OCALA - Fleming Island High's self-proclaimed Angry Eagles cross country team answered some slower times at the season-opening Cecil Field Summer Classic a week ago with superfast times at Saturday's Florida Horse Park Invitational held in Ocala led by Graham Myers and John Keester IV both running under the 16 minute mark.

"We just ran bad as a team at Cecil Field, but we regrouped and had a great effort in Ocala," said Fleming Island coach Dave Allen. "We haven't had our full team on the field yet and that's a factor as well."

For Myers, a senior, the faces ahead of him in his third-place finish in Ocala, in a scintillating 15 minutes, 28.60 second effort were familiar with defending 3A champion Belen Jesuit's duo of Joshua Ruiz and Marcelo Mantecon going 1-2 in 15:24.90 and 15:25.40, respectively.

At Cecil Field, Myers ran 16:10 with Keester at 16:12.

Ruiz and Myers have been state meet battlers with Ruiz putting Myers in third in Class 3A last November; both runners behind double state champion Patrick Koon of Leon; 14:56, 15:37, 15:42.

"Graham shows up in the big races," said Allen. "Keester had a phenomenal race."

Keester, also a senior like Myers, blasted to a 15:51.80 finish for seventh place to push the Golden Eagles team rank to sixth place behind the likes of powerhouses Belen Jesuit, Sunlake (6th 4A)and Christopher Columbus High (2nd 4A) in 1-2-3. Fleming Island, with 260 team points, was edged by Tampa Plant (3rd 4A) at 258 and just inched ahead of George Steinbrenner (14th 4A) at 263. Fleming Island was third in 3A last year.

The gap to Fleming Island's number three was Roman Mollicone's 66th place in 17:11.80.

For the Fleming Island girls, sophomore Brooke Reynolds and senior Allie Knotts handed out two top-10 finishes in one of the biggest races of the early season.

Allen has had the assistance of former Fleming Island coach Jason Poole, a boys state meet coach in 2011 before stepping away to tend to his new family. Poole being back adds a level of expertise to the Fleming Island front.

Reynolds and Knotts, Knotts being the hero two years ago in Golden Eagle state bid, stormed to sub-20 minute finishes at 19:44.30 and 19:50.10 to secure an eighth place team finish among the state's strongest teams; Bolles (2A champs), first; Braddock (2nd 4A), second; Episcopal (2nd 2A), third, and Creekside (4th 4A) fourth. Fleming Island was eighth in 3A last year with graduate Katie Thompson (at USF) the lone non-returner in 2023.

Fleming Island finished up with senior Reese Scott at 27th in 20:31.90 as the third finisher.

Next up is the Clay County Invitational, a first-time event staged at the Clay County Fairgrounds on September 9 as well as the annual September 16 Katie Caples Invitational at Bishop Kenny which features the top runners in the southeastern United States.