Brevard County shone at the 2025 FHSAA Girls Cross County Championships, qualifying six teams and featuring four state medalists.
The county is also home to a reigning state champion in West Shore's Selah Vignier, the first Brevard County girls state cross country champion since Holy Trinity's Carly McNatt in 2018.
Here are the teams and runners to watch for in 2026.
Teams to watch
West Shore Jr./Sr. High
West Shore improved on its eighth-place state finish in 2024 with a seventh-place mark last year in Class 2A.
The Wildcats are led by the reigning state champion Selah Vignier. She became the school’s first cross country state champion with a time of 18:14.7. The junior won by 11.3 seconds.
Vignier is among six returning juniors for West Shore this season. Elliana Falls completed the state meet in 59th place. She recorded the third-fastest time on the team behind Vignier and graduate state medalist Amelia Gutierrez.
Holy Trinity Episcopal
For the second-straight year, Holy Trinity posted a fourth-place state finish in Class 1A. Six of the team’s seven runners posted a top-100 time.
Eighth grader Taylor Geraghty and freshman Kelly Geraghty crossed the finish line in 23rd and 27th place, respectively, for the highest placements on the team. Freshman Abby Connors ended in 45th place, junior Elizabeth Stewart completed the race in 83rd, junior Caleigh Schmoll placed 91st and senior Frances Hale recorded a placement of 117th.
Satellite High
Satellite posted a top-10 finish at state for the 10th consecutive year in 2025, placing seventh in Class 3A. Scorpions graduate Celina Coryell finished as the state runner-up, becoming the school's second state silver medalist joining Juliana Stern in 2008.
It'll be a changing of the guard for Satellite this fall as the team's five fastest state runners graduated, including Coryell and state medalist Keira Merrick. Juniors Maggie McNall and Kirra Russell return after placing 172nd and 204th, respectively, at state last season.
Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High
Cocoa Beach qualified for its third-straight state meet last year and finished 19th in Class 2A, posting its best finish during that stretch.
The Minutemen return six of their seven state runners, including their four fastest. Sophomore Mairyn Mullins completed the race in 34th place with a time of 19:46.4 and senior Kylee Fitzpatrick ended the meet in 77th. Freshmen Sienna Wilson and Tessa Whitley, junior Autumn Hayes and eighth grader Payton Morris all ran at state a year ago.
Edgewood Jr./Sr. High
Edgewood qualified for its fourth-straight state meet last season, placing 23rd in Class 2A.
The Red Wolves return six of their seven runners. Sophomore Rebecca Lee posted the fastest time of 20:56.4 for 79th overall. Senior Wiktoria Gividen secured a spot in the top 100 clocking in at 21:15.2 for 93rd. The other returners include junior Lily Myers, junior Olivia Custodia, freshman Kinsley Shealey and junior Lily King.
Runners to watch
Victoria Conway, Jr., Pineapple Cove (Palm Bay)
Conway competed in the Class 1A state meet for the second-straight year in 2025, recording a time of 21:47.8 for 68th overall. She improved her 2024 performance by 34 positions. The junior was Pineapple Cove’s top postseason performer, bringing home a district medal with the fifth-fastest time and just missing a regional medal with a 16th-place finish.
Aleyshia Diaz, So., Astronaut
Diaz posted the fastest time at regionals for Astronaut with a mark of 23:09.7 for 56th place. As the War Eagles placed seventh at districts to advance to regionals, Diaz recorded the second-fastest time on the team finishing the race in 34th. Astronaut fielded a team of only freshmen and sophomores at regionals last year leading to a 14th-place finish.
Addison Dwenger, Sr., Viera
Dwenger ranked second among four Viera runners at regionals, completing the race in 22:31.8 for 70th overall. The senior finished 52nd at districts as the Hawks ended the meet in fourth. She seeks a second trip to state in her final high school season after placing 204th as a freshman in 2023.
Samantha Innocencio, Sr., Rockledge
Innocencio represented Rockledge at the Class 3A, Region 2 meet after qualifying as an individual. The senior clocked in at 22:00.1 at regionals for a placement of 44th following a 28th-place finish at districts. She’ll look to help Rockledge return as a team to state for the first time since 2022.
Emma Starcher, Fr., Space Coast
Starcher was the lone Viper to run in the Class 2A, Region 2 meet as she recorded a time of 24:06.9 for 75th place. The freshman, alongside junior Gwen Cotham, qualified for regionals after a district placement of 41st to lead Space Coast.
2026 FHSAA district classification
Bold denotes if team qualified for 2025 state meet
District 4-4A: Bayside, Melbourne, Viera
District 4-3A: Heritage, Merritt Island, Rockledge, Satellite
District 4-2A: Astronaut, Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Edgewood, Palm Bay, Space Coast, West Shore
District 4-1A: Brevard HEAT, Calvary Chapel, Holy Trinity, Melbourne Central Catholic, Merritt Island Christian, Pineapple Cove (Palm Bay)
Independent: Pineapple Cove (West Melbourne), Titusville
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: 2026 Brevard County high school girls cross country preview