08/21/2026
BSN CROSS COUNTRY: MELBOURNE BOYS, HOLY TRINITY GIRLS SET EARLY PACE AT 27TH ANNUAL WICKHAM PARK JAMBOREE
The opening meet of a cross-country season never provides all the answers, but last Saturday’s 27th Annual Wickham Park Jamboree offered an early look at several teams and runners capable of making plenty of noise this fall.
Melbourne’s Colin Hedgespeth and Viera’s Eva McMenemy-Hoang captured the individual victories, while the Melbourne boys and Holy Trinity girls opened the 2026 season by claiming team championships at Wickham Park.
For Melbourne, the morning belonged to a Bulldogs boys team that did not simply win, it controlled the front of the field.
Hedgespeth and teammate Trent Orcutt crossed the finish line almost side by side, producing one of the closest finishes of the meet. Hedgespeth earned the individual championship in 16 minutes, 34.0 seconds, with Orcutt finishing just four-tenths of a second behind in 16:34.4.
The two juniors averaged approximately 5:20 per mile and immediately established themselves as two of Brevard County’s runners to watch this season.
They were only the beginning of Melbourne’s impressive performance.
Senior Charles Hanus finished fourth in 17:10.1, giving the Bulldogs three runners among the first four finishers. Senior Maxwell Fernandez placed ninth in 17:26.1, junior Deklan Boyles was 13th in 17:33.5 and senior Jayden Pereira crossed 17th in 17:42.6.
That gave Melbourne six runners among the first 17 finishers and five scoring runners inside the top 13.
Sophomore Kai Mauro added another strong performance, placing 27th in 18:19.1, while senior Matthew Alvarez, sophomore Grant Woodbury and freshman Camden Cooper also finished among the top 50.
The Bulldogs finished with 29 points, comfortably ahead of runner-up Holy Trinity’s 81. West Shore placed third with 114, Viera finished fourth with 130, Harmony was fifth with 142 and Cocoa Beach placed sixth with 148.
While Melbourne controlled the team competition, several other runners delivered strong opening performances.
Harmony senior Riley Ramirez finished third in 16:49.6 and was the only runner outside Melbourne to break 17 minutes. Viera junior Logan Rosenthal placed fifth in 17:20.0, followed by West Shore junior Calum Daut in sixth at 17:22.6.
Holy Trinity senior Jesus Martinez finished seventh in 17:25.3, narrowly edging Cocoa Beach junior Lars Manning, who recorded the same official time.
Holy Trinity placed five runners among the first 25 finishers to secure second place. Eighth-grader Zamari Blumenberg finished 11th in 17:30.6, sophomore Daniel Penny placed 14th in 17:37.5, freshman Roman La Starza was 24th in 18:10.5 and sophomore Tedd Du followed in 25th at 18:11.5.
It was an impressive display of depth from a Tigers lineup featuring several young runners.
West Shore also placed four runners among the top 17. In addition to Daut’s sixth-place performance, senior Landon Plechaty finished 15th, junior Jacob White was 16th and senior Brian Duong placed 41st overall. Freshman Brady Jones completed the Wildcats’ scoring group one position later.
Cocoa Beach placed three runners inside the top 23, led by Manning. Sophomore Elijah Daly finished 18th in 17:46.1, while senior Asher Cerveny placed 23rd in 18:06.4.
Heritage senior Dwayne Rhymes finished 10th in 17:26.3, Satellite freshman Grayson Frantz placed 19th in 17:53.3 and Merritt Island Christian junior Adam Baggett finished 22nd in 18:05.1.
MCMENEMY-HOANG WINS THRILLING GIRLS RACE
The girls’ competition opened with an outstanding battle between two of the area’s premier runners.
Viera senior Eva McMenemy-Hoang led the race and held off West Shore junior Selah Vignier to capture the individual championship in 18:29.8.
Vignier remained within striking distance throughout the race and finished in 18:32.0, only 2.2 seconds behind McMenemy-Hoang. Both runners averaged 5:58 per mile and finished more than a minute ahead of the remainder of the field.
Satellite freshman Olivia Davis made an immediate impression in her high school debut, placing third in 19:38.9. Cocoa Beach eighth-grader Esther Dobbin followed in fourth with a time of 19:44.3, giving the top four a combination of established standouts and emerging young talent.
Edgewood sophomore Rebecca Lee rounded out the top five in 20:03.8.
While McMenemy-Hoang captured the individual championship, Holy Trinity’s depth carried the Tigers to the girls team title.
Competing under the season theme “All Together,” Holy Trinity placed five scoring runners among the top 17 overall and finished with 53 points.
Eighth-grader Taylor Geraghty led the Tigers by placing sixth in 20:10.4. Freshman Kelly Geraghty finished seventh in 20:43.6, and freshman Abby Connors placed 10th in 20:57.6.
Junior Caleigh Schmoll crossed the finish line 16th in 21:32.1, followed immediately by junior Juelle Maaser in 17th at 21:42.4. Senior Frances Hale gave Holy Trinity a sixth runner among the top 19 with a time of 21:47.8.
Holy Trinity’s top six runners were separated by just 1 minute, 37.4 seconds, giving the Tigers a strong combination of front-end speed and lineup depth.
West Shore finished second with 87 points behind Vignier’s runner-up performance. Junior Elliana Falls placed eighth in 20:53.2, eighth-grader Makayla Horst was 23rd in 22:06.9, junior Gianna Renz finished 27th and freshman Harper Richardson placed 30th.
Satellite and Melbourne tied with 104 points, with Satellite earning third place through the tiebreaker.
Following Davis’ third-place finish, Satellite received top-25 performances from junior Maggie McNall, freshman Sanoe Leibman and freshman Mitra Burr. Freshman Nora Wise completed the Scorpions’ scoring five by placing 41st overall.
Melbourne sophomore Kaylynn Ulrich led the Bulldogs with a 12th-place finish in 21:00.5. Junior Savannah Thomson placed 15th, sophomore Zoe Beasley was 25th, freshman Rory Purdy finished 28th and senior Kiera DeFile followed one position later.
Viera finished fifth with 106 points. Sophomore Chancey Jones joined McMenemy-Hoang among the first 11 finishers, while senior Ansley Englert placed 21st. Sophomore Fiona McMenemy-Hoang and senior Raegan Clare completed the Hawks’ scoring five.
Astronaut sophomore Aleyshia Diaz also produced a notable performance, placing ninth overall in 20:53.9 while competing without a complete team score.
AN EARLY LOOK AT A PROMISING SEASON
The Wickham Park Jamboree is only the beginning of a season that will stretch through district, regional and state championship competition, but Saturday’s performances provided an encouraging early look at Brevard County cross-country.
Melbourne’s boys displayed the type of front-running strength and scoring depth required to contend deep into the postseason. Hedgespeth and Orcutt gave the Bulldogs a dominant combination at the front, while four additional runners finished among the top 17.
Holy Trinity’s girls demonstrated a similar strength in numbers. The Tigers may not have produced the individual winner, but their ability to place five runners among the top 17 allowed them to leave Wickham Park with the team championship.
McMenemy-Hoang and Vignier delivered an outstanding opening chapter to what could become one of the season’s most compelling individual competitions, while talented young runners such as Davis, Dobbin, the Geraghty sisters, Connors and Blumenberg showed that the future of Brevard County cross-country is already arriving.
There is still plenty of ground to cover before the championship meets begin.
Last Saturday morning at Wickham Park, however, Melbourne’s boys, Holy Trinity’s girls, Colin Hedgespeth and Eva McMenemy-Hoang took the first important steps toward what each hopes will become a memorable 2026 season.
Several Brevard County programs will now turn their attention to Jacksonville, where they will compete in the 10th annual Cecil Field Summer Classic on Friday, August 21.
Hosted by The Bolles School at the Cecil Field Golf Course, the meet will feature 5,000-meter races for high school boys and girls, along with middle school and open divisions. The trip will provide area runners with another early-season test against a strong field from across Florida.
BOYS TEAM SCORES
1. Melbourne — 29
2. Holy Trinity — 81
3. West Shore — 114
4. Viera — 130
5. Harmony — 142
GIRLS TEAM SCORES
1. Holy Trinity — 53
2. West Shore — 87
3. Satellite — 104
4. Melbourne — 104
5. Viera — 106
BOYS TOP FIVE
1. Colin Hedgespeth, Melbourne 16:34.0
2. Trent Orcutt, Melbourne 16:34.4
3. Riley Ramirez, Harmony 16:49.6
4. Charles Hanus, Melbourne 17:10.1
5. Logan Rosenthal, Viera 17:20.0
GIRLS TOP FIVE
1. Eva McMenemy-Hoang, Viera 18:29.8
2. Selah Vignier, West Shore 18:32.0
3. Olivia Davis, Satellite 19:38.9
4. Esther Dobbin, Cocoa Beach 19:44.3
5. Rebecca Lee, Edgewood 20:03.8
THIS POST SPONSORED BY Gillin Gillin & Lindbaek, P.A.
