JACKSONVILLE – Bishop Snyder senior Gianna Forte broke one of the first sub-20 minute girls cross country times to take top honors at the Cecil Field Preseason Classic Cross Country Invitational held Aug. 10 at Cecil Field Air Station.

In the boys high school race, Orange Park senior John Bear and Fleming Island High sophomore Kameron Wallizada battled to a one-second finish for second and third, respectively, in one of the more anticipated matchups in the upcoming 2018 season.

Forte, eighth in the region 1-1A championship race last year in 20:59.11 and 53rd at the Class 1A championship race, roared to the front with her winning 19:21 split ahead of Father Lopez’ Clair McDonnell, who was runnerup in 20:19, just a second ahead of Hannah Jacobbe, a sophomore at Creekside High.

Creekside won the girls title with 40 team points ahead of Mandarin High’s 85 and Father Lopez’ 86. Snyder finished fourth with 122 points with sophomore Hannah Johnson 21st at 22:30 and tammate Kaitlyn Frost, a freshman, 24th at 22:35. Both Johnson and Frost ran at Annunciation Cathlolic School under coach Jack Frost.

Anna McGruder, a junior at Ridgeview, was top area high schooler at 29th in 23:01. Middleburg High sophomore Emma Mussante took 34th in 23:30.

Middleburg finished 10th. Ridgeview was missing Marisa Kortright, a 21:09 runner who finished 14th at the district 4-2A championship race, is now at Fleming Island High School. Fleming Island did not send a girls team.

In the boys race, Mount Dora Christian senior Gabriel Curtis, fourth in Class 1A last year with Mount Dora the Class 1A team champions, out sprinted the Bear vs. Wallizada duo for his 16:38 win. Bear was second in 16:45 with Wallizada a second behind him.

Wallizada was part of the Fleming Island team that went to the region 1-4A championships after finishing second in district 1-4A. Wallizada ran a 17:42 in the district race, but fell back to 18:27.52 in the region race on a very hot, humid morning at Flagler Palm Coast’s region course. Fleming Island wound up eighth with graduated seniors Andrew Miller, now at Elon University, and Evan Fuller, now at Flagler College, both advancing to the state meet.

Bear, 12th in the district 4-3A race last year in 16:56.60, was 18th at the region 1-3A championship race in 17:14.84.

Mount Dora had runners at fourth and fifth to secure the team title with 50 points with Creekside second at 58 and Fleming Island third at 61 in a close battle within the top three teams.

For the Golden Eagles, junior Will Livesay and senior Gage West both finished under 18 minutes; 17:38 and 17:53 to boost the team total. Two sophomores; Owen Darfler and Jayden Scherer came in just above 18 minutes with junior Landon Opp, 22nd at 18:15 and senior Nick Hoelscher 25th at 18:28.

Orange Park finished sixth behind Bear with twins Steven and Stevenson Aris running 18:53 and 18:56.

Ridgeview senior Keith Kelley was top Panther at 18:44. Senior Joel Nesi did not run.

In the middle school races, Oakleaf Junior High went 1-2 in the boys race; Jose Grullon, an eighth grader, in 9:27, and John Keester IV, a seventh grader, in 9:29, to pull away from Green Cove Springs Junior High’s Keegan Emmanuel, an eighth grader, who took third in 9:32. Runners ran a 2K (1.7 miles) course.

More Oakleaf Junior High runners were Graham Myers, fifth in 10:37; Donovan Fitzgerald, 11th in 11:19; Spencer Middleton, 13th in 11:25; Broday Ireland, 15th in 11:27; Dylan Wydra, 17th in 11:36; Christian Wade, 29th in 13:25; Josiah Muehler, 30th in 13:39; Koleman Wheatley, 34th in 14:30; Jacob Simmons, 35th in 14:33; Caleb Pope, 41st in 15:04 and Matthew Broderson, 49th in 15:39.

In the girls middle school race, Claier Nance, of Assumption, won in 10:09, ahead of Sierra Barrera, an Oakleaf Junior High eighth grader, who was second in 10:38. Green Cove had Aidan Emmanuel, a sixth grader, in at 33rd in 14:24.

Oakleaf Junior had five finishers; Barrera; Keira Briller, 20th in 13:02; Hannah Bennett, 21st in 13:22; Grace Hellman, 36th in 15:29 and Myah Del Re, 41st in 17:56.

The open race was won by Christopher McCaffrey, 31, of Jacksonville, in 17:18. Jacksonville’s Lydia McRae, 37, ws top female in 19:26 for 12th overall.

Area teams open the 2018 season with Fleming Island heading to Flagler Palm Coast for the Spikes and Spurs Classic on Saturday.