On your marks…set… BOOM! Gianni Forbes is off, his feet set down on the track, and his eyes on his goal, the time ticking with only a minute and a half left until halftime, It’s the final few seconds of the quarter with Sunlake High School against Hollins High School.
Gianni breaks the pass up, causing Hollins to punt the ball to Sunlake’s football team. This phenomenal save from Gianni stopped Hollins from scoring in the last few seconds before half-time. After interviewing Gianni and asking him what one of his most memorable moments on the field were he didn’t hesitate to share about this victory even expressing, “but if they scored, we would’ve been down going into halftime.” Which truly captures the beauty in this save of his, a save that he was excited to share and even added, “I’d love to relive that moment of victory.”
He isn’t just excelling in football, but also in track, as he holds the school record for the 4×2. Another victory he was thrilled to share when asked the similar question of his favorite moments on the track. Even though it’s his first year on the track, he already runs 23.54 in the 200m. In the very first meet of his season he ran a 24.40 which was at Newsome, his current PR is a significant improvement so we can only expect better from this upcoming star in both football and track. As he promises his supporters that, “I will keep achieving awards in both sports, and never let down my supporters.” Which he shared after being asked what he would want to tell everyone that watches him play football or run track. This truly captures how passionate Gianni Forbes is about both his sports and his promise to keep excelling in both of them.
Gianni ended this year’s football season with 22 tackles and 3 pass breakups; however, he’s been on varsity for 2 years, and in total he has 26 tackles, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery and 4 pass breakups.
Gianni is an exceptional athlete that has the ability to dominate 2 different fields; football and track. Gianni is the cornerback at Sunlake high school and him being on the track team gives Sunlake’s football team an insane advantage. His 4.5 40-yard dash makes it laborious for wide receivers to create separation against him.
Not only is he loved by his team but also by his friends. His best friend, Douly said that “Having Gianni around is a blessing that I am forever grateful for.” Another one of his friends, Josiah stated “Gianni is a really amazing guy and a friend with loyalty like no other, he helps me out with so much.” Not only is he loved by his best friends but also by his community. Gianni uses his sports ability to mentor younger children into following in his footsteps and helping them train to be at the top, by volunteering at Charles S Rushe Middle School’s track team in his free time, which is usually after his own track practice, truly portraying his character and his passion to help others.
He truly is a role model to many, not only is he determined in sports, but he’s also ardent about majoring in either business or as a data analyst, hopefully at Florida State University with a scholarship to play football or run track. Florida State University is his dream college because, “It’s my favorite school, and they have a really good football program.” He hopes that getting into FSU will help him become even better at his sports, and receive a good education, in hopes to start his own business one day.
