FHSAA 3A Boys State XC Meet Preview

Nov 19, 2025

WATCH LIVE: FHSAA State XC Championships

3A Boys Meet Preview for the 2024 FHSAA State XC Championships on Saturday, November 22nd at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida.

3A BOYS

Team Favorite: Belen Jesuit Preparatory School

The Belen Jesuit boys were undefeated in Florida this season. Shown above at the Florida Horse Park.

Photo Credit: M. Stonecipher

The Belen boys have won 16 Team titles and are going for their 9th consecutive. Next year at this time, they will be going for their 18th and 10th consecutive. Under coach Frankie Rui, they are currently the #8-ranked team in the nation in the latest COROS CC Boys Team Rankings and will be looking for an At-Large Bid to NXR. This year's squad is young, with only one senior, Matthias Murrle. The team is led by two juniors, Marcelo Mantecon and Armando Cruz, who have watched and led the young team as it gained experience and started to mature over the course of the season. The top five scorers have varied from meet to meet, which shows the team's competitiveness and depth. At the 3A-4 Regional, the scorers were Jr. Armando Cruz, Jr. Marcelo Mantecon, sophomores Jack Michalak and Nicholas Veloso, and Fr. David Jaramillo. The 6 & 7 runners were Sr. Matthias Murrle and Jr. Liam Salom. As a team, their season best is an Average Time of 15:20.42, a Total Time of 1:16.42.10, and a 1-5 Split of 1:17.20.

Consecutive Team Championships 8--Belen Jesuit (Miami), 2017 (3A), 2018 (3A), 2019 (3A), 2020 (3A), 2021 (3A), 2022 (3A), 2023 (3A), 2024 (3A).

Most Team Championships 16--Belen Jesuit (Miami), 1995 (3A), 2006 (2A), 2007 (2A), 2008 (2A), 2010 (3A), 2011 (3A), 2012 (3A), 2013 (3A), 2017 (3A), 2018 (3A), 2019 (3A), 2020 (3A), 2021 (3A), 2022(3A), 2023 (3A), 2024 (3A).

Team Contenders: Chiles, Fleming Island, Niceville

Chiles, led by Joshua Hicks and Jonathan Kiros has one of the best teams in the State. Shown above at the start of the 3A-1 Regional.

Photo Credit: Cedric Gillette

The race for the top three spots on the podium will be exciting to watch. In the final Florida team rankings, Chiles is 2nd with 184 points, Fleming Island was 3rd with 206 points, and Niceville was 4th with 217 points. All three teams faced each other in the 3A-1 Region, with Fleming Island and Chiles needing the No. 6 runners to break their tie. Fleming Island won by four points. Niceville was 3rd with 80 points. The nod for runner-up has to go to Chiles, however, based upon their experience at the State meet. They were second last year and return four from last year's squad. They are led by the No. 3-ranked Boy in the state, Sr. Joshua Hicks, who was 14th last year, and Jr. Jonathan Kiros, who was 16th. The other returners are seniors Connor Hill and Jackson Beener. Freshmen Jack Nottingham and Emerson Gandy, and Jr.Johannes Hassell join the returners.

PL	Team	Total Time	Avg. Time	Score	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
1	Fleming Island	1:22:30	16:30	75	3	7	8	27	30	41	56
2	Chiles	1:21:31	16:18	75	1	2	10	22	40	45	50
3	Niceville	1:22:45	16:33	80	4	16	17	20	23	31	39

Based solely on the 3A-1 Region results, Fleming Island should get 3rd, but that's no guarantee on the big stage of the State Meet. Fleming Island was 7th last year, and Niceville was 14th. Fleming Island returns three and Niceville five.

Individual Favorite: Marcelo Mantecon (Belen Jesuit)

Marcelo Mantecon setting the new Apalachee Regional Park course record of 14:49.40 at Pre-State.

Photo Credit: M. Stonecipher

Marcelo Mantecon is favored to win his second 3A State XC title. He is the 7-ranked boy in the Nation in the last Coros MileSplit Individual Boys Rankings. He is undefeated on the season, and at Pre-State, he broke Patrick Koons' course record, running a 14:49.40. Earlier in the season at the New World Fall Spectacular, he ran the fastest Florida high school boys XC 5k of all-time with a 14:33. The only question is, will he break his own course record?