INDEPENDENCE BLUE DEVILS Cross Country

Season Intelligence

Independence Boys Cross Country • Automatically calculated from reported 5K results

Meets10with entered 5K results
Top-3 Finishes63 team wins
Best Top-5 Avg17:08.40season best
Latest 1–5 Spread—scoring pack

Last Meet

2026 OHSAA State Cross Country Championships

November 7, 2026

  • 9th of 24
  • Score 268
  • 1 season PR

Season Leaders

  1. Mitchell Creel2026 Buckeye Invitational16:07.70
  2. Archer Dlugolinski2026 OHSAA State Cross Country Championships16:45.00
  3. Jayden Musni2026 Cardinal Invitational16:56.50
  4. Andrew Gibbons2026 Cardinal Invitational17:25.60
  5. Liam Polter2026 OHSAA Northeast Regional Cross Country Championships - Boardman17:37.90

What the numbers say

Independence has 10 meets with 5K results entered this season. The team has 3 wins and 6 top-three finishes in reported team scoring. Its five-runner average has improved by 56.80 sec from the first five-runner result entered to the latest. 1 runner set a new season best in the latest entered meet.

Team Progress

DateMeetFinishScoreTop-5 Avg1–5 SpreadPRs
Sep. 122026 Buckeye Invitational——17:08.681:36.8014
Sep. 192026 Boardman Spartan Invitational2nd13717:58.341:17.201
Sep. 262026 Cardinal Invitational1st / 1995.017:08.401:24.904
Oct. 22026 Paul Primeau Invitational2nd / 138217:22.101:16.801
Oct. 172026 Chagrin Valley Conference Cross Country Championships1st / 51617:31.881:05.400
Oct. 242026 OHSAA District - Northeast - Lorain CCC1st / 114417:40.201:03.000
Oct. 312026 OHSAA Northeast Regional Cross Country Championships - Boardman2nd / 2110417:16.2042.30 sec3
Nov. 72026 OHSAA State Cross Country Championships9th / 24268——1

TEAM NEWS

00:03:11

Independence boys cross country headed to state after regional runner-up finish; Leah Creel qualifies individually

Independence boys cross country added a Division IV regional runner-up finish to its conference and district championships, earning a trip to state. Freshman Archer Dlugolinski led the Blue Devils at Boardman, while sophomore Leah Creel qualified individually in the girls race.

Girls Cross Country: Northeast Ohio’s top contenders set for postseason showdown

Northeast Ohio's top girls cross country runners and teams begin their postseason push. See the leading contenders in Divisions I-IV and the top 25 season-best times in each tournament field.

October Is Talking: XC Intelligence reveals who’s surging as postseason approaches

October has arrived, and the numbers are beginning to matter more. OhioVarsity’s XC Intelligence reveals the runners and teams gaining speed, tightening their packs and building momentum for the postseason.

Gilmour wins boys Blue title at 2026 Paul Primeau Invitational

Gilmour captured the boys Blue championship, Independence earned second in boys Gray, and local runners delivered strong individual finishes Friday in Gates Mills.

Creel’s breakout season has Independence Cross Country thinking big

Independence junior Mitchell Creel has transformed himself into a front-pack runner this fall, highlighted by a 16:07.7 at the Buckeye Invitational. His breakout season is unfolding alongside a young Blue Devils boys team and an emerging girls squad loaded with underclassmen.

Cross Country Power Rankings: Mentor sets the pace as contenders bunch up behind Cardinals

Mentor holds the No. 1 spot in both OhioVarsity cross country power rankings, but several of Northeast Ohio’s top teams are separated by mere seconds as the postseason picture begins to take shape.

Cross Country Week in Review: Fast times, breakthrough performances highlight big weekend

Ian Res and Luci Maschek delivered standout individual performances while Orange, Mentor, Crestwood, Kirtland and several other Northeast Ohio cross country programs continued to make progress during a busy weekend of racing.

Cross Country State Poll: Mentor boys take No. 1, 14 area teams ranked

Mentor earned the No. 1 ranking in Division I boys, highlighting 14 OhioVarsity coverage-area teams included in the Sept. 17 Ohio cross country coaches poll.

Cross Country Week in Review: Fast Times, Deep Packs and Breakthrough Runs

The latest cross country results produced fast times, impressive team depth and plenty of movement. Here’s a look at the top boys and girls teams, leading runners and biggest improvement trends from Sept. 7-13.

XC Intelligence: Res, Maschek set the pace as PRs pile up

A data-driven look at XC leaders, new season bests, team performances, scoring-pack strength and trends from Aug. 31–Sep. 6, 2026.

Chagrin Falls, Mentor lead teams covered by OhioVarsity.com in state cross country polls

Chagrin Falls, Mentor, Kenston and Kirtland lead teams covered by OhioVarsity.com in the latest Ohio cross country coaches polls.

Cross Country Notebook: Local runners make early-season noise at HOKA, Solon

Northeast Ohio cross country notebook featuring top local performances from the HOKA Night XC Showcase and Solon Party at the Polo Fields.

Independence Runners Punch Tickets to Regional Meet

Independence’s cross country program will be well represented at the Boardman Regional Meet this weekend, after strong performances at the Lorain Division IV District meet on Saturday.
00:01:19

Creel Leads Independence Boys to Runner-Up Finish at CVC Championships

Independence’s cross country teams kicked off the postseason with strong performances at the 2025 Chagrin Valley Conference Championships on Saturday at Geneva High School.

Independence Runners Compete at Cardinal Invitational

Independence cross country made its mark at the 2025 Cardinal Invitational on Saturday, with both the boys and girls varsity squads turning in strong performances against a deep field.

Independence boys place second at Avon Lake Invitational

Mitchell and Leah Creel placed among the top three leading Independence to a strong showing at the 2025 Avon Lake Invitational.

Independence Opens Season Strong at HOKA Kickoff Classic

Independence opened the season with a strong performance at the 2025 HOKA Kickoff Classic at Riverside High School on Saturday.

Independence to Welcome Four Athletic Greats into Hall of Fame

Independence High School will honor four exceptional alumni athletes in its 2024 Athletic Hall of Fame class.

Independence freshman Mitchell Creel headed to regional meet

Independence freshman Mitchell Creel made the most of his first district championship experience and earned at least one more race this fall.

Independence boys finish second at CVC championships

Led by James Kitagawa, Independence’s boys’ cross country team finished fourth at the 2024 Chagrin Valley Conference Championships on Friday at Cardinal High School.
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