Vanguard Sweeps District 3A-3 in Brooksville as Trinity Catholic Takes Second in Both 2A-3 Races

Eleven days after winning its 28th straight boys' and 24th straight girls' county titles, Vanguard took its cross country teams to Brooksville and found tougher company. On Wednesday morning, Nov. 4, 2026, at the Sand Hill Boy Scout Reservation, the Knights won both team titles at the FHSAA District 3A-3 meet, beating Tavares in each race, against schools from Lake, Hernando, Pasco and Citrus counties.

The same course hosted District 2A-3 the same morning, where Trinity Catholic finished second to Montverde Academy in both the boys' and girls' races. Two days earlier, St. John Lutheran ran the District 1A-3 meet in Spring Hill.

Hallick wins, and six Knights finish in the top 18

Vanguard sophomore Lyla Hallick won the girls' 5K in 18:28.0, about 11 seconds ahead of Zephyrhills senior Lydia Vincent (18:38.6). Cypress Creek junior Emma Poekert was third in 18:47.1.

Behind Hallick, Vanguard's seniors held their ground. Reese Cartwright was fifth in 19:13.7 and Cierra Mills sixth in 19:24.7. Freshman Annalise Hallick was ninth in 20:19.8, sophomore Natalie Lammens 16th in 21:23.4 and freshman Anya Bryniarski 18th in 21:34.4. Vanguard scored 33 points to Tavares' 76 and Cypress Creek's 95.

Belleview's girls were 11th as a team, led by sophomore Maggie Lorick (29th, 22:57.2). North Marion senior Kayla Blakey was 26th in 22:36.7; North Marion did not have enough finishers for a team score.

Eight seconds cover the top five boys

The boys' race was closer at the front. Cypress Creek senior Skylar Manatt won in 16:24.1, and the next four runners finished within about eight seconds of him. Vanguard sophomore Trevor Berquist was second in 16:27.5, Tavares junior Liam Ilea third in 16:30.0, North Marion junior Brooklyn Smith fourth in 16:31.6 and Vanguard sophomore Christopher Taylor fifth in 16:32.2.

Vanguard's next three came in a tight pack: sophomore Lachlan Bryniarski 10th (16:50.0), senior Jacob Rogers 11th (16:51.2) and sophomore Cooper Gumpert 14th (17:10.2). That gave the Knights 42 points to Tavares' 59, with River Ridge third at 122.

Belleview placed fifth of 16 boys' teams with 164 points. Sophomore Asher Inman was seventh in 16:41.6, and senior Kaden Fernandez (31st), sophomore Jacob McGovern (33rd) and junior Chapman Stewart (34th) followed within 15 seconds of each other. North Marion's boys were 11th as a team behind Smith.

Trinity Catholic runs second to Montverde twice

In District 2A-3, Montverde Academy won both races, and Trinity Catholic was the next-best team in each. The Celtics' girls scored 58 points to Montverde's 29, led by junior Lauren Murphy, who was fourth in 20:20.5. Freshman Sydney Farris was 10th in 22:25.6, and junior Mya Vail (15th), freshman Skylar Simpson (16th) and freshman Vivian Leonard (17th) crossed within 23 seconds of each other. Montverde junior Lyla McMillen won the race in 19:54.3.

Trinity Catholic's boys scored 86 points to Montverde's 71, with First Academy of Orlando third at 107. Senior Andrew Gleaton led the team in 12th place (18:58.4), followed by junior Christopher Hughes (19th, 19:14.9), seniors Edward Zinnie (21st) and Kylen Mitchell (22nd) and sophomore William LaTour (27th). Montverde senior Will Moss won in 16:10.1.

Dunnellon ran individuals in both 2A-3 races. Freshmen Sam Noell (72nd, 24:23.3) and Christian Snyder (73rd) were its top boys, and sophomore Jocelyn Kristensen (60th, 30:11.7) its top girl.

St. John Lutheran's front-runners in Spring Hill

St. John Lutheran ran the District 1A-3 meet on Monday, Nov. 2, at Bishop McLaughlin in Spring Hill. Senior Nolan Farris was seventh in the boys' race in 18:41.2, and sophomore Verity Meyer was sixth in the girls' race in 22:33.6. Freshman Sophia Varadin was 20th in the girls' race (24:59.0) and senior Noah Hisey 42nd in the boys' race.

The St. John boys were 12th of 13 scoring teams; the girls did not field enough runners for a team score. Father Lopez won the boys' team title and Mount Dora Christian the girls'. Classical Prep junior Eliades Miranda (17:27.6) and Seven Rivers Christian sophomore Mary Summers (19:39.4) won the individual races.

What comes next

District meets are the first round of the FHSAA cross country postseason, which moves on to regional meets and then the state championships later in November. Forest, South Marion and West Port compete in District 4A-2, whose results had not been posted on TFRRS as of Wednesday afternoon.

For the county's season so far, see our Marion Athletic Conference championship story and the New World Fall Spectacular results. The Ocala running guide covers local races and youth programs.

Only In Ocala founder Darrin DeTorres coached several of these runners as elementary and middle schoolers in his Ocala Distance Project youth program, including Lyla Hallick, Annalise Hallick, Natalie Lammens, Anya Bryniarski, Christopher Taylor, Lachlan Bryniarski, Trevor Berquist, Jacob Rogers, Alexander Lammens, Asher Inman, Chapman Stewart, Jacob McGovern and Maggie Lorick.

Sources: places, times and team scores from the official results on Arrow Live Results and TFRRS (District 3A-3, District 2A-3, District 1A-3), checked Nov. 4, 2026. Grades and meet sites from TFRRS. District assignments from the FHSAA 2026-27 cross country classification.