FHSAA Cross Country Season Preview Boys and Girls 3A
Cross Country season has officially started here in Florida. I have posted a variety of rankings articles regarding overall pre-season returners rankings, individually and for teams. Here is a Preview of 3A. Remember that no ranking system is perfect and no season preview is perfect. One can't account for injuries, big jumps, transfers, breakthrough runners that we haven't seen yet and middle schoolers joining the varsity as incoming freshman, and in the case of some schools being able to run varsity. It is difficult to predict a season but one of the great things about Florida MileSplit is that we have a great ranking database that allows one to quickly and easily view rankings and XC and track PRs. Here is a look at what we may see in 3A this season.
3A Girls Team
The defending champions Dillard return 5 of their 7. In 2023, the Dillard girls, led by State Champion Christiana Coleman, scored just 46 points in taking down a strong Ponte Vedra squad who scored 66. The Dillard girls are young, but experienced, with 8th graders Shynah Collins (3rd) and Miley Gill (5th) leading Peyton Williams, Abigail Richards and Jaliah Gammage who are all sophomores. The Dillard girls should get their 2nd 3A Team title.
The challenge to Dillard repeating may come from Satellite. The Satellite girls were 4th last year with just a :32 second 1-5 split. They return 5 of their 7 losing their number 1 (Braelyn Wahy) and 7 (Sierra Markle) to graduation. Based solely on their times from State last year, their returning 5 would have only a :49 second spread. The team is led by Jr.'s, Keira Merrick and Celina Coryell. Their strength is their ability to run together. With their experience and if they can move up their pack, they may challenge Dillard and they should be on the podium this year. The #3-5 returners for Satellite are So.Gabriela Bernard, and seniors Mackenzie Thompson, and Reagan Cancro.
Ponte Vedra was 2nd last year and come in as the #3 ranked Pre-Season team. They will be led by Sr. Daisy Ross, the #1ranked returning 3A girl. Ross was 9th last year in 18:50 and will certainly be in the mix for top 5 this year. However, they lost 1, 3, and 4 from last year. Jr. Ella McGowan, Sr. Sofia Bushkell and So. Savannah LaVasser should all move up. They will be looking to add a 5th scorer. It may be So. Olivia Kaminsky
Ponte Vedra Sr. Daisy Ross sits atop the 3A girls returners rankings with an 18:13.00 She was 9th last year at State with an 18:50.50. She will have her hands full if she wants to be top ten again this year. Dillard returning 8th graders, Shynah Collins and Miley Gill were 3rd and 5th in last year's race. Collins ran 18:26.50. Gill ran 18:29.20. Both had impressive springs on the track. Collins had an experimental track season. Although she was the #1 ranked girl in the 800m, she opted to run the 400m at State and finished 3rd inthe finals with a 54.68. She finished her campaign with a 2nd place finish at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in the 800m with an impressive 2:06.51. Gill was 5th in the 3200m, running 11:09.12. So. Cheyenne Thomas of Tavares should be upfront as well. She had a top ten finish last year at State running 6th in 18:30.90. She also had an impressive track season as a freshman running the 1600m-800m double. She was 2nd in the 1600m with a 4:54.39 and came back to take 4th in the 800m with a 2:13.34.
Several other girls were under 18:50 last year.
Sr. Samantha Lorey Bishop Moore (18:40.03)
Sr. Masha Dorofeev Fort Myers HS (18:44.10)
Sr. Tara Watkins Naples HS (18:49.18)
So. Peyton Williams Dillard HS (18:49.76)
3A Boys Team
The Belen Jesuit squad, led by Sophomore Marcelo Mantecon, is the fastest returning boy's XC squad in the rankings in Florida in All-Divisions and in 3A. They have a score of 87 with their top 5 scorers averaging 15:32.45 with a 1-5 split of 1:17.70. They have depth as well, with their number 6 and 7 runners just 16 seconds back of their number 5. They should win their 16th team championship and their 7 in a row. They were 4th at Nike Cros Nationals last year and come into the 2024 season undoubtedly as one of the nation's top teams. In the returner 3A rankings, they are #1, 2, 5, 9, and 17 with four runners under 16:00 and one under 15:00.
It should be a close competition to see who gets on the podium with Belen. Just 35 points separates the #2-5 teams. Satellite was 8th last year and are the #2 ranked 3A Team in the pre-season rankings. Thier strength is in five returners all under sub-17 with only a 1-5 split of :36.85 seconds. Naples was the runner-up last year and is ranked #3, Ponte Vedra was 5th, and Tampa Jesuit was 7th. Ponte Vedra and Tampa Jesuit are tied in this year's 4th spot. Naples won their season opener at Dunbar last weekend with a 49. Naples went 2+3+6+18+20 (26+27), spitting 1:14 and averaging 17:00. Their #1-3 runners went with Reece Lolly leading the way in 3rd place, Michael Brewer in 4th and Jack Marshall in 7th. Both Marshall and Lolly were under 17 last year.
3A Boys Individual
The 3A boy's individual season is a tale of Belen as well. 4 of their runners are ranked in the Top 10 of the returners rankings, including #1 So. Marcelo Mantecon, #2 Justin Ruiz, #5 Joseph Socarras, and #9 Diego Magarino. Mantecon was 2nd last year to Leon's Patrick Koon in 15:09.90, Ruiz was 6th in 15:49.30, Margarino was 41st in 16:47.40 and Socarras was 54th (Socarras was in 4th with 20m or less to go and collapsed, struggling to get across the line).
One individual to keep an eye on is So. Andrew Beroset of Gulf Breeze. He was 4th last year in 15:00. He had a great spring running 4:11.27 in the 1600m and 9:11.78 in the 3200m. He has ranked himself, along with Mantecon, as two of the best-ever freshman distance runners in Florida history.
Fort Myers Sr. Craig Allard was 11th last year in 15:4 and is #13 pre-season ranked. He started off his Senior year with a workman-like victory at the Dunbar Tiger Jamboree. At the mile, back some 30m, Allard, with his experience, worked his way to the front and finished relaxed in his early season win in 16:11.70.
One other boy comes in who was sub-16 in last year's race. Dillard Sr. Joushua Gammage was 12th in 15:56.00
