Preview: FSU Pre-State Invitational Elite Races

FSU Invitational/Pre-State
Mark Stonecipher


WATCH LIVE: FSU Pre-State Invitational


This weekend, Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee will have the high school XC community's attention for the FSU Pre-State Invitational. The elite races for the girls and the boys will feature some of the top talent in the state going head to head, both individually and as teams. While the attention may be on the two races, the focus within each race will be the match-ups of those in the same classifications, who will be competing next month in their individual state meet races.

Girls Preview

Photo Credit: Cedric Gillette

The girls' Meet Record is held by Caroline Wells of Winter Springs HS.  Wells ran a blistering 17:10.70 in the 2021 race. That same year, Wells ran the second fastest venue time, dipping under 17:00 with a 16:56.60. The Venue Record is held by Brooke Rauber of Tully (NY) who ran a 16:54.90 in the 2020 AAU National Cross Country Championships. Two girls who have run in the top five times in the meet are scheduled to run on Saturday. Freshman Annabella Tomasic of Bishop Moore holds the third fastest time run in the meet of 17:35.50. She ran that as a seventh grader in the 2023 meet. Her time is also the 15th fastest ever run on the Apalachee Regional Park course. Senior Eliana Black of Northside Christian holds the fifth fastest time with a 17:39.80 that she ran in her win in 2022.

                       

Photo Credit: Cedric Gillette               

Tomasic will not be without some company up front this weekend. At New World, Tomasic, hampered with shin splints, went out strong and won by ten seconds over senior Jazlyn Forbes of Oasis and ninth grader Mary Summers of Seven Rivers Christian School, who was third in 17:37. In the field at New World, four other girls went sub-18:00; No. 5 senior Eliana Black of Northside Christian, No. 6 senior Katelyn O'Brien of Boca Raton, No. 7 senior Danielle Graham of IMG, and No. 8 sophomore Sydney Johnson of IMG.  Except for the 3rd place finisher, junior Natalia Gaona-Zelaya of Wiregrass Ranch, all these girls are scheduled to be in the race. One girl missing from the race in Jacksonville, was the number two-ranked girl in the state, sophomore Madison Muller of Sarasota Riverview, and she is scheduled to run. 



Photo Credit: Cedric Gillette

Watch for Tomasic to get out fast and challenge the others to go with her. At New World, Forbes and Summers allowed Tomasic to run solo with approximately a 12-15m lead through the first mile. She was not challenged, but expect Saturdays race to be different, as Tomasic will have company through the first mile. This race will develop as the girls approach the two-mile mark, and from mile 2-3, it will be interesting to see who has the most patience, who presses the pace, and who decides to commit to the lead, and if anyone will go with them. I can't wait to watch this one.

Other Top 20 Ranked Girls to Watch: 

4. Sienna Audrey of Community School of Naples

5. Malia Hambrick of North Port HS

8. Katherine Eudaly of Plant

14. Huntley Buckingham of IMG Academy

15. Kate Brice of Episcopal School of Jacksonville

17. Avery Hartley of Bartram Trail HS

18. Sydney Johnson of IMG Academy

19. Sofie Stam of Bolles HS


The Class or Divisional sub-races at Pre-State are always a good gauge of who will be the top girls in their class at the State meet. In 1A, the top-ranked three girls, all sub-18 runners, will be racing. Sienna Audrey of the Community School of Naples is the No. 1-ranked 1A girl with a 17:27.51. Her time, however, came in a third-place finish at North Port, and she has not been back under 18:00. One expects the top 1A finisher to come from a battle between No. 2 Mary Summers of Seven Rivers Christian School and No. 3 Eliana Black of Northside Christian. They were 4th and 5th at New World, just three seconds apart with times of 17:37 and 17:40. Summers is having a solid freshman season after taking the 1A state title last year in 17:58.40. Black was second last Fall, but was the 1A state champion in 2022 with 17:55.10..  

In the 2A sub-race, senior Jazlyn Forbes of Oasis HS has only lost once, and that was to Annabella Tomasic at New World. Last Friday, at A Night at North Port, she set a new meet record in 17:15.50. In her seven races this season, she has run sub-18:0 four times, including her state-leading 17:02.44 course record at North Port. If she is going to be challenged, one would expect it to come from sophomore Kate Brice of the Episcopal School of Jacksonville, who was 10th at the Alexander/Asics Invitational with a 17:53.06 and  9th at New World with an 18:03.

The 3A race features one of the race favorites, Annabella Tomasic of Bishop Moore. The freshman is one of the most talented girls in the state at this time. She was the 2A state champion in 2023, and will be favored to win the 3A title this season. Several other top 10 3A girls are racing, and will be trying to make a statement in 3A. No.4-ranked senior Emerson Brinn of South Fork HS, No. 7-ranked senior Samantha Gore of Ponte Vedra, No. 8-ranked sophomore Peyton Cerasi of Matanzas, No. 9-ranked freshman Jimena Nava Garcia of Tavares, and No. 10-ranked junior Ashton Dahlem of Gulf Breeze.


Photo Credit: Mim Stonecipher

Sophomore Madison Muller of Sarasota Riverview heads the 4A girls in the race that features eight of the top 10-ranked girls in 4A. Muller was second in the 4A state race last year with a 17:54.20 and is currently the No. 2-ranked girl in the state with a 17:18.96. In what may be one of the most competitive classes in the state, watch for Muller to be challenged by Senior Malia Hambrick of North Port, sophomore Katherine Eudaly of Plant, Boca Raton senior Katelyn O'Brien, and freshman Avery Hartley of Bartram Trail. All of these girls have gone sub-18:00 on the year.
Don't be surprised if O'Brien gets the highest 4A girls finish, however, as her 17:40 came in a sixth-place finish at New World. The other girls' times all came from the questionably fast North Port Invitational. Two other girls to watch for are freshman Lailani Levy of Spanish River, who was 13th at New World, and her teammate, sophomore Alba Antunez-Perez, who was 15th at New World. Both have run 18:16 this season.



Photo Credit: Cedric Gillette

The Top 10-ranked girls teams in the state are all scheduled to run on Saturday. The IMG Academy girls are the top-ranked team in Florida and are the team to beat. The FHSAA-sanctioned team chooses not to participate in the FHSAA state series and has its sights set on NXR, so the team battle for 2nd-5th and the top teams in each Class will be watched closely.



Photo Credit: Cedric Gillette

Aside from the IMG girls, the Bishop Kenny girls have the solid No. 2 ranking in the state. They are the defending 2A state champions and look to be the team to beat again in 2A. At the New World Fall Spectacular, we saw a preview of what we may see this Saturday. At New World, the IMG girls scored just 53 points to take the title. In the 2nd spot was Bishop Kenny with 125; 3rd went to the Episcopal School of Jacksonville with 164; and 4th went to Bolles HS. Bolles HS was 2nd last year in the 2A team race at state, and the Episcopal School of Jacksonville was 3rd.


The top 1A team scheduled to run is the Holy Trinity Academy. They are the No. 5-ranked 1A girls team in the state, and were 4th in the 1A state race last year. Another 1A team to watch is Providence. The Providence girls were 3rd in the 1A state championships in 2024. Ponte Vedra is the defending 3A state champion. They are the top 3A girls' team in the race, and the race should demonstrate that they are ready to win the 3A team title again. They had a good showing at New World, placing 4th. The other two 3A teams to watch for are Chiles HS and Bishop Moore. Chiles' strength is in their 1-5 tightness. At New World, they were 7th with a .57 (1-5 split), just nine points ahead of Bishop Moore. Moore is led by Annabella Tomasic, and for them to challenge, their No. 2-5 girls must move up.  At New World, they had a 3:16 (1-5 split).


Creekside is the 4A defending state champion, and even with the departure of the Johnson sisters, they are the No.1-ranked 4A girls' team in the state this season. Their challenge in 4A should come from Buchholz. At New World, they showed they were ready to defend their state title, finishing 6th, 136 points in front of No. 11 Buchholz.



Boys Preview

Marcelo Mantecon as a freshman and Patrick Koon as a senior in the 2023 State meet. Arguably the best two Florida high School distance runners in Florida history.

Photo Credit: Chris Shonk


Patrick Koon of Leon HS won the FSU Invitational (Pre-State) a total of three times. He went on to win at the State meet three times. He is one of Florida's all-time greats in distance running. He holds the high school boys meet and venue records at Apalachee Park of 14:50.00. Marcelo Mantecon of Belen Jesuit has never won the FSU Invitational (Pre-State) meet. As a freshman, he was 4th in 2023 with a 15:10.20. He was 2nd to Koon that year in the 3A state meet with a 15:09.90. He won the 3A state title as a sophomore in 2024 with a 14:57.80. This year s a junior, he has set the Florida boys all-time XC 5K state record of 14:33 in his win at the New World Fall Spectacular. Will he challenge a new record this week, or will we have to wait until the state meet in November? It is definitely within his reach and on his mind. Also on his mind will be leading the Belen boys to a defense of their team title in a matchup with the boys from the IMG Academy. More on that later.

Matthew Dodds won at North Port with a new course record 14:37.31 earlier in the year. An injury hampered Dodds over the past few weeks, but he is healthy now and, if he runs, the leader of the IMG boys team will be one of the favorites.

Photo Credit: Mim Stonecipher

Just as in the girls' race, the boys' race is a who's who of the Florida boys this season. Nineteen of the top 20-ranked boys in the state will be on the line at the start of the race.


Photo Credit: Cedric Gillette

In addition to Mantecon, three boys have run sub-15:00 this season: No. 2 senior Matthew Dodds of IMG, No. 3 senior Joshua Hicks of Chiles, and No. 4 junior Armando Cruz of Belen. Two others are at 15:01, No. 5 senior Evan Spreitzer of Holy Trinity and No.6 Axel Sallault of East Ridge. Can anyone challenge Mantecon? If anyone, it would be Matthew Dodds of IMG. Dodds, however, hasn't raced since North Port on Sept 19th. He was out with an injury and, while healthy now, is he ready to challenge, or will he be held back cautiously for the postseason NXR that the IMG team has on its radar? 


Other Top 20 Ranked Boys to Watch: 

8.Preston Sangely of Spanish River

9. Oliver Dempsey of Geneva Classical Academy

10. Diego Eseverri of Christopher Columbus

11. Will Moss of Montverde Academy

12. James Pfuhl of IMG Academy

13. Pedro Ferreira de Abreu of IMG Academy

14. Lucas Brighty of IMG Academy

15. Aiden Aysun Oviedo High School

16. Sean Cunningham Providence School

18. Luca Martin George Steinbrenner

19. Charles Loftin Providence School

20. Jonathan Kiros Chiles HS

20. Fletcher Rodbro IMG Academy


Photo Credit: Cedric Gillette

In the 1A boys classification, junior Evan Spreitzer of Holy Trinity has his eyes set on a state championship. Last year, he was the runner-up to Indian Rocks Blake Young. This year, he has a Florida No. 5 ranking, 15:00.00, which he ran in a sixth-place finish at the Great American. Watch for junior Sean Cunningham and senior Charles Loftin of the Providence School to run with Spreitzer early on, but Spreitzer should finish as the top 1A boy and set himself up as the favorite to take the 1A state title in November. Another to watch for is senior Mark Meister of the Cambridge (Christian) School.

Junior Will Moss of Montverde is the top-ranked 2A boy in the race with a 15:11.40 that he ran in a second-place finish to junior Axel Sallault of East Ridge last weekend at the Hawks' Last Chance Open. Sallault is in 4A. Moss is the top-ranked 2A boy in the state and has a No. 11 overall state ranking. Other top 2A runners to watch for are: senior Jonas Dowdell of Edgewood (2A No. 2), senior Arrian Sharma (2A No. 3), and his brother, freshman Armaan Sharma (2A No. 4) of Bolles, senior Mason Lablance of King (2A No. 7), and Bishop Kenny junior Ethan Reid (2A No. 9.)


Photo Credit: Mark Stonecipher

The 3A boys in the race will all be chasing juniors Marcelo Mantecon and Armando Cruz of Belen. Enough said. Several other boys to watch who are ranked in the 3A top 10 are junior Jonathan Kiros of Chiles, junior Luke Ross of Ponte Vedra and sophomore Nicholas Veloso of Belen.

At the 4A state meet last year, four of the top 10 finishers were underclassmen: Demetrie Meyers of Buchholz was 4th, Jackson Lafser of Creekside was 5th, Axel Sallault of East Ridge was 8th and Colin Aysun of Oviedo was 9th. The 4A boys' battle at Pre-State is perhaps the most competitive of the internal races. All of the Top 10-ranked 4A boys are racing, and they are separated by just 32 seconds. 
 
Here are the 4A Top 10 rankings:

115:01.11 Axel Sallault   East Ridge HS2027
215:06.00Preston Sangely   Spanish River HS2026
315:07.00Diego Eseverri   Christopher Columbus HS2026
415:17.70Aiden Aysun   Oviedo High School2026
515:19.53Luca Martin   George Steinbrenner2026
615:23.60Levi Mollica  Oviedo High School2027
715:24.50Demetrie Meyers   Buchholz HS2026
815:26.00Michael Girard   Viera HS2026
915:31.46Colin Aysun   Oviedo High School2026
1015:33.00Andrew Youssef   Vero Beach HS2026
1015:33.00Jackson Lafser   Creekside HS2026



Photo Credit: Mark Stonecipher

In 2016, the Belen Jesuit boys were third in the FSU Pre-State Invitational. They have won the team title in all six races since then. This year, they will be challenged to keep that string going. At New World, the boys from IMG Academy won the team title, minus Matthew Dodds, their number one runner, with 90 points. Belen was second with 133 points. In the head-to-head, especially if a healthy Dodds runs, it will be a challenge for Belen to overcome them. The young Belen team will need their number 3-5 boys to step up if they are to win. At New World, IMG had a .33 (1-5 split). Belen, a 1:33 split. Interestingly, Belen had a one-second average advantage of 15:31 to 15:32. IMG has its sights on the NXR, which is the same day as the FHSAA State Championships. IMG does not run in the FHSAA series, so in terms of the 3A classification, Belen is definitely the top 3A boys team.  

In addition to the No. 1-ranked 3A Belen team, the race features 3A No. 2 Chiles, 3A No. 3 Fleming Island, and 3A No. 5 Fort Myers. All three will be trying to make a statement regarding November.

The top 1A boys teams in the race are No. 1-ranked Providence, No. 3-ranked Maclay, and No. 4-ranked Holy Trinity. The Providence School boys finished 3rd at state last year with 104 points, just behind 2nd-place Holy Trinity, which had 103 points. They are the better team this season with a top three of junior Sean Cunningham (No. 2), senior Charles Loftin (No. 3), and senior Harrison Kozlowski (No. 7). It will be difficult for Holy Trinity to challenge Providence unless their numbers 3-5 can significantly step up and the team improves on their 2:31 (1-5 split). Providence has an Average Time of 16:01.76 with a 1:41.10 (1-5 split). Holy Trinity's Average Time is 16:36.26. Holy Trinity will also have their hands full as the No. 3-ranked Maclay will be looking to make a statement for the upcoming November state meet. 1A No. 4-ranked junior David Barton leads Maclay. Maclay and Holy Trinity are separated by only three points in the rankings. Maclay has an Average Time of 16:42.92 and a 2:25.40 (1-5 split).  The 3-5 runners will decide how the two teams finish on Saturday and at state in November.

The 2A number 1-3 ranked teams are scheduled to run. Bolles, Bishop Kenny and Gulliver Prep will battle to see who is the top 2A team. Bolles, by far, has the top credentials this season. They were second last year at state. Bishop Kenny was 4th, and Gulliver Prep was 9th. Bolles is led by the Sharma brothers, senior Arrian (2A No. 2) and freshman Armaan (2A No. 3) and is the favorite to win the 2A state team title this year. Their No. 3 runner, junior Aidan Chandler is ranked 2A No. 6. Their Average time this season is 16:10.80 and they have only a 45. (1-5 split).  


Saturday's race is a great preview of the 4A boys state championship. Nine of the Top10 10-ranked teams are scheduled to run. Buchholz is the defending state champion, but it will be difficult for them to repeat this year. They are currently ranked No. 6. Oviedo holds the top spot in the rankings. They were 4th last year at state. They have three boys ranked in the 4A top 10 in Aiden Aysun (No. 4), Levi Mollica (No. 6), and Colin Aysun (No. 9). Early in the season at Cecil Field, they were second to Belen, and at the Great American, they were 10th behind a 9th-placed Buchholz and just ahead of 11th-placed IMG. We will see how good they are and if they can hold off No. 2 Nease and the number 3-6 teams, who are separated by just nine points.  

Top Ranked  4A Boys Teams

1Oviedo High School 114
2Nease HS 204
3Christopher Columbus HS 229
4Spanish River HS 231
5Creekside HS 233
6Buchholz HS 238
7East Ridge HS 275
9Newsome 349
10Hagerty HS 373


More on FSU Pre-State Invitational:


IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are planning to attend, please note that there will be an admission charge for Saturday's schedule only through digital sales. With 3,000 athletes entered, a huge crowd is anticipated. Pre-purchasing will prevent delays into Apalachee Regional Park. It is $8 for adults. Children 5 and under are free, but a ticket is required. Parking is free. Gates open at 6 a.m. Saturday (first race at 7:40 am).

GET TICKETS: https://bit.ly/2025-FSU-Invitational