See you later week three, hello week four! Let’s see who peaked our interest this week, or who made their way to the top of our Cross Country rankings. See where you stack up!

Joshua Collins (Belen Jesuit Prep High School)

Joshua Collins takes our top spot this week after his victory at the Estero DDD Invitational last weekend. The Belen Jesuit junior took control of the race and won, running 17:05.

“It's a really hard course, we've raced here many years now, it's always challenging, always new obstacles,” he said in a post-race interview with DyeStat Florida.

Collins hung back for a bit during the first mile before pushing the pace, relaxing the second mile, and then kicking back into another gear the last mile to get the win.

Belen Jesuit’s Joshua Collins after his race at the 2016 Estero DDD Invitational

In regards to the future, Collins says that he wants to continue to drop his time, though time isn't a real concern right now, with more of the focus being on hanging in there with the top guys in the state.

It's certainly possible. He boasts a personal-best of 15:52, run at the tough and hilly Mark Bostick Golf Course at the University of Florida during the Mtn. Dew Invitational, he was third in 3A last year at the state meet, along with a 4:21 and 9:17 for 1600 and 3200 meters. He was also runner-up in the 3A 3200 at state.

Will we see him take gold at state come November? Only one way to find out.

Amanda Beach (Melbourne Central Catholic High School)

Melbourne Central Catholic senior Amanda Beach takes not only our top spot but the top spot in the state after running an incredible 17:47 to win at the Holy Trinity Cross Country Classic.

Just 11 seconds off of her personal-best,  we asked her after the race what's making the wheels turn, and she said “just my training, and I've been praying really hard. Giving it all to God.”

Amanda Beach after her state-leading run at the 2016 Holy Trinity Cross Country Classic

It all comes down to another thing she mentioned: having fun by simply getting out and running, which can be easy to forget at times, especially when you're trying to achieve so much and make the most out of each race.

Beach will definitely be a contender for the 2A state title this fall. Getting under her personal-best of 17:26 is a tall order, but it can be done. Don't count her out.

Congratulations to all of our runners who competed this weekend! We hope you ran a personal-best, or maybe even won the race! Run fast, trust your training, and keep an eye out to see who will be next week’s DyeStat Florida Runners Of The Week!