Indiana sophomore Claire Overfelt (in red) is shown competing in the 5,000-meter run at the Tennessee Invite.
Submitted photo
Two laps.
As a Whiteland senior, that was the distance Claire Overfelt was required to run at the Robert C. Haugh Complex.
This evening’s tour of the Indiana University track and field facility will encompass 25.
Overfelt, in her first season as a member of the IU women’s track and field team, has emerged as a most welcome addition as she continues to both take and make strides in the 10,000-meter run.
Her introduction to the facility came at the 2021 girls state finals; Overfelt was part of the Warriors’ 4×800 relay, which finished 19th. This evening, she represents the Hoosiers at the Big Ten championships in the ultimate distance event.
Overfelt’s path, while unconventional, is in itself a lesson in persistence.
“I was at IU as a student, but I wasn’t running for the team,” said the 5-foot-3, 105-pound Overfelt, a sophomore academically, but a freshman in terms of her eligibility as an athlete. “I never really planned on running in college, but I was in the running club here (Run Club at IU).”
Last spring, Overfelt qualified or the National Intercollegiate Running Club Association (NIRCA) nationals, an accomplishment that got her wondering if she should reach higher.
She eventually made contact with Hoosiers assistant cross country and track coach Andrew Poore, one thing led to another, and now she proudly dons the cream and crimson.
“I had a coach with the Run Club, but a lot of the stuff I did was on my own. I wanted to see where I could take this,” Overfelt said. “One of the reasons was that wanted a group of girls to run with, and my teammates have been super welcoming.
“It’s a great group of people. I’ve been very grateful, and also very surprised with how I’m performing.”
Overfelt represented the women’s cross country team in four regular-season events this past fall — the Redhawk Rumble at Miami of Ohio, IU’s Coaching Tree Invitational, the Paul Short Invite in Pennsylvania, and the Nuttycombe Invite in Madison, Wisconsin.
She also competed in the Big Ten championships and NCAA Great Lakes Regional.
Each experience proved valuable to Overfelt, both in terms of conditioning and confidence, as she prepared for indoor and outdoor track seasons.
Her first tour of 10,000 meters took place in March during the Raleigh Relays at North Carolina State. Overfelt placed 22nd in a time of 35 minutes, 32.98 seconds at what was the opening meet of the Hoosiers’ outdoor season.
“It felt pretty good at first, but I got to four miles and was like, I’ve got two miles left,” Overfelt said, laughing. “I was definitely not going for a time.”
Next was Overfelt’s first-place finish at the Tennessee Invite in the 5,000 meters (16:45.91), a race she dominated with nearly a 10-second difference between herself and the second-place finisher.
Perhaps her finest performance was at the prestigious Penn Relays in late April. Overfelt placed second in 34:00.24, paring nearly 90 seconds off her initial 10,000-meter performance.
She is seeded seventh for tonight’s 10,000-meter event.
“I would love to score, and to do so you have to finish in the top eight,” Overfelt said. “My goal is to hang with whoever gets out fast. Get myself in a position to go with the front pack.”
