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LAPLACE — Anya Creecy imagined herself pursuing volleyball at the collegiate level when she became a starter on East St. John’s varsity team as a freshman. That dream expanded to include track and field two years ago when her discus throw exceeded 100 feet.
Anya turned those dreams into reality last week as she signed a scholarship and declared her intent to pursue volleyball and track and field at Miles College in Alabama.
Anya solidified her college choice after MC Coach Francesca Boone invited her to attend a volleyball tournament. Everyone from the coach to the assistants and the bus driver made her feel welcome.
“I got to see how they operate. I like how they communicate with each other, and I like the atmosphere and how they were positive about everything. They accepted me,” Anya said. “I also wanted to go to a HBCU, so this was perfect.”
Anya was drawn to volleyball by chance. While competing at nationals as the only girl on an all-star basketball team, she caught the attention of Chelsey Lucas, who served as East St. John’s volleyball coach at the time. Anya attended a volleyball practice soon after, and the rest is history.
Some of her proudest moments in volleyball include making first-team all-district for three years and being named team MVP. While East St. John wasn’t able to complete its season this year due to damage to the gymnasium from Hurricane Ida, Anya had the opportunity to experience her senior season at Broadmoor High School in Baton Rouge.
Her father, Mark Creecy, teaches at the school. When Hurricane Ida devastated their family home, he transferred his daughters to Broadmoor to recapture a sense of normalcy, both in the classroom and on the volleyball court.
Anya plans to return to East St. John High School to finish out her senior year once her family receives temporary housing. It’s been a time of sacrifice and transition, but Creecy said there have been some rewarding moments.
“We start getting ready after 4 a.m. to be on the road by 5 a.m. A lot of the time, we’re going on the road when it’s dark and coming back when it’s dark to stay at my mom’s house,” Creecy said. “A big bonus was being able to play volleyball this season. The Broadmoor volleyball team had their first district win in five-plus years, so that was one of the big accomplishments.”
Anya finished her junior track season this past May and competed in AAU with the St. John Legends Track Club through the summer, which led up to an appearance at the Junior Olympics in Humble, Texas in early August.
Anya has competed in track and field for nine years. Since reaching high school, she’s focused on throwing events including the discus, shot put and javelin. She plans to compete in the discus at Miles College.
One of her proudest moments in track and field was setting a person record of 103’11 in the discus at the 2021 LHSAA Class 5A State Meet. She plans to keep pushing toward new personal records at college while pursuing a degree in child development.
Anya said her father has been an inspiration throughout her athletic career because he also competed in throwing events in high school and college.
As coach of the St. John Legends Track Club, Creecy watches young athletes sign track and field scholarships nearly every year. It was a little different watching his own child take that big step.
“Anya does a good job of taking in and processing information, as far as education and coaching. She retains it and works diligently at her craft. I think that’s going to help her at the next level,” Creecy said. “It was exciting to see her follow in my footsteps and to see her have options athletically as well as academically to have college paid for.”