By Joey Castagnaro for DyeStatFL

In the penultimate edition of “The Matchup,” we take a dive into the Boys 2A FHSAA State Championship team race. In this race, we will see three of the top four teams in Florida. Trinity Prep, Satellite, and Bolles will battle it out for the team State Championship title.

THE CONTENDERS

THE BATTLE

Just when you thought the Holy Trinity/Trinity Prep rivalry was over with the departure of Trinity Prep from 1A, Satellite scooped up the legendary Coach Doug Butler.

Satellite, with many of Coach Butler’s former Holy Trinity runners now turned Scorpions, will be a contender for their first ever state title in Boys Cross Country. The former Tigers will have a familiar feeling on November 5th, toeing the line with Trinity Prep and Bolles.

Trinity Prep

Trinity Prep has had an extremely successful season, winning every race by large margins. They even easily took home the flrunners Race of Champions title without their number three runner, Patrick Salas.

Trinity Prep is led by Trent Mandato, who is  currently ranked fifth in 2A. Also on their squad are the best two freshmen in the state, brothers Kayamo and Mamush Galloway. Trinity Prep’s top five have run between 15:47 and 16:28, just a 41 second spread.

They are currently the best team in the state and are ranked #5 by DyeStat in the Southeast.  They have shown that they deserve it. The Saints have proved dominance so far this season, and we expect them to continue on their path of greatness throughout the State Series. However, there will be two teams on their heels. 

Satellite

Satellite has shown that they have the potential to be the best team in the state. They have been running hard all season and have not slowed down.

They have not lost to a Florida team yet and performed well at the Great American Cross Country Festival in Cary, NC against some of the country’s best teams. Running against top talent at meets like this will get them ready for Trinity Prep on race day.

Satellite’s top three runners have run well this season, but they are still due for sub-16 performances. Coach Butler has peaked his athletes well in seasons past, so we might see these three boys dip under at State.  

Bolles

Also in the mix will be Bolles, who started very strong this year but has since fallen to number four in the all-class rankings. They have not lost yet this season.

They also have not raced hard since September 24th at Katie Caples. It will be interesting to see if they run hard at their Region meet to get one last good race in before competing against the top two teams in Florida.

Our hypothetical preview shows the Bolles boys finishing 20 points behind Satellite and 30 points behind Trinity Prep, but I would not count them out in any way. Both Trinity Prep and Satellite need to watch their backs for the boys in blue, who will be edging for a podium finish at the minimum. 

Hypothetical Preview

In our hypothetical preview, Trinity Prep comes out on top scoring 83 points, with Satellite not far behind with 93. Bolles finishes a little farther back with 113 points. Trinity Prep puts three in the top 20 and all five in the top 25. Satellite finishes their first three in the top 16, but only manages to get all five in the top 40. Bolles puts four in the top 30, but their number five sits out in 45th. 

THE RESULT

2A has it tough this year, with three of the best teams in Florida. On the right day, any of these three teams could come out on top.

However, there is one team that has proven they are the team to beat. That team is Trinity Prep. They have dominated throughout the season and are going into the State meet confident they can succeed.

They will have plenty of competition, however, with Satellite and Bolles right up there next to them.