- December 4, 2025
Runners begin the boys race at Run Matanzas. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas sophomore Peyton Cerasi placed second overall in the girls race. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Megan Rhee placed seventh overall for the Pirates. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Freshman Dylan Ciardi led the Pirates with a sixth-place finish. Courtesy photo
Seabreeze's Alex Benitez (1798) placed 34th overall and fourth among the Sandcrabs behind Hunter Shuler, Joseph Davis and Kai Shirley to help his team place fifth overall. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Father Lopez's Savannah Cox gives every boys finisher a high five, telling each one, "Good job," as they walk out of the stadium and back to their team tents. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Peyton Cerasi runs on the Matanzas track, completing her runner-up finish at Run Matanzas. Courtesy photo
Matanzas boys and girls teams both placed third at Run Matanzas. Courtesy photo
Matanzas senior Megan Rhee (1502) set a PR at Run Matanzas. It was the second week in a row she set a personal record. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas sophomore Peyton Cerasi said she was running on tired legs at the Run Matanzas Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 7.
Cerasi still finished second among 161 runners behind Bartram Trail freshman Avery Hartley, who is already one of the top cross country runners in the state.
“Avery is a great runner. I’ve known her since middle school,” Cerasi said. “I tried to wheel her in. I’m running on tired legs. I’ve been training really hard this week.”
Cerasi started slow, beginning the race in the middle of the pack. She picked up the pace at the mile mark and finished with a time of 19:33.93, well off her personal record of 18:19.2, set at last year’s Class 4A state championships, where she placed seventh overall.
Hartley won the Run Matanzas girls title with personal record of 17:54.9.
Cerasi, who ran 19:09 at the season-opening Cecil Field Summer Classic on Aug. 22, said her times will go down as the season progresses and she begins to taper her training.
Matanzas placed third behind Nease and Bartram Trail in both the boys and girls races. Seabreeze placed fifth in the boys standings, while Mainland was ninth and Father Lopez was 12th among 20 teams. In the girls standings, Father Lopez placed seventh and Seabreeze was ninth.
Matanzas senior Megan Rhee set a personal record for the second week in a row with a time of of 20:42.49 to place seventh. Sara Van Buren also medaled for the Pirates, placing 17th with a time of 21:58.07.
“Megan really worked hard over the summer,” Matanzas coach Katie Hoover said. “Every practice she puts in so much energy, and it’s really paying off this season.”
Freshman Dylan Ciardi led the Matanzas boys with a time of 16:40.6 to place sixth.
“It’s really exciting to see him running fast times early this season,” Hoover said.
Pirates teammates Brant Tarsitano (ninth, 17:11.2), Matt Ciardi (13th, 17:38.5) and Enzo McGovern (17th, 18:02.3) also finished in the top 20.
Senior Hunter Shuler led Seabreeze with a time of 18:25.3 to place 20th. Seabreeze’s Joseph Davis (18:49.07) was 27th.
Nease’s Matt Ishee won the boys race in 16:08.6.
Hoover said she was happy with the turnout which included 26 schools participating in the middle school race.
“I’d like to expand that next year,” she said. “As a former middle school coach (at Indian Trails) I like having the middle schoolers out there with all of their passion and energy.”
Father Lopez coach Sue O’Malley said Hoover put on a first-class meet.
“Bartram Trail brought their No. 1 runner here, that’s kudos to the program Matanzas has here,” O’Malley said.
Father Lopez is celebrating its 10th anniversary of winning the 2015 Class 1A boys state championship.
“As a gift to honor their legacy, the team wants to make it to state this year,” O’Malley said. “Right now, our girls are leading district (with the top average time). They’re buying into the program.”
One Father Lopez runner who went the extra mile, so to speak, at the Matanzas meet was junior Savannah Cox, who, after she finished her own race, gave all 230 boys finishers a high five, telling each one, “Good job,” as they exited the stadium to return to their team tents.
“Usually I just do that for my own team,” she said. “But I saw they all had to walk through this gate, so I decided to stand here and (high-five them all). Usually everyone just disperses in different directions,” she said.
