Cruz and Duffell get Wins at the Cecil Field Summer Classic

It was hot and humid with a heat index of 107-108. Hats off to all of the athletes who had incredible performances at the 2026 Cecil Field Summer Classic last Friday evening. 

SEE ALL THE RESULTS

WATCH THE RACE VIDEOS

Armando Cruz of Belen, Sean Cunningham of Providence, and Jonathan Kiros of Chiles

The Boys' elite race was won by Belen Jesuit's Armando Cruz. Sean Cunningham of the Providence School, Jonathan Kiros of Chiles, and Cruz led the pack through the Mile in approx 4:42. At the halfway mark, the three had opened up a small lead over Quentin Thompson of Lake Minneola and Isaiah Howdeshell of Largo.  Cruz opened up a couple of meters lead, with Kiros and Cunningham responding. With a small prompt from teammate Marcelo Mantecon, who was cheering around the two-mile mark. With 10:27 on the clock, Cruz put the hammer down, shifted into a different gear, took control of the race, pulling away to finish in 15:06.00.   

Second went to senior Quentin Thompson of Lake Minneola in 15:16.00.

Third went to Isaiah Howdeshell of Largo in 15:20. 

SUB-16:00 BOYS

Place	Video		Athlete	Team	Mark	Points
1			Armando Cruz SR	Belen Jesuit Preparatory School	15:06.00	1
2			Quentin Thompson SR	Lake Minneola HS	15:16.00	2
3			Isaiah Howdeshell SR	Largo HS	15:20.00
4			Rishi Chopra SR	Nease HS	15:39.00	3
5			Bryant Olson SO	Niceville HS	15:44.00	4
6			Jp Newman SR	Montgomery Bell Academy	15:44.00
7			Jack Michalak JR	Belen Jesuit Preparatory School	15:47.00	5
8			Axel Sallault SR	East Ridge HS	15:47.00	6
9			Jonathan Kiros SR	Chiles HS	15:47.00	7
10			Andrew Sides JR	Buchholz HS	15:49.00	8
11			Whatley Fountain JR	Deerfield-Windsor School	15:51.00	9
12			Matthew Ishee JR	Nease HS	15:54.00	10
13			Liam Salom SR	Belen Jesuit Preparatory School	15:54.00	11
14			Noah Childrey SR	Rockledge HS	15:56.00	12
15			Jp Strombeck SR	Fleming Island HS	15:58.00	13

The Belen boys won the team race with 75 points

Elite Boys 5000 Meter Run Team Scores

Place		Team	Pts	1	2	3	4	5	6	7		Avg	Spread
1		Belen Jesuit Preparatory School	75	1	5	11	28	30	(38)	(57)		15:54	1:17
2		Nease HS	158	3	10	29	47	69				16:17	1:21
3		Lake Minneola HS	205	2	18	19	32	134	(136)	(190)		16:23	2:42
4		Richmond Hill	210	15	27	33	52	83	(123)	(165)		16:34	1:16
5		Bolles HS	236	17	34	53	60	72	(85)	(100)		16:38	1:01

Avery Hartley of Bartram Trail took the lead in the girls Elite race and opened up a wide 30-40m lead through halfway. Patently running back in second place was Lake Nona's Arabella Duffell. Duffell slowly gained on Hartely, and with around 800m to go, she passed the leader, who was starting to feel the effects of her early lead in the heat and humidity. Duffell went on to win in 17:53.00. She was the only girl to go sub-18:00 in the field, which saw 11 girls go under 19:00.

Avery Hartely would hang on to finish second for the second year in a row with a time of 18:13.00.

Third went to East Lakes' Katelin Wilcox in 18:35.

SUB-19:00 GIRLS

Place	Video		Athlete	Team	Mark	Points
1			Arabella Duffell JR	Lake Nona HS	17:53.00
2			Avery Hartley SO	Bartram Trail HS	18:13.00	1
3			Katelin Wilcox SR	East Lake HS	18:35.00	2
4			Lyla Hallick SO	Ocala Vanguard HS	18:37.00	3
5			Cassidy King JR	Glynn Academy	18:48.00	4
6			Emma-Claire Tanenbaum SO	Chiles HS	18:48.00	5
7			Elise Brown SO	St. Thomas Aquinas HS	18:50.00	6
8			Selah Vignier JR	West Shore HS	18:55.00	7
9			Allison Austin SO	Atlantic Coast HS	18:56.00	8
10			Eva Delaney SO	Creekside HS	18:57.00	9
11			Kaia Ables SR	Chiles HS	18:59.00	10

The girls' team race was as tight as we may see all year, with the Niceville girls getting the win with 152 points. Chiles was second with 154. Creekside was third with 154.

Elite Girls 5000 Meter Run Team Scores

Place		Team	Pts	1	2	3	4	5	6	7		Avg	Spread
1		Niceville HS	152	15	16	28	39	54	(78)	(141)		19:47	1:16
2		Chiles HS	154	5	10	37	41	61	(83)	(117)		19:45	1:52
3		Creekside HS	154	9	12	13	22	98	(118)	(132)		19:40	2:32
4		Our Lady of Lourdes Academy (Miami)	220	19	27	31	67	76	(119)	(120)		20:10	1:45
5		Richmond Hill	240	11	17	30	89	93	(222)			20:11	2:19