Girl From Stamford Finishes 3rd At National Track Championships

STAMFORD, Conn. – Westhill’s Claire Howlett finished third in the country Friday in the 5,000-meter run at the New Balance Indoor Nationals at The Armory in New York.

Westhill's Clarie Howlett finished third Friday at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in the 5,000 meters.
Photo Credit: *Courtesy of Fred Gaston*

Tom Renner

03/18/2014 10:00 a.m.

Howlett finished in 16:58.35. Tessa Barrett of Waverly, Pa., smashed the meet record and won in 16:11.85. Stephanie Jenks of Aurora, Iowa, took second in 16:37.5.

Howlett finished eighth in the same race last year. Her time this year was an improvement by 24 seconds. Barrett finished fourth last year. The top eight in the race are All-Americans.

Barrett and Jenks broke away early in the 3.1-mile race, with Howlett running in the second pack well behind the leaders. Barrett established control midway through the race as Jenks fell back.

Barrett continued to pull away and crushed the record of 16:18:01 set by Wesley Frazier. Jenks held strong to claim second, and Howlett made a strong move on the final lap to take third.

Howlett, a senior at Westhill High School, will attend Stanford University in California in the fall. She is also a finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Read more about her here on the Daily Voice.

Click here to follow Daily Voice Stamford and receive free news updates.