavares's 111, on Noah Lefko and Trae Britton in 11th and 12th. Calvary Christian of Clearwater (No. 3 2A) was third with 141, Chiles fourth with 179, Naples fifth and Lincoln sixth.
Boys' Race of Champions top ten
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Will Moss, Sr. | Montverde Academy 2A | 16:02.3 |
| 2 | Liam Ilea, Jr. | Tavares 3A | 16:14.2 |
| 3 | Truman Houk, Sr. | East Lake 3A | 16:14.8 |
| 4 | Jeb Bremerman, So. | Naples 3A | 16:28.7 |
| 5 | Jonathan Kiros, Sr. | Chiles 3A | 16:32.2 |
| 6 | Theodore Houk, Sr. | East Lake 3A | 16:35.9 |
| 7 | Cole Galuski, Jr. | Berkeley Prep 2A | 16:37.5 |
| 8 | Matthew Hood, Sr. | Palm Harbor University 4A | 16:37.6 |
| 9 | Antario Berek, Jr. | Vero Beach 4A | 16:41.5 |
| 10 | Justin Garbowicz, Jr. | St. Petersburg 3A | 16:44.5 |
Girls' Race of Champions: McMenemy-Hoang beats four ranked runners, Chiles scores 48
Eva McMenemy-Hoang (Viera, Sr., 4A) had been fourth at Rockledge in 18:52.5. On Saturday she ran 18:53.3 and won a race that had Emma Wilkinson (Lakeland Christian, Jr., No. 2 1A) second in 18:58.1 and Emma-Claire Tanenbaum (Chiles, So., No. 6 3A) third in 19:04.5. Ana Cecilia Maia Menard and Ella Pope of Sunlake were fourth and fifth, Sofia Jimenez of Lourdes sixth and Ashton Dahlem of Gulf Breeze seventh. Lily Ghavami (Berkeley Prep, Jr., No. 8 2A) was eighth and Kaia Ables (Chiles, Sr., No. 9 3A) ninth.
Chiles (No. 4 in Florida, No. 3 3A) put Tanenbaum, Ables, Charlotte Sikes and Chloe Elizabeth Molen in the top 14 and won with 48. Lourdes (No. 7 3A) was second with 104, Berkeley Prep (No. 5 2A) third with 179, Sunlake (No. 6 4A) fourth with 184, Montverde fifth and Lake Mary sixth.
Girls' Race of Champions top ten
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eva McMenemy-Hoang, Sr. | Viera 4A | 18:53.3 |
| 2 | Emma Wilkinson, Jr. | Lakeland Christian 1A | 18:58.1 |
| 3 | Emma-Claire Tanenbaum, So. | Chiles 3A | 19:04.5 |
| 4 | Ana Cecilia Maia Menard, So. | Sunlake 4A | 19:32.8 |
| 5 | Ella Pope, Jr. | Sunlake 4A | 19:38.9 |
| 6 | Sofia Jimenez, So. | Lourdes 3A | 19:40.8 |
| 7 | Ashton Dahlem, Sr. | Gulf Breeze 3A | 19:43.3 |
| 8 | Lily Ghavami, Jr. | Berkeley Prep 2A | 19:51.9 |
| 9 | Kaia Ables, Sr. | Chiles 3A | 19:55.4 |
| 10 | Alessandra Perez, Sr. | Lourdes 3A | 20:01.9 |
Jason Byrne 5Ks: Fort Walton Beach wins both, Tyler by three tenths
Cole Tyler (Community School of Naples, Jr., 1A) and Salvatore Scelfo (Montverde, So., 2A) raced to the line in the boys' Jason Byrne 5K and Tyler got there first, 17:32.9 to 17:33.2. Nolan Ibsen (Fort Walton Beach, Sr., 3A) was third, and Fort Walton Beach put five in the top 14 to win with 36 over Belen Jesuit's third group with 86. Cape Coral was third.
Mia Jucha (Fort Walton Beach, So., 3A) won the girls' race in 20:04.7, 43 seconds ahead of Valentina Sarcos (Palmer Trinity, 8th grade, No. 7 middle school), and Fort Walton Beach scored 34 with six in the top 11. Lecanto was second with 74.
Friday's varsity races and the middle school Race of Champions
Friday's open varsity races went to the visitors. Cash Mullins of Providence Christian, Alabama, won the boys' race in 16:30.4, and Hebron Christian of Georgia won the team title 33 to 45 over Providence Christian. John Curley (St. Edward's, Sr., 1A) was the first Floridian, third in 17:29.1, and Dunbar was the top Florida team in fourth. Eloise Jones of Hebron Christian won the girls' race in 19:54.2, but Sarasota won the team race with 89, and Gabriella Vazquez (Dunbar, Fr., 3A) was the first Florida finisher in third.
Saturday's middle school Race of Champions had the state's top two boys together again. Drake Matyka (East Lake Middle School Academy, 8th grade, No. 1 middle school) ran 9:47.7 and beat RJ Destremps (Hillsborough Harriers, No. 2) by five seconds, with Tommy Schulte (Naples Elite, No. 4) third in 9:54.5 and Luke Lomoriello (Hobbs, No. 3) fourth in 10:04.2. Warren Wilson and Joao Cardoso, both in the top ten, were fifth and sixth. NEXT won the team race with 36, a point ahead of Belen Jesuit's middle schoolers. Brianna Motycka (No. 2 middle school) won the girls' race in 10:36.6, seven seconds ahead of Alice Ilea (No. 3), and Red Sea Running Club scored 21.
Craig Speziale Invitational, Ponte Vedra High School
Six races and 827 finishers on Ponte Vedra's home course. Our preview had Bolles winning the boys' race and Bishop Kenny the girls'. Bolles ran only its middle schoolers, and Bishop Kenny's girls were seventh. What was left was Ponte Vedra against Vanguard of Ocala, twice, and Ponte Vedra won both.
Boys: Ross runs 15:59, Ponte Vedra 26, Vanguard 29
Luke Ross (Ponte Vedra, Sr., 3A) ran 15:59.06 and won by 40 seconds. Christopher Taylor (Vanguard, Jr.) was second in 16:38.93, Aiden Killoran (Ponte Vedra, Jr.) third, Jacob Rogers (Vanguard, Sr.) fourth, and Colin Bovee (Ponte Vedra, So.) fifth, half a second ahead of Vanguard's Lachlan Bryniarski. The two teams alternated through the top eight. Ponte Vedra (No. 6 3A) scored 26, Vanguard (No. 10 in Florida, No. 2 3A) 29. Bartram Trail was third with 99, Middleburg fourth and Creekside fifth. Chesley McDonald and Luke Engels (No. 10 2A) of Eastside were ninth and tenth.
Boys' varsity top ten
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luke Ross, Sr. | Ponte Vedra 3A | 15:59.06 |
| 2 | Christopher Taylor, Jr. | Vanguard 3A | 16:38.93 |
| 3 | Aiden Killoran, Jr. | Ponte Vedra 3A | 16:46.37 |
| 4 | Jacob Rogers, Sr. | Vanguard 3A | 16:47.27 |
| 5 | Colin Bovee, So. | Ponte Vedra 3A | 16:54.04 |
| 6 | Lachlan Bryniarski, So. | Vanguard 3A | 16:54.51 |
| 7 | Logan Hunt, Sr. | Ponte Vedra 3A | 16:57.92 |
| 8 | Trevor Berquist, So. | Vanguard 3A | 17:01.57 |
| 9 | Chesley McDonald, Jr. | Eastside 2A | 17:11.63 |
| 10 | Luke Engels, Sr. | Eastside 2A | 17:11.89 |
Girls: Hallick by 43 seconds, Ponte Vedra 30, Vanguard 46
Lyla Hallick (Vanguard, So., No. 10 in Florida, No. 2 3A) won in 18:40.81. Piper Ross (Ponte Vedra, Fr.) was second in 19:23.46, Reese Cartwright (Vanguard, Sr.) third, Olivia Kaminsky (Ponte Vedra, Sr.) fourth and Bridget Gulledge (Eastside, Sr.) fifth. Ponte Vedra (No. 4 3A) had places two, four, seven, eight and nine for 30. Vanguard (No. 5 3A) had one and three and then nothing until sixth, and scored 46. Bartram Trail was third with 100, Creekside fourth with 111 and Harvest Community fifth.
Middle school: Moylan and Kopcikova, Landrum by five
Aidan Moylan (Imagine Town Center, 8th grade, No. 9 middle school) won the boys' 3K in 10:35.53 by nearly ten seconds over Trace Cunningham of Landon. Yahya Barakat and Danny Deptula of Bolles were fourth and fifth, five hundredths apart. Landrum Middle School won with 75, Bolles was second with 80 and Imagine third with 82. Mia Kopcikova (Imagine Town Center, 8th grade) won the girls' race in 11:23.68 by 50 seconds over Quinn Dinola, a fifth grader running for Bolles. Imagine scored 37 and Bolles 50.
Ponte Vedra's boys scored 20 in the JV race, and Bartram Trail's girls beat Ponte Vedra's 27 to 30 in theirs.
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Around the state on Saturday
Don Bishop Invitational, Brandon
Jaxon Kiper (Strawberry Crest, Sr., 4A) won Jim Ryun in 15:54.3 on August 22, jogged an 18:06 at the Central Hillsborough meet a week later, and had not raced since. On Saturday he ran 15:24.2 and beat Jonas Williams (Newsome, Sr., No. 7 4A) by 12 seconds. Williams's 15:36 was his second-best of the year. Eli Domico (Indian Rocks Christian, So., 1A) was third, 68 seconds later. Newsome won with 47 over Wharton's 106.
Analyse St John (Lennard, Fr., 4A) won the girls' race in 19:23, with Kennedy McDonald (Mulberry, Jr., 3A) second in 19:32.6 and Alexandra Middleton (Indian Rocks Christian, Jr., No. 6 1A) third, 0.4 behind her. Newsome won 45 to 49 over Indian Rocks Christian, and Newsome also won both JV races with 15 points each.
Wild Bulldog Invitational
Noah Carpenter (Nature Coast, Sr., No. 1 2A) won in 16:36.89, 15 seconds ahead of Micah Oliver of Kirkland Ranch and Asher Inman of Belleview, who finished a third of a second apart. Belleview beat Land O'Lakes 88 to 90 for the team title. Lainee Mercer (Springstead, Jr., No. 3 3A) ran 18:24.71, a personal best by 16 seconds, and beat two more ranked 3A runners: Lydia Vincent (Zephyrhills, Sr., No. 8 3A) was second in 18:55.00 and Emma Poekert (Cypress Creek, Jr., No. 7 3A) third in 19:20.54. Wiregrass Ranch won the girls' team race with 50 over Cypress Creek's 61.
Harmony Longhorn Invitational
Brody Johnson (Rockledge, Sr., 3A) and Luis Rivera (St. Cloud, Sr., No. 8 in Florida, No. 4 4A) finished half a second apart and Johnson was the one in front, 16:08.78 to 16:09.24. Rivera had run 15:20 at North Port two weeks earlier. Aidan Alam (McKeel, So., 2A) was third in 16:19.32. St. Cloud won the team race with 58 over Melbourne's 103. Cecelia Lear (Mount Dora, Jr., 3A) won the girls' race in 19:18.49, with Olivia Davis (Satellite, Fr.) second and Esther Dobbin (Cocoa Beach, 8th grade, No. 5 2A) third in 19:39.59. Satellite won with 57, Melbourne was second with 67, and Harmony Middle School won the middle school two-mile with 21.
Metro West and Metro East Championships, Orlando
Maleik Lewis (Horizon, Jr., 4A) ran 15:45.34 to win Metro West, five seconds under the 15:50 he ran at West Orange a week earlier. Venkata Anantha (West Orange, Jr.) and Ethan Tasior (Windermere, Jr.) were second and third, 50 seconds back, and Horizon beat Windermere 56 to 60. Annabella Ekebergh (Windermere, Jr., 4A) won the girls' race in 18:52.64, a personal best by 19 seconds, with Abigayle White (Horizon, Sr.) second in 18:58.30. Windermere won with 26.
At Metro East, Jackson Palk (Winter Park, So., 4A) won in 17:24.1 and Anne Vanos (Boone, Jr., 4A) in 19:43.8, three seconds ahead of Amyiah Hall of Lake Nona. Boone (No. 8 4A girls) won all three races it could win: boys' varsity with 28, girls' varsity with 32 and boys' JV with 17. Timber Creek took the girls' JV.
Riverdale Invite, Fort Myers
Dylan Macias-Buenrostro (Mariner, Jr., No. 7 3A) won in 16:08.1 by 71 seconds over Sebastian Velazquez-Rodriguez of North Port. Riverdale won the boys' team race with 58 over Gulf Coast's 72. Aurelia Sciandra (North Fort Myers, Sr., 3A) won the girls' race in 19:38.9 by 58 seconds, and Aubrey Rogers won the team title with 38.
Venice Invitational
Madison Muller (Riverview of Sarasota, Jr., No. 1 in Florida) won in 18:41.8, 96 seconds ahead of Kayla Hawk of Parrish, and is still unbeaten by a Florida runner. It was her slowest time of the season by 48 seconds, and the whole field was slow with her, so read it as the course and the day. Jackson Winkler (Charlotte, Jr., 3A) won the boys' race in 17:47.7 over Chase Marshall of Wellen Park. The results file carries no team scores.
Wildcat Invitational, University of West Florida, Pensacola
Niceville went one-two-three in both varsity races. Brody Mathis (Sr.) won the boys' race in 17:05.5 with Brayden and Sebastian Riemer behind him. Anais Almonte and Lola Jackson (No. 7 4A), both freshmen, crossed together in 20:34.0 and Sophie Clapp was third. Niceville's JV went one-two-three as well. No team scores were posted.
South Fork Invitational, Stuart
Willie Mckenney (American Heritage of Plantation, So., 3A) won in 16:51.13 over Emilio Tobon of Pine Crest and Lucas Latimore of Westminster Academy. Andi Laird (South Fork, Jr., 3A) won the girls' race at home in 20:19.15, ten seconds ahead of Noelle Richardson of Westminster Academy. The file lists no team scores.
Indian Invite
Watson Dunham (Newberry, Fr., 2A) won in 17:21.7 over teammate Logan Smith and Noah Yara of Keystone Heights, who shared 17:33.8. St. Johns Country Day won the boys' team race 52 to 61 over Oakleaf. Catherine Staten (St. Johns Country Day, Fr., 1A) won the girls' race in 20:38.1, and Evelyn George, a seventh grader at P. K. Yonge, was second. St. Johns Country Day scored 31.
The rest of Saturday
At the Top 5 Challenge, Josiah Hitesman (Lake Brantley, Sr., 4A) won in 17:19.8 and Stella Martin (Lake Brantley, Fr.) in 20:58.0. At the Big Red Run, Joaquin Villalobos (Avon Park, Jr., 2A) won in 18:54.70, Tenoroc won the boys' team race with 27, and Sebring's Margaret Stephens (Fr.) led a Sebring sweep of the top three in the girls' race for a 17-point win. At the MIA Invitational, Matias Cantor (Donahue Academy, Fr., 1A) won the boys' 5K in 19:30.13, Mason Classical scored 15, Joanie Webb (Donahue Academy, Fr., No. 4 1A) won the girls' 5K in 21:23.26, and Paula Webb (No. 2 elementary), an elementary schooler running for the same program, won the middle school girls' 3K in 11:53.77. Atlantic of Port Orange swept its own Atlantic Shark Classic behind Kebra Bonner (18:41.2) and Alexandra Milian (23:59.3). Creekside Middle School of Port Orange won both races at Volusia County middle school meet 3, with Ezra McAlister in 11:28.09 and Eden Smith in 13:08.46.
Friday and Thursday
At the Race of Thoroughbreds Classic in Miami on Friday, Lucian Burns (Marathon, So., No. 9 1A) won in 16:59.1 by 86 seconds, and Mater Brickell beat Coral Gables 63 to 66. Ali Wheatley (Coral Shores, Jr., 2A) won the girls' race in 21:38.6 over Molly Joly (Marathon, 8th grade, No. 9 middle school), and Coral Gables won with 36. At the Gulf Coast State High School Invite in Panama City, Mason Brain (North Bay Haven, Jr., 2A) won in 16:47.0 by 53 seconds, Lorelai Williams (Rutherford, Fr., 2A) won the girls' race in 21:18.9, and Mosley won both team titles, 20 and 26.
On Thursday, Cecil Collins (Cedar Key, Sr., 1A) won the Cedar Key XC Invite at home in 18:19.1 and Rachael Chiles (Citrus, Jr., 3A) the girls' race in 21:24.5. Chase Ford of Port St. Joe (18:30.0) and Kora Severns of Franklin County (24:24.0) won the PSJ Tiger Shark Run. Paxton was the one Florida school at the Dub after Dark two-mile, a south Alabama meet where both races went to Straughn. The AIE Invite, a Friday meet among Miami-area schools, is in the database as well.
What the weekend does to the rankings
The week 7 lists are next. The rule is the same as always: a loss stands until the two runners meet again. Here is what those lists will have to deal with.
Boys. Mantecon won the biggest race a Florida boy has run this year, and Cruz and Michalak held second and fifth in the state behind him. Ishee and Sides both beat Cunningham in Cary. Cunningham is sixth in the state, Ishee is eighth in 4A and Sides is on neither list. Rodbro did not finish; a DNF is not a loss. Kiper ran 15:24 and beat Williams, and that one run does what the week 6 honorable mention said it would. Brody Johnson beat Rivera by half a second at Harmony. Moss beat Houk, Bremerman, Kiros and Berek at flrunners, and Hagen, No. 4 in 3A, finished behind all of them. Ross beat Taylor by 40 seconds and ran 15:59. Carpenter, Macias-Buenrostro and Lewis won, and Lewis is under 15:46 now.
Girls. Muller won again. Balaban was the first Floridian in Cary and no Florida girl beat her. Antunez-Perez beat Reinhardt and Johnson there, and they are seventh and eighth in the state while she is just off the list. Hallick and Mercer won, and Mercer beat Vincent and Poekert, so the order among those three holds, with Vincent now ahead of Poekert. McMenemy-Hoang beat Wilkinson, Tanenbaum, Ghavami and Ables at flrunners and comes into the picture. Geraghty's 18:34 is the fifth-fastest by a 1A girl this year, and she is an eighth grader. Middleton lost to St John and McDonald, who are 4A and 3A. Dobbin lost to Lear and Davis, who are 3A.
Teams. Belen finished five places and 174 points ahead of Nease in Cary, and both are where they were. Episcopal's girls beat Spanish River's by eight points in the same race, and Spanish River is one place above Episcopal on the state list. Ponte Vedra beat Vanguard by three in the boys' race at Speziale, and Vanguard is ranked four places above Ponte Vedra in 3A. Ponte Vedra's girls beat Vanguard's and were already above them. Fort Myers beat Tavares, Calvary Christian, Chiles and Naples at flrunners, and Chiles's girls beat Lourdes. Newsome won every race at Don Bishop. Niceville swept Pensacola. Belen's second seven won a 43-team race in North Carolina.
Middle school. Matyka beat Destremps, and Schulte beat Lomoriello, who is a place above him. Motycka beat Ilea. Moylan won Speziale. Sarcos ran 20:48 for a 5K and was second to a high school junior.
How we put this together
- Every result above comes from the official timing files, loaded into our results database: twenty-four meets and more than 11,100 results, JV, middle school and elementary included, with every team score exactly as the timers published it.
- Great American was a 247-school meet with ten Florida programs in it. Every visiting school is tagged with its state, and out-of-state runners and teams are shown in the results but not ranked. The second JV race there had no Florida teams and is not in the database.
- The flrunners.com file includes two college races, a men's 8K and a women's 6K for Florida colleges. They are in the database as races but are not on any high school list.
- Venice, Wildcat, South Fork and the Top 5 Challenge came through without team scores, and we have not scored them ourselves.
- The Don Bishop timer reissued its results on Saturday with every time 2.5 seconds faster, a start-time correction. The database has the corrected file.
- We use both data and judgment, and we will most likely miss one or two along the way. If we missed your race or your runner, tell us.
The database is open all season at runfloridarun.com/data. Go find your name.
Photo: Marcelo Mantecon of Belen Jesuit wins the COROS Race of Champions at the Great American XC Festival, Cary, North Carolina, October 3, 2026. Screen grab from the RunnerSpace broadcast.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the 2026 Great American XC Festival Race of Champions? expand_more
Marcelo Mantecon of Belen Jesuit won the boys' COROS Race of Champions on October 3, 2026, in 14:35.9, three seconds ahead of Ruel Newberry of Denton Guyer, Texas. Teammate Armando Cruz was sixth in 14:50.6 and Belen was second of 40 teams with 117, behind Christ School of North Carolina. Averi Lowen of Bowdon, Georgia, won the girls' race in 16:33.8, and Emma Balaban of IMG Academy was the first Florida finisher in 15th.
Who won the 2026 flrunners.com Invitational Race of Champions? expand_more
Will Moss of Montverde Academy won the boys' Race of Champions in 16:02.3 on October 3, 2026, at Holloway Park in Lakeland, 12 seconds ahead of Liam Ilea of Tavares, and Fort Myers won the team race with 86 over Tavares's 111. Eva McMenemy-Hoang of Viera won the girls' race in 18:53.3 over Emma Wilkinson of Lakeland Christian, and Chiles won the team title with 48 over Lourdes's 104.
Who won the 2026 Craig Speziale Invitational? expand_more
Luke Ross of Ponte Vedra won the boys' varsity race in 15:59.06 on October 3, 2026, 40 seconds ahead of Christopher Taylor of Vanguard, and Ponte Vedra beat Vanguard 26 to 29 for the team title. Lyla Hallick of Vanguard won the girls' race in 18:40.81, and Ponte Vedra won the girls' team race 30 to 46 over Vanguard.
How did Florida teams do at the 2026 Great American XC Festival? expand_more
Belen Jesuit was second in the boys' Race of Champions with 117 and its second seven won the Red Invitational with 129. Nease was seventh in the Race of Champions with 291, Buchholz 18th, Spanish River 27th and IMG Academy 30th. In the girls' Race of Champions, IMG Academy was 13th of 41 teams, Episcopal of Jacksonville 17th and Spanish River 18th. Taylor Geraghty of Holy Trinity, an eighth grader, was second in the girls' Blue Invitational in 18:34.3.