Led by repeat champion, Belen continues to dominate at state cross-country
The standard has been set so high on the Belen Jesuit cross-country team that it’s not only about winning, but about how you win.
It’s why junior Marcelo Mantecon was content with his performance on Saturday at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, but he wasn’t thrilled.
While the performance may not have been one of Belen’s best, it was certainly more than enough for the Wolverines to continue their state championship dynasty. And for Mantecon to join elite company among the school’s all-time best.
Led by Mantecon, who ran a time of 15:03.3 to secure his second consecutive individual state championship, Belen scored 49 points to finish comfortably ahead of runner-up Niceville and cruise to the Class 3A boys’ championship.
It was the Wolverines’ state-record ninth consecutive state title and their state-leading 17th championship overall.
“We definitely could have raced it smarter,” Mantecon said on the livestream broadcast on the NFHS Network. “Not my proudest race, but it was enough to get the job done.”
It was extra special for Mantecon, who became only the third runner in Belen history, joining Eric Alvarez (1983, 1984) and Javier Vento (2018, 2020) as the only ones to win multiple state individual titles.
Mantecon has one more season left and a chance to become Belen’s first three-time champ and join an exclusive club of five runners all-time in Florida history to accomplish the feat which includes former Ransom Everglades great William Convey - the only Miami-Dade runner to win three.
The Wolverines placed their top six runners in the top 22 spots as junior Armando Cruz finished as individual state runner-up with a time of 15:12.7. Sophomore Jack Michalak finished 13th (16:05.5), freshman David Jaramillo placed 18th (16:14.0), sophomore Nicholas Veloso finished 21st (16:18.2) and senior Matthias Murrle placed 22nd (16:19.3). Murrle is Belen’s lone starting senior, giving the indication that the Wolverines will be primed for even more championships next season.
But this season, Belen still has work to do.
The Wolverines are hopeful their performance Saturday, which finished with a 15:45 average time as a team that topped all competitors regardless of classification, was enough to earn an at-large berth in the Nike Cross National Championship in Portland. Because the state championships were held on the same day as the NXR Southeast Regional for the first time ever, Florida teams were not able to compete for an automatic qualifying spot.
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Gulliver’s boys finished their season strong in Class 2A, placing third as a team with 142 points behind only state champion Jacksonville Bolles’ 62 points and Jacksonville Bishop Kenny’s 124. Junior Adrian Izilaev led the Raiders, finishing in 10th place with a time of 16:23.9. North Broward Prep’s Wills Gillis led all South Florida runners in that race with a third-place finish in 16:10.2 while Mater Lakes’ Kevin Aguilar finished fourth (16:14.2).
Carrollton (Class 2A) and Lourdes (Class 3A) each finished fourth in their respective classifications to top all South Florida team performances on the girls’ side.
Junior Daniela Hernandez ran a time of 18:45.2 to finish fourth in the 2A race individually and help the Cyclones finish with 168 points.
Lourdes finished with 144 points in the 3A meet, led by junior Alessandra Perez, who finished 22nd in 19:25.5. Dillard placed fifth as a team led by freshman Shynah Collins, who placed 12th with a time of 19:08.4.
