Athletic Achievement

“To uncover your true potential, you must first find your own limits, and then you have to have the courage to blow past them.”
Picabo Street, Olympic Gold Medalist Skier

Athletics at Independence serve as an integral component of our school's program. The function of the Patriot Athletic Department is to educate students through their participation in sports during the school year.

Independence offers 13 interscholastic sports for our seventh and eighth graders, with four each in the fall and winter and five during the spring season. Additionally, our intramural program allows our fifth- and sixth-grade students to partake in all of these sports.

Beyond the development of physical coordination, strength and general athletic skills, our goal is for students to learn teamwork, sportsmanship and character-building traits inherent in sports and competition.

My involvement in athletics at Independence has taught me many necessary life lessons, such as hard work, dedication, and good sportsmanship. My coaches have created nurturing yet competitive environments that emphasize teamwork and collaboration.

I have learned to demonstrate respect for players, coaches, and officials regardless of the outcome, and I have developed strong leadership skills by working with others on a team. These same skills have transferred to the classroom and taught me to pursue academic excellence. 

KATIE HANICH '21

Here’s some examples from our impressive list of Patriot alumni athletes:

Troy Reeder ’10 - Current National Football League linebacker signed by the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted rookie free agent

Kevin Mench ’92 - Former Major League Baseball outfielder who played for four different franchises over an eight-year career

Laura Hurff ’10 - 2015 NCAA Division I National Champion midfielder with Syracuse field hockey and current member of U.S. Women’s National Indoor Field Hockey Team

Juliet Bottorff ’05 - Former USA runner and 2011 Outdoor NCAA Champion at 10,000m as a sophomore with Division I Duke University; with Tatnall, became one of only 12 females in Delaware history selected First-Team All-State in cross country four times

Jimmy Blaszkow ’13 - Back-to-back NCAA Division II Men’s Lacrosse National Champion defender in 2018-19 with Merrimack College and three-time DIAA Boys’ Lacrosse State Champion at Salesianum

Sam Parsons ’08 - 2017 NCAA Second-Team Cross Country All-American with Division I North Carolina State University; current adidas professional runner and Olympic hopeful with Germany

Brendan Balthis ’15 – Ivy League runner for NCAA Division I Dartmouth College; at Tatnall, became only fourth boy in Delaware history to be named four-time First-Team All-State selection in cross country

Jack Leonard ’15 - Four-time DIAA Division I Boys’ Soccer State Champion at Salesianum and freshman starting midfielder for NCAA Division I University of Delaware men’s soccer team

Paige Kenton ’16 – Back-to-back DIAA Division I Girls’ Soccer State Champion in 2018-19 at Padua; committed to playing Ivy League women’s soccer at NCAA Division I University of Pennsylvania