4A BOYS
Team Favorite: Oviedo
Oviedo is in a good position to win their second team title.
Photo Credit: Cedric Gillette
The final team rankings for the boys 4A classification, based on PR times for each team's runners this season, shows Oviedo in the No. 1 spot, followed by Buchholz, Creekside, Spanish River and a 6th-ranked Hagerty. If the 4A-1 Regional was a preview of the State meet, Oviedo demonstrated why they are the best team not only in 4A, but in the State. In the 4A-1 Regional, they scored a low 22 points, going 1+2+3+6+10 (11+19). They had an Overall Time of 1:16.29 and an Average Time of 15:17, easily outpacing second-place Buchholz (71) and third-place Hagerty (88). Creekside was fourth with 106. In the Regional 4A Team Merge, Creekside drops to fifth and Spanish River moves to fourth.
Buchholz is the defending 4A Team champion. Oviedo is in a good position to win their second-ever team title. They last won in 2017 under Dave Tibbetts. The squad features Sr. triplets Aiden, Colin, and Brody Aysun. Aiden leads the team this season and is the No. 1-ranked 4A boy in the State. His brother, Colin, is the No. 3-ranked boy in 4A. Last year at State, Colin was 9th and Aiden was 37th. Jr. Levi Mollica, Brody Aysun and Jr. Robert Gallagher make up the other scorers from Regionals. Mollica was 31st last year, Brody Aysun, 77th, and Gallagher was 13th. The No. 6 and 7 runners are seniors Alexavier Davis-Medina and Noah Mott. Gallagher, Davis-Medina and Mott are all transfers to Oviedo this season and were 13th, 87th and 11th at State last year, respectively.
| PL | Team | Total Time | Avg. Time | Score | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oviedo | 1:16:29 | 15:17 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 19 |
| 2 | Buchholz | 1:18:54 | 15:46 | 71 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 17 | 29 | 61 | 94 |
| 3 | Hagerty | 1:20:08 | 16:01 | 88 | 9 | 15 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 30 |
| 4 | Creekside | 1:20:32 | 16:06 | 106 | 7 | 12 | 14 | 24 | 49 | 51 | 67 |
Team Contenders: Buchholz, Hagerty, Spanish River, Creekside
Based on the rankings and regional results, Buchholz should grab the runner-up spot, with Hagerty and Spanish River fighting for No. 3. They lost the 4A winner, Gino Palazzolo, to graduation. They return three from last year: Sr. Demetrie Meyers (4th), Sr. Samuel Freas (39th) and Davis Garrett (110th). Their No. 4 and 5 scorers at regionals were Jr. Brennen Bentley and So. Andrew Sides. No. 6 and 7 were Jr. Quinn Meyer and Sr. Seamus Moran.
Hagerty returns three from State last year. Sr. Ricardo Hernandez (46th) was the team leader at regionals, Sr. Marek Pezzoli was their second scorer, So. Nate Winslow (103rd) was No. 3, and Sr. Alex Zimmerman (109th) was No. 5. Jr. Wesley Lizon and So. Camden Thompson were the No. 6 and 7 runners at regionals.
Spanish River's top three, Sr. Preston Sangely, Sr. Ryan Cook, and Jr. Casey Sangley, all return from last year's 7th-place team. Preston Sangley was 53rd at State last year, Cook 91st and Casey Sangley 60th. Filling out the squad are No. 4, Avery Rand, No. 5 Jr. Marcus Benavente, No. 6 So. Erik Moss and No. 7 Sr. Asher Grossman.
Creekside was 6th last year at State. Leading the team at regionals was Jr. Eli Scharf (27th). Their No. 2-4 runners were Sr. Ishir Jha (48th), Sr. Jackson Lafser (5), and Jr. Samuel Cassiani (94th). The No. 6 runner was Sr. John Reed Jr., who was 163rd last year, and No. 7 Fr. Zachary Thomas.
Individual Favourites: Aiden Aysun (Oviedo), Axel Sallault (East Ridge), Colin Aysun (Oviedo), Preston Sangely ( Spanish River)
13 boys in 4A have run 15:30 or better this season. It's difficult to single out a definitive boy to win. It should be a very competitive race, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it come down to the last 400m.
Sr.Aiden Aysun jumped into the No. 1 spot in the 4A rankings with his PR 14:57.06 win at regionals. He is the only 4A boy to go sub-15:00 this season. Three others have run under 15:05. He was 37th at State last year, behind his brother, who was 9th. He was 8th at Pre-State with a 15:19.90.
Photo Credit: Cedric Gillette
Jr. Axel Sallault has consistently run under 16:00. In 12 races, he has run sub-16 nine times. He has won eight of those races. He was 2nd to Preston Sangely in the 4A-2 region last week by 5.2 seconds. He was 8th at State last year.
Photo Credit: Cedric Gillette
Sr. Preston Sangely has run 10 times this season with seven wins, including a 3rd place at Pre-States with a 15:04.80. He is the 4A-2 Regional champion and was 53rd at State last year.
Photo Credit: Cedric Gillette
Sr. Colin Aysun was 9th last year at State. He was just five seconds behind his brother at Regionals and was 4th at Pre-State with a 15:05.60.
Photo Credit: Cedric Gillette
Individual Contenders:
Jr. Levi Mollica of Oviedo High School - ran a 15:06.12 PR in a 3rd place finish in the 4A-1 Regional, 12th at Pre-State in 15:28.90, 31st in the 2024 State meet.
Sr. Demetrie Meyers of Buchholz HS - 4th in the 4A-1 Regional, but is very capable of running fast. He was 4th at State last year, running a 15:38.60.
Sr. Diego Eseverri of Christopher Columbus HS - Has run eight times with four wins this season, including a 15:07 5th place finish at New World, 20th at 2024 State.
Sr. Samuel Freas of Buchholz HS - 15:12.77 PR, 16th at 2024 State.
Sr. Oscar Brown of Sunlake HS - 4A-3 Region Winner with a 15:15.70 PR.
Sr. Luca Martin of George Steinbrenner - 2nd at 4A-3 Region with a 15:17.10 PR, 41st at 2024 State.
Jr. Isaiah Howdeshell of Largo HS - 3rd in the 4A-3 Regional with a 15:29.70 PR. Has only run four times this season.
Sr. Robert MacDonald of Strawberry Crest - ran a 15:30.60 PR in the 4A-3 Region
Sr. Jacob Finch of Horizon High School - 3rd in the 4A-2 Regional with a 15:33.40 PR, 17th at 2024 State.
Jr. David Lazo of South Plantation HS - 4A-4 Regional Winner. 128th at State last year, but has been steadily improving and is undefeated in five races this season.
Sr. Jackson Lafser of Creekside - 5th at State in 2024 with a 15:40.70.