Annabella Tomasic of Bishop Moore is heading into her sophomore season. She is a two-time girls ROC winner at the FLRUNNERS.COM Invitational, taking first in 2022 (17:42.72) and 2024 (18:21.21). She is a two-time FHSAA State Cross Country Champion, taking the 2A title in 2023 running for Lake Highland Prep as a 7th grader (17:32.90) and again in 2025 with Bishop Moore as a freshman in 17:35.50.)
The inaugural FLRunners.com Invitational was held at Polk Community College in Winter Haven on October 7, 2000. Prior to moving to the Chain of Lakes Park in Titusville for its 8th annual event, the meet was held at the now Polk State College through 2002, at the Ed Radice Park in Tampa in 2003, 2004, and 2006, and the Little Everglades Ranch in Dade City in 2005. It remained in Titusville until it relocated to Holloway Park in Lakeland in 2017.
This year will be the 27th year for the event, and MileSplit will bring it to you live on Oct. 1st and 2nd from Holloway Park in Lakeland.
Everyone today seems enamored with running fast times in cross country. Maybe that's because so much emphasis is placed on rankings, speed ratings, and personal bests. As a result, flat, fast, loop-style courses have become the norm across Florida.
But if you're looking for a race that offers a true challenge and something different, a course that tests more than just your finishing time, then it's time to register for the 27th Annual FLRunners.com Invitational.
Widely regarded as one of Florida's premier "true" cross-country venues, Holloway Park delivers a racing experience that is becoming increasingly rare. Each year, the meet has drawn many of the state's best athletes, along with some top teams from across the Southeast, for a meet where strategy, toughness, and strength matter just as much as speed.
Holloway Park 5K XC Course Video Preview
Set inside the 362-acre Holloway Park Nature Preserve in Lakeland, the course offers terrain unlike almost anywhere else in Florida. Built on the site of a former phosphate mine that ceased operations before 1950, the landscape features rolling ridges, steep descents, winding ravines, and sustained elevation changes that challenge runners from start to finish.
The entire course is run on natural terrain, with a mixture of grass, crushed gravel, and sandy dirt replacing the pavement-like surfaces found at many invitationals. Runners begin on a massive start line stretching more than 300 feet across before climbing a long, gradual uphill that quickly narrows into winding trails. From there, the course weaves beneath shaded oak hammocks, through tree-lined corridors, and alongside ponds and vegetation-filled ravines, creating one of the most scenic and demanding races in the state.
Holloway Park has earned its reputation as one of Florida's toughest cross-country courses, but don't mistake challenging for slow.
Over the years, the course has produced plenty of outstanding performances and remarkably fast times in both the high school and middle school divisions. Athletes who embrace the hills and race aggressively are often rewarded with personal-best efforts on a course that truly measures fitness rather than simply favoring ideal conditions.
The middle school races, in particular, have become a must-attend event. With so many of the state's top young runners competing each fall, the FLRunners.com Invitational has quickly evolved into an unofficial middle school pre-state championship, providing an early opportunity for runners to test themselves against elite competition before the FLYRA State Meet, which is run on the same course.
If your goal this fall is simply chasing the fastest possible 5K, there are plenty of opportunities to do that. But if you want to experience one of the Southeast's most iconic cross country meets, compete on a course with real character, and measure yourself against some of the best competition Florida has to offer, the 27th Annual FLRunners.com Invitational belongs on your schedule.
The boys' 5K course record is held by Evan Spreitzer of Holy Trinity, who ran a 15:27.50 in the FHSAA 1A 2 regional in 2025.
The FLRunners.com meet record at Holloway Park is held by Adam Magoulas of Belen Jesuit. Magoulas ran 15:30.71 in the HOKA FLRUNNERS.COM INVITATIONAL 22 on 10/2/2021.
Interview with Adam Magoulas following his record-setting win in the HOKA FLRUNNERS.COM INVITATIONAL 22 ROC on 10/2/2021.
Interestingly, that same year, an 8th-grade Marcelo Mantecon, running for the Miami Elite Track Club, won the 3K Middle School boys race in a venue and meet record 9:30.32.
His record would stand for three years until Collin Langston of the Hillsborough Harriers won the 26th FLRunners.com Invitational middle school boys race with a 9:28.80.
Later that year, Dominic Sadonis of the Pasco Panthers set the new course record in winning the FLYRA MS State Cross Country Championship with a 9:24.40.
The girls' Meet and Venue Record is held by Carly McNatt, running for the IMG Academy, who won the girls' ROC at the 20th FLRunners.com Invitational on September 28th in 2019. McNatt ran 17:19.96.
Interview with Carly McNatt after her win in the ROC at the 20 FLRunner.com Invitational.
Interview with Annabella Tomasic after winning her third straight FLYRA MS state Cross Country Championship and setting a new 3K course record.)
The middle school girls' 3K venue record is held by Annabella Tomasic of Bishop Moore, who will be entering her sophomore season. She set the record of 10:12.10 in winning the 2023 FLYRA MS State Cross Country Championship. She is a four-time FLYRA Middle School Cross Country State Champion. Winning in 2021 (10:26.47), 2022 (10:19.00), 2023, and 2024 (1027.98).
Tavares senior Cheyenne Thomas is the FLRUNNERS.COM INVITATIONAL middle school 3K Meet Record holder, with a 10:39.54 she ran in her 2022 win, running for the Red Sea Running Club.
Interview with Cheyenne Thomas after her win in the 2023 HOKA FLRUNNERS.COM INVITATIONAL.
Annabella Tomasic of Bishop Moore is heading into her sophomore season. She is a two-time girls ROC winner at the FLRUNNERS.COM Invitational, taking first in 2022 (17:42.72) and 2024 (18:21.21). She is a two-time FHSAA State Cross Country Champion, taking the 2A title in 2023 running for Lake Highland Prep as a 7th grader (17:32.90) and again in 2025 with Bishop Moore as a freshman in 17:35.50.)