AVON LAKE—The Independence cross country teams turned in strong performances at the 2025 Avon Lake Invitational on Saturday, with the Blue Devil boys finishing second overall and the girls placing sixth in a competitive field.
The boys scored 91 points to finish behind only Copley, led by sophomore Mitchell Creel’s third-place run in 17:35.9. Creel’s performance set the tone for the Blue Devils, who packed five runners inside the top 32.
“I think it shows how much depth and strength and potential we have as a team,” Creel said. “Everyone stepped up and ran tough races, and it really reflects the work we’ve been putting in during training. Finishing second as a team motivates us even more because we know we’re capable of competing at Conference and Districts later in the season.”
Creel executed his strategy of starting strong and settling into a steady rhythm. His final push secured him a spot in the top three.
“My strategy was to get out strong, settle into a good rhythm early, and make sure I was in a competitive position by the mile mark,” Creel said. “I think that approach worked well because it allowed me to run steady through the middle of the race and ultimately put me in position to finish in the top three with a time of 17:35.”
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He admitted the closing stretch tested his mental toughness.
“The last half mile was really tough for me,” Creel said. “I was starting to feel the fatigue, but I knew I had to keep pushing if I wanted to hold onto third place. It definitely took some mental toughness to keep my pace when my legs wanted to slow down.”
Freshman Andrew Gibbons (14th, 18:52.6), senior Nathan Lu (16th, 18:57.9), junior William Stray (28th, 19:44.2), and senior Tate McGovern (32nd, 19:50.0) rounded out the scoring for Independence.
Junior Daniel Alrabady (37th, 20:10.9) and sophomore Bryce Kwiatkowski (47th, 20:42.6) also competed.
On the girls’ side, freshman Leah Creel led the way with a runner-up finish in 21:40.5, charging from outside the top 10 to claim second overall. Fellow freshman Lucy Lu also cracked the top 10, placing eighth in 22:47.9.
“My strategy that I used going into the race was trying to start off slower and building my way up to a faster pace as the race went on,” Leah Creel said. “I started off around 13th place and ended second.”
Her strong kick down the stretch sealed the performance.
“The last half mile of a race for me is all mental,” she said. “I just have to tell myself I can do it and to not give up. I definitely felt tired at that point in the race, which can make it hard to hold my position, but I just pushed through it.”
The freshman standout left Avon Lake with new goals and greater confidence.
“I definitely raised my standards for the rest of the season,” Creel said. “Now, I want to reach my goal of getting in the 20s or maybe even a sub-20, which will be very challenging. Racing against such strong competition definitely gave me confidence for the rest of the season. I was happy about my performance and was proud of how well my brother and the entire team ran as well.”
Behind the Creel siblings and Lu, senior Gianna Carlucci (35th, 25:16.7), and freshmen Sydney Swansiger (43rd, 28:45.0) and Lauren Olexa (44th, 28:47.1) scored for the Blue Devils, who finished with 132 points.
Sophomore Alyssa Hujarski (45th, 29:11.2) and freshman Emilia Mikolic (47th, 29:27.4) also ran.
