Every week two result, meet by meet with full top fives: Madison Muller opens with the fastest 5K by a Florida girl this season, Vanguard sweeps Whispering Pines, Niceville's girls score a perfect 15, and our experimental minimum-violations head-to-head rankings make their debut.
Florida cross country, week two: August 23-29, 2026
Race photos by AVERA VISUALS, from Saturday's Whispering Pines Invitational.
Week one was a time trial. Week two was a fight. Nineteen meets went into the database this week, sixteen high school and three middle school, more than 4,800 finishes in all. For the first time this season, the best runners in Florida started running into each other instead of running against the clock.
Three things happened that will move rankings. Madison Muller opened her season with the fastest 5K any Florida girl has run this year. Vanguard swept both team titles at Whispering Pines, exactly the way our preview said the boys' race tilted. And a pile of head-to-head arguments that week one left hanging, especially at the top of the 3A girls' class, finally got settled on the same starting line.
Which is the perfect week to introduce something we've been building.
A second scoreboard: the Minimum Violations rankings
In cross country, relying purely on raw race times is flawed. A 15:30 on a flat, manicured golf course isn't the same as a 16:10 on soft sugar sand, rolling hills, and wet turf. Weather, footing, and elevation change from week to week, meaning time on the clock only tells half the story.
Cross country is fundamentally about racing the field on the day, which means head-to-head competition is the truest metric we have.
So this season, alongside our standard database and our weekly top-10 lists, we are experimenting with a Minimum Violations ranking system. The concept comes from the mathematical ranking models taught by my former college professor, Dr. Coleman at UNF. Here's why it fits this sport:
- It prioritizes direct outcomes. Instead of converting times or normalizing courses with conversion factors, it strictly tracks who finished ahead of whom whenever athletes or teams line up together.
- It minimizes contradictions. If Runner B beats Runner A, but Runner A ends up ranked higher, that's a "violation."
- It optimizes globally. The algorithm processes every head-to-head matchup across the season and finds the single ranking ladder that creates the fewest total violations across the entire field.
The result is an objective, performance-driven leaderboard that respects actual race outcomes over course speeds. The boards are live now, boys and girls, individuals and teams, at our head-to-head rankings page, and they recompute every time new results land in the database.
Two weeks in, the boards already have opinions. Belen Jesuit 3A sits No. 1 on the boys' team board at 34-0. Niceville 4A is No. 1 on the girls' side at 45-0. Armando Cruz of Belen hasn't lost to anyone he's raced, and Madison Muller debuted at No. 1 on the girls' individual board Saturday afternoon. The fun starts where the head-to-head board and the time-based lists disagree. George Steinbrenner 4A is ninth on the boys' team board with a 40-0 record while sitting seventeenth on pure time. That disagreement is the whole point. We're testing this as an active experiment all season to see how it reshapes the standings.
Now, the week. Every meet below links to its full results in our database.
Tuesday and Wednesday: school-night racing
Cocoa Beach Tuesday Night XC Invite (Tuesday, Aug. 25)
The hosts took care of business under the lights, and the girls' race belonged to an eighth grader. Esther Dobbin won by more than two and a half minutes and led a Cocoa Beach 1-2-3-4.
Boys top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asher Cerveny, Sr. | Cocoa Beach 2A | 17:54.9 |
| 2 | Lars Manning, Jr. | Cocoa Beach 2A | 18:19.7 |
| 3 | Peyton McAndrew, Sr. | First Academy (Orlando) 2A | 18:31.6 |
| 4 | Justin Gregoire, Jr. | Merritt Island | 18:42.0 |
| 5 | Joseph JeBailey, Jr. | First Academy (Orlando) 2A | 19:05.4 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cocoa Beach 2A | 38 |
| 2 | First Academy (Orlando) 2A | 43 |
| 3 | Merritt Island Christian 1A | 80 |
| 4 | Heritage | 87 |
| 5 | Brevard HEAT | 106 |
Girls top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Esther Dobbin, 8th | Cocoa Beach 2A | 20:28.2 |
| 2 | Kylee Fitzpatrick, Sr. | Cocoa Beach 2A | 23:07.9 |
| 3 | Tessa Whitley, Fr. | Cocoa Beach 2A | 23:46.2 |
| 4 | Payton Morris, 8th | Cocoa Beach 2A | 23:59.1 |
| 5 | Jayda Eidemiller, So. | Merritt Island Christian 1A | 24:22.2 |
Girls teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cocoa Beach 2A | 16 |
| 2 | Merritt Island Christian 1A | 63 |
| 3 | First Academy (Orlando) 2A | 64 |
| 4 | Bayside | 110 |
IRCS 2mile/5k Challenge (Tuesday, Aug. 25)
A small private-school gathering in Pinellas. Conor Kiley ran away with the varsity boys' 5K by more than two and a half minutes, and Admiral Farragut put three in the top five.
Boys top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conor Kiley, Sr. | Admiral Farragut 1A | 17:54.5 |
| 2 | Noah German, So. | Admiral Farragut 1A | 20:33.6 |
| 3 | Santiago Zagazeta, Fr. | Canterbury (Fort Myers) 1A | 20:37.1 |
| 4 | John Miller, Sr. | Admiral Farragut 1A | 21:24.9 |
| 5 | Michael Clapper, So. | Cambridge Christian 1A | 21:46.1 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Admiral Farragut 1A | 21 |
| 2 | Cambridge Christian 1A | 37 |
Girls top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Genevieve Meister, Jr. | Cambridge Christian 1A | 23:19.6 |
| 2 | Mataya Schuiteman, Fr. | Bradenton Christian | 24:39.6 |
| 3 | Yui Yui Kiley, So. | Admiral Farragut 1A | 25:40.9 |
| 4 | Reese Flood, So. | Canterbury (Fort Myers) 1A | 26:18.4 |
| 5 | Mei Mei Kiley, So. | Admiral Farragut 1A | 26:20.9 |
Canterbury was the only girls team with a full scoring five, at 15 points.
Graceville Home Meet 1 (Wednesday, Aug. 26)
Panhandle small schools. David Baber won the boys' race by nearly a minute and a half, and a seventh grader, Brayla Bellamy of Cottondale, took the girls' race by two seconds.
Boys top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Baber, Sr. | Poplar Springs | 17:56.0 |
| 2 | Travis Ephriam, Sr. | Marianna | 19:20.0 |
| 3 | Hunter Whittal, Jr. | Chipley | 19:24.0 |
| 4 | Nathaniel Kreitz, Jr. | Chipley | 20:54.0 |
| 5 | Gabriel Halderson, Jr. | Chipley | 21:20.0 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chipley | 36 |
| 2 | Marianna | 45 |
| 3 | Poplar Springs | 84 |
| 4 | Graceville | 91 |
| 5 | Sneads | 110 |
Girls top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brayla Bellamy, 7th | Cottondale | 25:10.0 |
| 2 | Jaymi Miller, So. | Marianna | 25:12.0 |
| 3 | Alycia Ratcliff, Jr. | Cottondale | 25:45.0 |
| 4 | Madeline Bengry, So. | Poplar Springs | 26:58.0 |
| 5 | Destiny Tyus, Fr. | Marianna | 29:10.0 |
Girls teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marianna | 48 |
| 2 | Chipley | 55 |
| 3 | Graceville | 58 |
| 4 | Cottondale | 62 |
West Hillsborough Invite (Wednesday, Aug. 26)
The best Wednesday racing in the state. Landon Watkins, who our 4A boys list already flagged after his Ragin' Storm win, beat Jack Bronder, the No. 10 boy in 4A, by more than half a minute. Katherine Eudaly, No. 6 on our statewide girls list, won the girls' race by 95 seconds. George Steinbrenner, No. 7 on our statewide team list, keeps stacking wins.
Boys top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Landon Watkins, Jr. | Sickles | 16:23.9 |
| 2 | Jack Bronder, Sr. | George Steinbrenner 4A | 16:57.4 |
| 3 | Jacob Sackenheim, Sr. | Robinson 3A | 17:07.2 |
| 4 | Jack Christy, Sr. | Plant 4A | 17:20.6 |
| 5 | Max Tschopp, So. | George Steinbrenner 4A | 17:25.3 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Steinbrenner 4A | 30 |
| 2 | Sickles | 49 |
| 3 | Plant 4A | 74 |
| 4 | Robinson 3A | 84 |
| 5 | Alonso | 121 |
Girls top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katherine Eudaly, Jr. | Plant 4A | 18:40.3 |
| 2 | Blake Peifer, Sr. | George Steinbrenner 4A | 20:15.6 |
| 3 | Rylee Nelson, Sr. | Plant 4A | 20:17.9 |
| 4 | Madison Stubbs, Jr. | George Steinbrenner 4A | 20:33.2 |
| 5 | Launi Blackford, Jr. | Sickles | 20:34.4 |
Girls teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plant 4A | 35 |
| 2 | George Steinbrenner 4A | 56 |
| 3 | Robinson 3A | 76 |
| 4 | Sickles | 85 |
| 5 | Alonso | 125 |
Wolves Run, middle school (Wednesday, Aug. 26)
Tallahassee's middle schoolers ran 3K and split the rematch: Deerlake's boys, Montford's girls. Both are covered in our FLYRA rankings.
Boys top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Landon Heitmeyer, 7th | Montford | 11:04.61 |
| 2 | Kaleb Jacobs, 8th | Deerlake | 11:09.40 |
| 3 | Alexander Grimes, 7th | Deerlake | 11:10.28 |
| 4 | Beckett Ribolzi, 8th | Deerlake | 11:11.59 |
| 5 | Warren Campbell, 7th | Montford | 11:30.81 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deerlake | 28 |
| 2 | Montford | 32 |
| 3 | Swift Creek | 75 |
| 4 | Cobb | 122 |
| 5 | Raa | 124 |
Girls top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natalie Trimble, 8th | Montford | 12:33.30 |
| 2 | Georgia Goodman, 8th | Swift Creek | 12:39.90 |
| 3 | Ananiah Scringer, 8th | Montford | 12:56.61 |
| 4 | Hallie Mick, 7th | Deerlake | 13:20.97 |
| 5 | Adrianne Miller, 7th | Montford | 13:39.48 |
Girls teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montford | 30 |
| 2 | Deerlake | 34 |
| 3 | Swift Creek | 72 |
| 4 | Raa | 121 |
| 5 | Fairview | 146 |
Thursday and Friday: South Florida gets going
Palmer Trinity Invitational (Thursday, Aug. 27)
Lukas Arrojo won the boys' race by a minute, and the Ransom Everglades girls went 1-2-3 on their way to a 25-point team score.
Boys top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lukas Arrojo, So. | True North 1A | 19:09.5 |
| 2 | Luke Jackson, Sr. | Doctor's Charter | 20:09.4 |
| 3 | Luis Escobar, Jr. | Divine Savior 1A | 20:12.5 |
| 4 | Michael Martinez, Jr. | Riviera Prep | 20:26.8 |
| 5 | Darian Rodriguez, Jr. | Keys Gate 2A | 20:36.7 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keys Gate 2A | 56 |
| 2 | True North 1A | 60 |
| 3 | Ransom Everglades 2A | 89 |
| 4 | Divine Savior 1A | 99 |
| 5 | Palmer Trinity 2A | 115 |
Girls top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Julianna Hart, Fr. | Ransom Everglades 2A | 23:17.8 |
| 2 | London Ross, 7th | Ransom Everglades 2A | 23:21.2 |
| 3 | Alessandra Dominguez, So. | Ransom Everglades 2A | 23:33.4 |
| 4 | Ali Wheatley, Jr. | Coral Shores 2A | 23:40.7 |
| 5 | Gabriela Salcedo, Sr. | AIE Charter | 23:56.2 |
Girls teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ransom Everglades 2A | 25 |
| 2 | True North 1A | 82 |
| 3 | Florida Christian | 102 |
| 4 | Downtown Doral Charter | 102 |
| 5 | Palmer Trinity 2A | 115 |
Jupiter Invite #1 (Friday, Aug. 28)
Jupiter went 1-2-3 in its own boys' race and won both team titles.
Boys top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Ward, Sr. | Jupiter 4A | 17:42.6 |
| 2 | Andrew Stanek, Jr. | Jupiter 4A | 18:10.3 |
| 3 | Titus Fike, Sr. | Jupiter 4A | 18:17.8 |
| 4 | Giovanni Sorgente, Jr. | Park Vista | 18:35.5 |
| 5 | Maximus Cannon, Sr. | Dreyfoos | 18:49.9 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jupiter 4A | 19 |
| 2 | Park Vista | 63 |
| 3 | Dreyfoos | 69 |
| 4 | Forest Hill | 120 |
| 5 | St. John Paul II 2A | 127 |
Girls top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delaney Ulmer, Jr. | Jupiter 4A | 21:28.8 |
| 2 | Barbarita Jedlicka, So. | St. John Paul II 2A | 22:18.3 |
| 3 | Hannah Dohler, So. | St. John Paul II 2A | 22:45.9 |
| 4 | Emma Egan, Fr. | Jupiter 4A | 22:52.9 |
| 5 | Savanna Boettge, Jr. | Jupiter 4A | 23:11.0 |
Girls teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jupiter 4A | 23 |
| 2 | St. John Paul II 2A | 47 |
| 3 | Park Vista | 80 |
| 4 | Dreyfoos | 98 |
Superfly Invitational #1 (Friday, Aug. 28)
Our preview framed this as round two of Lourdes against St. Thomas Aquinas, one point apart on 2026 form. Aquinas doesn't appear in the results, so the rematch will have to wait. Lourdes, No. 8 on our statewide girls team list, won the night anyway.
Boys top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucas Marchesan, So. | Coral Reef 4A | 18:19.1 |
| 2 | Hector Brown, Sr. | Miami Palmetto | 18:25.0 |
| 3 | Robert Thompson, Fr. | Coral Reef 4A | 18:44.0 |
| 4 | Alejandro Sancerni, 8th | Somerset Academy | 18:48.7 |
| 5 | Mohamed Erquizi, Sr. | Reagan | 19:26.0 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coral Reef 4A | 32 |
| 2 | Somerset Academy | 83 |
| 3 | Miami Palmetto | 86 |
| 4 | Coral Gables 4A | 90 |
| 5 | Reagan | 102 |
Girls top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fara Pages, Sr. | Coral Reef 4A | 22:03.0 |
| 2 | Teagan Thompson, So. | Coral Reef 4A | 22:13.7 |
| 3 | Jianna Bustamante, Sr. | Lourdes 3A | 23:01.1 |
| 4 | Alexandra Morfova, Fr. | Coral Gables 4A | 23:07.7 |
| 5 | Mikaela Reyes, Jr. | Miami Arts | 23:15.8 |
Girls teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lourdes 3A | 43 |
| 2 | Miami Arts | 54 |
| 3 | Coral Reef 4A | 58 |
| 4 | St. Brendan | 104 |
| 5 | Coral Gables 4A | 114 |
Saturday: the main event
Whispering Pines Invitational (Saturday, Aug. 29)
The deepest meet of the week, and the one that settled the most arguments. Our preview said the team rematch with East Ridge tilted to Vanguard. It did more than tilt. Vanguard swept both varsity team titles.
Axel Sallault, the returning 4A state runner-up and No. 6 on our statewide boys list, won the boys' race in 15:46.97, the fastest time by any Florida boy all week. Liam Ilea, the new name our 3A boys list said was knocking, ran 16:00.59 in second. Vanguard came into the weekend fifth in 3A on our team list, in a three-point cluster we called a tie. Beating Tavares, seventh in 3A, head to head is exactly the kind of evidence that breaks ties.
Boys top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Axel Sallault, Sr. | East Ridge 4A | 15:46.97 |
| 2 | Liam Ilea, Jr. | Tavares 3A | 16:00.59 |
| 3 | Skylar Manatt, Sr. | Cypress Creek 3A | 16:06.69 |
| 4 | Noah Carpenter, Sr. | Nature Coast | 16:16.81 |
| 5 | Trevor Berquist, So. | Vanguard 3A | 16:34.09 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vanguard 3A | 59 |
| 2 | Tavares 3A | 75 |
| 3 | River Ridge 3A | 106 |
| 4 | East Ridge 4A | 114 |
| 5 | Belleview 3A | 166 |
The girls' race was the head-to-head showcase of the entire week. Week one left the top of the 3A class as a knot of girls separated by seconds on different courses who had never raced each other. Saturday, four ranked girls lined up together and sorted it out on the grass.
Natalia Gaona-Zelaya, No. 5 on our statewide list, won. Lyla Hallick, No. 3 on our 3A list, was second. Lydia Vincent, fifth on that same list, beat Mary Summers, the No. 1 girl in 1A and No. 7 on our statewide list. Emma Poekert, eighth in 3A, completed the top five. Five girls under 19:00 in one race. The rest of Florida produced two all week.
Girls top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natalia Gaona-Zelaya, Sr. | Wiregrass Ranch 4A | 18:08.85 |
| 2 | Lyla Hallick, So. | Vanguard 3A | 18:25.40 |
| 3 | Lydia Vincent, Sr. | Zephyrhills 3A | 18:34.13 |
| 4 | Mary Summers, So. | Seven Rivers Christian 1A | 18:39.29 |
| 5 | Emma Poekert, Jr. | Cypress Creek 3A | 18:52.11 |
Girls teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vanguard 3A | 63 |
| 2 | Buchholz 4A | 113 |
| 3 | Oak Hall 1A | 114 |
| 4 | Berkeley Prep 2A | 116 |
| 5 | East Ridge 4A | 128 |
Kowboy XC Invitational (Saturday, Aug. 29)
Our preview said a Georgia team won this meet last year and asked what Gateway and St. Cloud would do with everyone back. History repeated: Walton of Marietta, Georgia swept both team titles, with North Oldham down from Kentucky in the mix.
The individual boys' race was the closest finish of the week. Luis Rivera of St. Cloud held off Brody Johnson of Rockledge by three tenths of a second, with Johnson's teammate Noah Childrey right behind. St. Cloud, seventh in 4A on our team list, was the top Florida team, and Rockledge's front pair keeps looking like the best in 3A outside Belen. Gateway finished seventh.
On the girls' side, Selah Vignier, the No. 1 girl in 2A and No. 8 on our statewide list, won in 19:06.1. Charlotte Roy, an eighth grader at All Saints' in Winter Haven, was second. Boone was the top Florida girls team.
Boys top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luis Rivera, Sr. | St. Cloud 4A | 16:04.6 |
| 2 | Brody Johnson, Sr. | Rockledge 3A | 16:04.9 |
| 3 | Noah Childrey, Sr. | Rockledge 3A | 16:09.4 |
| 4 | Finn Timmons, So. | Walton (GA) | 16:53.1 |
| 5 | Anthony Englund, Sr. | Allatoona (GA) | 16:57.5 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walton (GA) | 78 |
| 2 | St. Cloud 4A | 86 |
| 3 | Allatoona (GA) | 92 |
| 4 | North Oldham (KY) | 106 |
| 5 | Rockledge 3A | 153 |
Girls top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Selah Vignier, Jr. | West Shore 2A | 19:06.1 |
| 2 | Charlotte Roy, 8th | All Saints' 1A | 19:14.4 |
| 3 | Harper Strong, Sr. | Walton (GA) | 19:34.4 |
| 4 | Amyiah Hall, So. | Lake Nona 4A | 19:48.8 |
| 5 | Taylor Revels, Sr. | Boone 4A | 19:52.5 |
Girls teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walton (GA) | 49 |
| 2 | Boone 4A | 87 |
| 3 | North Oldham (KY) | 102 |
| 4 | West Shore 2A | 132 |
| 5 | All Saints' 1A | 172 |
Indian River Fairgrounds XC Invitational (Saturday, Aug. 29)
Our preview built this one around Centennial, back with all five scorers from a one-point loss. Instead, Melbourne, ranked all preseason on projection because nobody in the program had raced, showed up and won. Centennial finished sixth despite Dylan Stacey taking second individually, 1.2 seconds behind winner Antario Berek of Vero Beach.
Holy Trinity came in No. 1 on our 1A girls team list by two points over a team that hadn't raced. Winning a 19-team invitational is a better argument than any projection. The morning's middle school 3Ks went to Alice Ilea of Red Sea Running Club in 10:56.8 and Warren Wilson of Sifted Sports in 10:36.4, with Boca Warriors and Red Sea taking the team titles.
Boys top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antario Berek, Jr. | Vero Beach | 16:35.2 |
| 2 | Dylan Stacey, Jr. | Centennial 4A | 16:36.4 |
| 3 | Colin Hedgespeth, Jr. | Melbourne 4A | 16:59.2 |
| 4 | John Curley, Sr. | St. Edward's 1A | 17:14.0 |
| 5 | Charles Hanus, Sr. | Melbourne 4A | 17:17.8 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melbourne 4A | 61 |
| 2 | Holy Trinity 1A | 75 |
| 3 | Jensen Beach 3A | 92 |
| 4 | Martin County | 191 |
| 5 | Vero Beach | 207 |
Girls top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olivia Davis, Fr. | Satellite 3A | 19:50.2 |
| 2 | Madelyn Fischer, Jr. | Jensen Beach 3A | 20:07.6 |
| 3 | Annabel DeTure, Sr. | Jensen Beach 3A | 20:19.6 |
| 4 | Andi Laird, So. | South Fork 3A | 20:30.1 |
| 5 | Taylor Geraghty, 8th | Holy Trinity 1A | 20:38.5 |
Girls teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Holy Trinity 1A | 49 |
| 2 | South Fork 3A | 71 |
| 3 | Jensen Beach 3A | 86 |
| 4 | Satellite 3A | 113 |
| 5 | Melbourne 4A | 118 |
Eagle Invitational at Pine Forest (Saturday, Aug. 29)
Bryant Olson, No. 6 on our 4A boys list, won by 18 seconds. Our statewide list has said all along that Niceville's boys are ranked below their talent for racing in week one. Winning a 17-team invitational with 25 points is how you fix that.
The Niceville girls did something you almost never see. They went 1-2-3-4-5 for a perfect 15, and put all five across the line within a second and a half. The No. 1 team in 4A and No. 2 team on our statewide girls list looked exactly like it.
Boys top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bryant Olson, So. | Niceville 4A | 16:13.6 |
| 2 | Donovan Carmichael, Jr. | West Florida 3A | 16:31.6 |
| 3 | Frederick Gunther, So. | Pensacola Catholic 2A | 16:32.1 |
| 4 | Sebastian Riemer, Jr. | Niceville 4A | 16:57.5 |
| 5 | Carson Jackson, Jr. | Niceville 4A | 17:06.8 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niceville 4A | 25 |
| 2 | Fort Walton Beach 3A | 96 |
| 3 | Pensacola Christian 1A | 126 |
| 4 | Aletheia Christian | 140 |
| 5 | Crestview 4A | 171 |
Girls top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anais Almonte, Fr. | Niceville 4A | 20:04.0 |
| 2 | Harmony Holland, Jr. | Niceville 4A | 20:04.2 |
| 3 | Riley Marise, Jr. | Niceville 4A | 20:04.3 |
| 4 | Sophie Clapp, Fr. | Niceville 4A | 20:05.1 |
| 5 | Carolina Ramos, Jr. | Niceville 4A | 20:05.3 |
Girls teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niceville 4A | 15 |
| 2 | Fort Walton Beach 3A | 73 |
| 3 | Navarre | 126 |
| 4 | Seacoast Collegiate 1A | 130 |
| 5 | Pensacola Christian 1A | 132 |
North Port Preserve Pursuit (Saturday, Aug. 29)
The biggest fields of the week, 259 boys and 203 girls, and the run of the week. Madison Muller, the defending 4A state champion and No. 3 on our statewide girls list, opened her season with a 17:33.1. That's the fastest 5K by any Florida girl in our database this season, four seconds quicker than her state-title run last November, and she won by 1:42.
Sarasota was our projected No. 3 team in 4A without having raced. Now they've raced, and won a 19-team invitational. On the boys' side, Southwest Florida Christian, sixth on our 1A boys team list, finished second of 23 teams, behind only Venice.
Boys top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabe Milliken, Jr. | Sarasota Christian 1A | 16:33.4 |
| 2 | Nash Akers, So. | Southwest Florida Christian 1A | 16:40.9 |
| 3 | Nolan Heaney, Sr. | Venice 4A | 16:49.9 |
| 4 | Jackson Winkler, Jr. | Charlotte 3A | 16:52.8 |
| 5 | Colton Prater, Sr. | Lakewood Ranch 4A | 16:59.3 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Venice 4A | 87 |
| 2 | Southwest Florida Christian 1A | 95 |
| 3 | Lakewood Ranch 4A | 102 |
| 4 | Lemon Bay 3A | 125 |
| 5 | Out-of-Door 1A | 151 |
Girls top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madison Muller, Jr. | Riverview (Sarasota) 4A | 17:33.1 |
| 2 | Annabella Cicilioni, Jr. | Sarasota 4A | 19:15.7 |
| 3 | Marley Bowen, Jr. | Sarasota 4A | 19:27.1 |
| 4 | Sofia Boussouf, So. | Classical Academy 1A | 19:39.5 |
| 5 | Isabella Legatie, Sr. | Venice 4A | 19:47.2 |
Girls teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarasota 4A | 51 |
| 2 | Riverview (Sarasota) 4A | 106 |
| 3 | Lakewood Ranch 4A | 113 |
| 4 | Southwest Florida Christian 1A | 137 |
| 5 | Venice 4A | 151 |
Cape Coral Seahawk Invite (Saturday, Aug. 29)
Dylan Macias-Buenrostro, our No. 10 returner statewide, sat out week one. He opened with a win by a minute. The girls' race went to a seventh grader: Emily Del Mazo-Collado of Community School of Naples.
Boys top five (19 teams scored)
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dylan Macias-Buenrostro, Jr. | Mariner 3A | 16:34.7 |
| 2 | Ruben Viera De Lemos, Sr. | Cape Coral 4A | 17:35.0 |
| 3 | Mason Boyer, Jr. | Cape Coral 4A | 17:45.3 |
| 4 | Hunter Jendrusiak, So. | Cape Coral 4A | 17:50.4 |
| 5 | William Santana, Sr. | North Fort Myers 3A | 17:56.3 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Coral 4A | 49 |
| 2 | North Fort Myers 3A | 68 |
| 3 | Gulf Coast 3A | 119 |
| 4 | Aubrey Rogers 3A | 124 |
| 5 | Fort Myers 3A | 154 |
Girls top five (17 teams scored)
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emily Del Mazo-Collado, 7th | Community School of Naples 1A | 20:08.7 |
| 2 | Aurelia Sciandra, Sr. | North Fort Myers 3A | 20:24.4 |
| 3 | Madison Easton, Jr. | Oasis 2A | 20:27.5 |
| 4 | Gianna Gyurich, Sr. | Estero 3A | 20:45.6 |
| 5 | Lillian Lampitt, So. | Bishop Verot 2A | 21:04.7 |
Girls teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aubrey Rogers 3A | 59 |
| 2 | Fort Myers 3A | 81 |
| 3 | Estero 3A | 93 |
| 4 | Community School of Naples 1A | 99 |
| 5 | Oasis 2A | 129 |
Central Hillsborough Championships (Saturday, Aug. 29)
James Nolan won by more than a minute, and his teammate Jaxon Kiper, No. 2 on our 4A boys list after his breakout week one, came through fifth in 18:06.2. That's the strangest data point of the week, and we'll treat it carefully rather than react to it. The boys' team title came down to a 30-30 tie, with Wharton winning the tiebreaker.
Boys top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Nolan, Sr. | Strawberry Crest | 16:33.7 |
| 2 | Derek Cook, Sr. | Wharton | 17:49.6 |
| 3 | Anderson Sears, Sr. | Middleton | 17:50.6 |
| 4 | Wyatt Crowe, Jr. | Chamberlain 2A | 17:59.3 |
| 5 | Jaxon Kiper, Sr. | Strawberry Crest | 18:06.2 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wharton | 30 |
| 2 | Strawberry Crest | 30 |
| 3 | Hillsborough 3A | 79 |
| 4 | Freedom 3A | 103 |
| 5 | Tampa Bay Tech | 136 |
Girls top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madelyn Ammirati, Sr. | Freedom 3A | 19:54.7 |
| 2 | Jade Walker, So. | Armwood | 20:22.6 |
| 3 | Hazelle Pulizzano, Jr. | Hillsborough 3A | 20:36.5 |
| 4 | Sophia Douglas, So. | Freedom 3A | 20:50.9 |
| 5 | Joselyn Sada, Fr. | Strawberry Crest | 21:55.9 |
Girls teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hillsborough 3A | 39 |
| 2 | Strawberry Crest | 53 |
| 3 | Freedom 3A | 65 |
| 4 | Wharton | 94 |
| 5 | Chamberlain 2A | 102 |
Academy of the Holy Names was scored as its own division in the official results and won it with 15 points.
Yellow Jacket XC Invite (Saturday, Aug. 29)
Georgia came across the line first in Tallahassee. Thomas County Central won both team titles, but the individual boys' win stayed home with Lawson Phillips of Florida High.
Boys top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lawson Phillips, So. | Florida High 2A | 17:15.8 |
| 2 | Holten Dennard, So. | Thomas County Central (GA) | 17:32.0 |
| 3 | Brody Jennings, Sr. | Thomas County Central (GA) | 17:47.8 |
| 4 | Hudson Champion, So. | Colquitt County (GA) | 17:55.1 |
| 5 | Niko Williams, Fr. | Brookwood (GA) | 18:09.0 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas County Central (GA) | 30 |
| 2 | Valdosta (GA) | 61 |
| 3 | Lincoln 3A | 85 |
| 4 | Colquitt County (GA) | 86 |
| 5 | Community Christian | 111 |
Girls top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marigrace Garcia-Simmons, Sr. | Southwest Georgia Academy (GA) | 21:56.3 |
| 2 | Vera Vanlandingham, Fr. | Florida High 2A | 22:15.4 |
| 3 | Leah Boutwell, Sr. | Florida High 2A | 23:19.6 |
| 4 | Shaila Molina, Fr. | Colquitt County (GA) | 23:24.2 |
| 5 | Emma Grace Vealey, Sr. | Thomas County Central (GA) | 23:35.9 |
Girls teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas County Central (GA) | 37 |
| 2 | Florida High 2A | 51 |
| 3 | Lincoln 3A | 58 |
| 4 | Colquitt County (GA) | 81 |
| 5 | Cairo (GA) | 167 |
Wildwood XC Invitational One (Saturday, Aug. 29)
Makya Rivenburg, an eighth grader, won the girls' race outright by 50 seconds in 19:22.8. The girls' team race ended in a 33-33 tie, with Interlachen listed first.
Boys top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juan Watson | Warner Christian | 18:04.47 |
| 2 | Walker Galarza | Taylor | 19:43.20 |
| 3 | Ziron Warthen | Wildwood 1A | 19:54.86 |
| 4 | Angel Rodriguez | Taylor | 19:55.07 |
| 5 | Colin Hanks | Taylor | 20:34.41 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taylor | 35 |
| 2 | Wildwood 1A | 50 |
| 3 | First Academy (Orlando) 2A | 70 |
| 4 | Pasco | 105 |
| 5 | Warner Christian | 109 |
Girls top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Makya Rivenburg, 8th | Wildwood 1A | 19:22.81 |
| 2 | Paislee Guessford, Sr. | Interlachen 2A | 20:13.04 |
| 3 | Tinley Guessford | Interlachen 2A | 22:40.95 |
| 4 | Adrianna Rios | City of Life Christian | 22:59.73 |
| 5 | Addison Herndon, Jr. | Wildwood 1A | 23:05.26 |
Girls teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Interlachen 2A | 33 |
| 2 | City of Life Christian | 33 |
| 3 | Warner Christian | 54 |
Greater Florida Athletic Conference Meet One, middle school (Saturday, Aug. 29)
Two-mile races for the charter school conference. Pinecrest Lakes won both team titles.
Boys top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grayson Blake | Cornerstone Charter | 14:01.58 |
| 2 | Tyson Brogan | Pinecrest Lakes | 14:29.96 |
| 3 | Paulo Muraro | Pinecrest Lakes | 15:06.25 |
| 4 | Jeriel Baptista-Alamo | Mater Brighton Lakes | 15:21.32 |
| 5 | Grant Fonollosa | Pinecrest Lakes | 15:49.93 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pinecrest Lakes | 31 |
| 2 | Mater Brighton Lakes | 38 |
| 3 | Cornerstone Charter | 57 |
Girls top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andie Allison | Pinecrest Lakes | 14:30.27 |
| 2 | Kingslee Howard | Pinecrest Lakes | 15:25.43 |
| 3 | Amber Matos | Mater Academy Davenport | 16:12.88 |
| 4 | Tinlee Russell | Pinecrest Lakes | 16:38.18 |
| 5 | Zoreidy Liendo | Mater St. Cloud | 17:12.08 |
Girls teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pinecrest Lakes | 17 |
| 2 | Mater St. Cloud | 58 |
| 3 | Mater Brighton Lakes | 62 |
Bay County Middle School Invite #1 (Saturday, Aug. 29)
The Panhandle's middle schoolers opened their season over 3K in Bay County. Aiden Lambright of Bay Haven Charter won the boys' race by more than half a minute, and seventh grader Remi Arnold of Breakfast Point Academy took the girls' race by 22 seconds.
Boys top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aiden Lambright | Bay Haven Charter | 11:25.63 |
| 2 | Easton Wells, 8th | Surfside | 11:59.40 |
| 3 | Jayden Moses, 8th | Surfside | 12:20.27 |
| 4 | Ryan Wall, 8th | University Academy | 12:20.81 |
| 5 | Tucker Jones, 8th | University Academy | 12:27.27 |
Boys teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | University Academy | 38 |
| 2 | Surfside | 46 |
| 3 | Bay Haven Charter | 53 |
| 4 | Mowat | 116 |
| 5 | Tyndall Academy | 135 |
Girls top five
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Remi Arnold, 7th | Breakfast Point Academy | 13:18.41 |
| 2 | Halo Delgado-Auston | Bay Haven Charter | 13:40.77 |
| 3 | Aspyn Woodard, 6th | Merritt Brown | 14:26.99 |
| 4 | Maycen Simmons, 8th | Surfside | 14:31.84 |
| 5 | Isabel Meyer | Bay Haven Charter | 14:34.00 |
Girls teams
| Pl | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Breakfast Point Academy | 39 |
| 2 | Mowat | 68 |
| 3 | Bay Haven Charter | 86 |
| 4 | Merritt Brown | 93 |
| 5 | University Academy | 110 |
What week two does to the rankings
On the boys' side: Sallault reinforced No. 6 with the fastest time in the state this week. Olson and Niceville turned "ranked below their talent for racing early" into two more wins. Watkins beat a ranked 4A runner head to head and is now impossible to leave off the next 4A list. Rivera and St. Cloud backed up their spot as the No. 7 team in 4A, and Rockledge's front pair keeps looking like the best in 3A outside Belen. Macias-Buenrostro and Melbourne both converted projections into proof. Vanguard's sweep is the kind of head-to-head evidence that breaks the three-way 3A tie our team list refused to call.
On the girls' side: Muller's 17:33 puts the fastest-in-Florida argument squarely between her and Arabella Duffell. Gaona-Zelaya beat four ranked girls in one race. Vignier won Kowboy going away. The 3A logjam now has an on-course order, Hallick ahead of Vincent, Vincent ahead of Summers. And note that Vincent, who isn't on our statewide top ten, just beat the girl ranked No. 7 on it. On the time-based list, that's an argument. On the minimum-violations board, it's a violation. This is exactly why we're running both.
The week two ranking refresh, statewide and all four classes, is next up.
How we put this together
- Every result above comes from our results database, loaded from the official timing files for all nineteen meets.
- Team scores are reported exactly as the timers published them, including ties, tiebreakers and separately scored divisions.
- The minimum-violations boards recompute from every head-to-head matchup in the database, all season, every time results are added. Out-of-state visitors are left off the boards. We expect the boards to disagree with our time-based lists, and that disagreement is the point.
- 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.
Week three brings the first big invitational rematches and a fresh set of top tens. The database is open all season at runfloridarun.com/data. Go find your name.