Avon Lake Invitational Set for Saturday

For years, the Lorain County meet, which will be held at Midview in a couple of weeks, was held at Avon Lake more than not. 

"How it was explained to me my first year was that , was the host more so than not, and the county schools struggled to bring people to help run the meet," Avon Lake athletic director Tom Barone said. "So it became a little taxing on our folks. So I said why don’t we do our own invitational. At first we kept it Lorain county heavy, but based on how any invitational evolves today to schools coming from all over Northeast Ohio."

Saturday marks the 14th edition of the running event, and while just lasting that long as an invitational in today's tough economic times is a feat in itself, what makes this meet even more special, is the fact it continues today, bigger and better, due to the efforts of the community.

"The key pieces are the volunteers, whether its backup timing at the finish line or raking the pits, or the measuring of the shot and discus," Barone said. "And the thing I get complimented on the most from our guests, is the spread which the parents put on in the hospitality room."

This spread, which is open to media, coaches volunteers and track officials not only includes donations from various businesses in the city, but also some excellent cooking from the Avon Lake parents who take a lot of pride in their recipes. 

"They put forth such a great effort doing this, and they do so with a smile too," Baron said. " And they enjoy doing it too, which I think is something that makes Avon Lake such as special place."

With all the new upgrades to the stadium, although an early season meet, teams that participate will get the feel they are in the second season.

This is something that Barone hopes spread the word, that the Avon Lake Invitational has the makings of a premier early season event.

"We hope so, we compete in Division I in everything but football, and do want to have some good competition here," Barone said. "But our main goal is to get the kids in the competitive spirit and get some times down and compete for the title. We have the timing system; we have certified OHSAA officials with the upgrades we have the scoreboard working together, so that will be a neat feature too. We feel we are getting closer to being one of the premier early season meets and hopefully these things will help swing some other teams to Avon Lake."

This years edition of the event features 14 boys and 13 girls teams from three counties including cross border rival Avon and Division II power Rocky River not to mention Elyria and Lorain high.

Last year, Avon Lake swept both events. Action this weekend begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday, with the meet expected to run through mid afternoon according to Barone.