Forte, Curtis Conquer Muddy Conditions At Cecil Field


The Jacksonville storms were present hours before the Cecil Field Preseason classic. The muddy conditions on the lopped golf, cross country course, made for an exciting preseason race.

Gianna Forte and Gabriel Curtis were the individual champions of the Cecil Field Preseason Classic. The Creekside HS girls and Mount Dora Christian Academy Boys took the team wins.

Girls Recap

Gianna Forte, a senior out of Bishop Snyder, took the lead for the girls race pushing the pace and winning by a minute. Prior to this race, Forte had a PR of 20:23 for the 5k. This past track season, Forte bettered her 3200m PR to 11:23 and 5:22 for the 1600m. This new PR made her a surprise win of the evening.

Claire McDonnell, a Junior out of Father Lopez Catholic, and Hannah Jacobbe, a sophomore out of Creekside HS, battled it out for second and third place. Jacobee was only about 30 seconds away from her previous PR in the 5k. With these wet and muddy conditions, we can expect these girls to drop their times in the weeks ahead.


It was the sophomore speed that gave the Creekside girls the win this weekend. Jacobbe led the team along with fellow sophomores Lauren Bolnick and Blake Petrick. Claire Openshaw was not seen among the mix to compete.

Boys Recap


Gabriel Curtis, a senior out of Mount Dora Christian, cruised his way to a preseason win. Shortly after the mile marker, there was a pack of about 5 boys and a lone runner up ahead. Curtis was among the chaser pack. As they came towards the finish Curtis had taken a sizable lead from the pack to finish first with a time of 16:28.

Curtis was followed shortly by John Bear, a senior out of Orange Park, and Kameron Wallizada, a sophomore out of Fleming Island.


Curtis was accompanied by teammates Jackson Pruim, and Mitchell Curtis to lead their team to the preseason win. With 3 boys in the top 5, Mount Dora Christian proved to be a tough team to beat this 

More Coverage:

Cecil Field Preseason Classic Meet Page

Cecil Field Pre-season Classic Video Coverage

Cecil Field Pre-season Featured Photo Album