Independence freshman Mitchell Creel made the most of his first district championship experience and earned at least one more race this fall.
Creel placed 15th at the Division III Lorain District meet with a time of 17:52.72 and will now compete at the Boardman Regional on Saturday.
“I am very happy to be competing in at least one more race this season,” Creel said. “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs during the season and I’m glad my performance is peaking at the right time.”
After running a bit slower at Lorain earlier in the season, Creel found another gear to make his regional berth a reality.
“I am happy with my time because it was an improvement from earlier in the year on the same course, but my main goal was competing to be in the top 20,” he said. “I went out slower than I typically do and tried to maintain that speed throughout the race. My race ended up being very evenly paced.”
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With the biggest race of his high school career ahead of him, Creel will rely on his training regimen to prepare him for the challenge.
“My coaches, teammates, and every workout this season have helped me prepare for this important race,” he said. “I am determined to give everything I have on this course.”
James Kitagawa placed 22nd in 18:06, Nathan Lu finished 37th in 19:09, and Bryce Kwiatkowski also finished among the top 50 with a time of 19:30, good for 49th place.
William Stray (20:06), Tate McGovern (20:21), and Daniel Alrabady (20:31) also competed for the Blue Devils at the district meet.
Gianna Carlucci placed 48th (24:19) and Kayla Hujarski (27:19) finished 81st in the girls’ race.
