Norwalk’s number five sports story of the past school year is all about the track and field accomplishments of junior sprinter Claire Farrell.

Farrell capped an outstanding track season at the state meet May 19-21 by placing second in all four of her Class 4A events. Her runner-up finishes included personal-best times of 11.88 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 24.56 in the 200. She added a season-best time of 56.06 in the 400 dash – an event she won as a sophomore – then anchored the Warrior sprint medley relay to second place in 1:47.39. Her teammates included Marin Randall, McKenzie Koerselman and Raegan Levi.

“I’m happy with what I did. I got some good PR’s and I ran against the best in Iowa and I stuck strong and I stayed close to them,” Farrell told KNIA-KRLS Sports following the meet. “Of course I am disappointed with not getting the gold, but overall I’m just happy with my (times). If I have a good time, then I can’t really be upset.”

The Norwalk senior-to-be wasn’t done after state, however. On June 16-19, Farrell competed in the Nike Outdoor Nationals held in Eugene, Oregon. Her fifth-place finish in the 400-meter dash earned her All-American status behind a ‘PR’ time of 55.19 seconds.

Farrell also placed 11th in the 200 dash and 16th in the 100 at the national event. She was the only high school girl in the nation to meet the qualifying standard for three different events.

Farrell says it was a fun experience competing against some of the best high school athletes in the nation while also making some new friends along the way.

“It was kind of an introduction of what college will be like – high competition, really great, amazing athletes who are going to be in big programs coming up,” she said. “They were able to push me and I was just able to almost let loose because I really didn’t have much to lose going against those girls, but I had a lot to gain.”

Farrell tells KNIA-KRLS that she has high hopes for an even better track season in 2023.