JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sean Cunningham had heard all about potential. His coaches saw it. His teammates, too.
But the junior at Providence and the Varsity 4 All-News4JAX boys cross country runner of the year felt like everything lined up perfectly this year. The chemistry had never been better and the times had never been lower. In some ways, Cunningham said the core group’s success had been projected by coaches when they were together in middle school.
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“I think that’s just all those years together working hard and just seeing progress within each other has really helped us stay tight,” Cunningham said. “It’s been something we’ve been looking forward to for a really long time. It didn’t necessarily come in the year that we were thinking, but so thankful that we just had this opportunity to go and win.”
Cunningham didn’t crack the 15-minute mark once last year. This year, he clocked a low of 15 minutes, 18 seconds, and finished no lower than eighth in all eight post-August races. That included wins at district and region and a Class 1A state runner-up finish where he went 15:47.80 to help the Stallions bring home the team state championship.
Cunningham said the biggest difference for he and the team from year to year was focus and accountability. For years, the Providence runners have heard just how much potential they had if they kept working and kept slicing away seconds from the times.
“All that work started in June, immediately after the state [track] meet. I was coming off an injury, so we were all just really hungry,” he said.
The alignment was key.
Harrison Kozlowski and Charles Loftin were the holdover seniors to pair with Cunningham. The final missing piece turned out to be Charley West, a transfer from Mandarin, who made an immediate impact and slid in as the No. 4 runner in what was an elite lineup. Loftin finished third at state (15:50), Kozlowski fourth (15:54.90) and West 21st (17:01.30).
Like Cunningham, Brody St. Denis, Merrick Meyer and Ethan Hassan are all juniors. Trace Crowley is the youngest of the group (sophomore). They’ll all be back in 2026 to try and defend their team state title.
“There’s things that you can always build on in the sport. You can always get faster and you can always be better. You can always do something differently, which is honestly, one of the best things about this sport,” Cunningham said. “There’s always something you can chase. It’s always changing. It’s always getting faster and I definitely think there’s still a lot left on the table for us, even though yes, we accomplished a goal that was a huge part of our ambition for training. There’s still a lot to be uncovered with this team.”
All-News4JAX Varsity 4 boys cross country runners of the year
2025: Sean Cunningham, Providence
2024: Parker Adams, Bolles
2023: Matt Ryan, Nease
2022: Aidan Ryan, Bolles
2021: Rheinhardt Harrison, Nease
2020: Rheinhardt Harrison, Nease
2019: Rheinhardt Harrison, Nease
Varsity 4 All-News4JAX boys cross country team
First team
Runner, school, class, notable
Rishi Chopra, Nease, Jr.
Went for low of 15:37 to finish 24th at New World Fall Spectacular. Runner-up at district. Finished 21st at Class 4A state meet.
Sean Cunningham, Providence, Jr.
All-News4JAX runner of the year. Class 1A state runner-up. District and region champ. Had PR of 15:18 at New World Fall Spectacular where he finished eighth.
Harrison Kozlowski, Providence, Sr.
Region runner-up and finished fourth in both district and state meet (15:54.90). In-season PR (15:41.90) came at FSU Invitational.
Charles Loftin, Providence, Sr.
Lipscomb University signee. Had in-season PR of 15:20 at New World Fall Spectacular where he finished eighth. Third at district, region and Class 1A state meet.
Luke Ross, Ponte Vedra, Jr.
His PR of 15:30 came in 16th-place finish at New World Fall Spectacular. District runner-up and 10th in Class 3A state meet.
Jack Kline, Cornerstone Classical, So.
Finished ninth in Class 1A state meet. Runner-up at district meet and fifth at region. Was 20th at FSU Invitational with PR of 15:33.30.
Miles Wicks, Ponte Vedra, Sr.
PR of 15:35.90 came in 23rd-place finish at FSU Invitational. Had two wins this year, including at district meet. Took sixth at Class 3A state meet.
Second team
Runner, school, class, notable
Matthew Ishee, Nease, So.
Had a PR of 15:41 in 27th-place finish at New World Fall Spectacular. Fifth at district meet and 25th in Class 4A state meet. Had one win this year (Run Matanzas Invitational.
Ishir Jha, Creekside, Sr.
Had three top-10 finishes this year, including sixth at district. Best time (15:45.74) came in region.
Jackson Lafser, Creekside, Sr.
Had PR of 15:33 at New World Fall Spectacular. Finished 33rd at Class 4A state meet (16:30.20).
Bryce Motycka, Bartram Trail, Jr.
Top in-season time of 15:43.20 came in eighth-place showing at region. District champ. Had a 16:56.80 at state for 61st.
Eli Scharf, Creekside, Jr.
PR came at region (15:41.18) where he finished seventh. Had one win in the season opening Spikes & Spurs Classic.
Douglas Seth, Flagler Palm Coast, Fr.
Finished fives races with top-five places. His PR of 15:46.93 came at region. Took 13th in Class 4A state meet in 16:01.10.
Arrian Sharma, Bolles, Sr.
District champ and third at region. Finished seventh in Class 2A state meet in 16:19.30. PR of 15:50 came at New World Fall Spectacular.
Honorable mention
Runner, school, class
Andrew Boyer, Fleming Island, Sr.
JP Bracamontes, Bolles, Jr.
Henry Camp, Bolles, Jr.
Charles Carlson, Nease, Jr.
Samuel Cassiani, Creekside, Jr.
Aidan Chandler, Bolles, Jr.
Aaron Ches, Episcopal, So.
Gideon Churchill, Nease, Jr.
Dylan Ciardi, Matanzas, Fr.
Kenneth Folkenroth, Tocoi Creek, Sr.
Jasper Graham, Ponte Vedra, So.
Logan Haley, Suwannee, So.
Logan Hunt, Ponte Vedra, Jr.
Luke Janke, Fleming Island, So.
Dayne Kimball, Bishop Kenny, Jr.
Evan Kirby, Fletcher, Fr.
Brian Martinez, Bishop Kenny, Jr.
Thomas Milton, Bishop Kenny, Jr.
Grey Murphy, Mandarin, Sr.
Jackson Pentz, Nease, Jr.
Ethan Reid, Bishop Kenny, Jr.
MacKenly Ritz, Mandarin, Sr.
Marcos Serrano, Fleming Island, Sr.
Armaan Sharma, Bolles, Fr.
JP Strombeck, Fleming Island, Jr.
Cole Swesey, St. Augustine, Sr.
Asa Swope, Creekside, Sr.
Brant Tarsitano, Matanzas, Sr.
Judah Viera, Fletcher, Sr.
Blaine Vogel, Matanzas, Sr.
Charley West, Providence, Sr.