Avon's Lake's Claire Springer taking track talent to Cornell

Hard work and dedication is taking Avon Lake's Claire Springer all the way to the Ivy League. Last week, Springer announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she had committed to continue her academic and track and field career at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. "Cornell has been on my list since the beginning. They're a really good academic school and they have a strong throws program," said Springer, a senior, who was a regional qualifier in the shot put last season. "I never thought I could have gone to an Ivy League school, but I took the challenging classes and worked my butt off. I've always pushed myself academically and to get an offer from an Ivy League school was a huge honor. And I think that is the best path for me. It shows that all of my hard work in school and with athletics has paid off." Springer, who set a personal record with a throw of 40 feet, 4.25 inches last year at the Division I district tournament, will compete in the shot put and hammer throw at Cornell. "A lot of Claire's success is her work ethic," Avon Lake track coach Jeff Arra said. "She's a multisport athlete and it's not always easy for our multisport athletes to keep up with the weight room, but Claire kept up with her workouts and is really committed to the program. She finds the time to do the little things in the offseason that lead to success." In addition to throwing, Springer also plays basketball and earned All-Lorain County and All-Southwestern Conference honorable mention honors in each while averaging seven points and six rebounds a game. "It gets hard sometimes," Springer said of being a multisport athlete. "Because during basketball season, I want to throw, and sometimes during throwing season, I want to play basketball." Springer started throwing in seventh grade when she joined the middle school track team to follow in the footsteps of her older sister. "She was a year older than me and I wanted to be like my big sister," Springer said. "She was the one who got me into it and then I wound up loving it." Springer credits her position coach Alex Johnson with helping her grow into the athlete she is today and growing her love for the sport. "My coach, Coach Johnson, he's been my main person," Springer said. "He's trained me and he's kept me going, even when I have terrible meets and my mind's not the best. He's always been there for me and I truly think he's the reason I'm going on to throw in college." College offers began coming in midway through Springer's junior year and although she had already been leaning toward Cornell, her official visit last month solidified her decision. "When I was on campus, the whole team was like the nicest people I've ever met," Springer said. "Immediately, when I got there, they treated me like I was their best friend, that really stuck out to me. Then I knew there was no other school I could commit to." In addition to juggling the demands of being a Division I athlete, Springer plans to major in cognitive science or psychology and earn a minor from Cornell's crimes, prisons, education and justice program. "She told me, maybe the beginning of the school year, that she might be leaning towards Cornell," Arra said. "Talk about being the total package, academics and athletics. I am really excited for her." Springer said her goal this spring is to qualify for the state tournament and then place in the top eight throwers in Division I. Arra knows she'll put herself in a position to make it happen. "We get our throwers on a meticulous plan that combines their strength training and explosiveness training with their practice schedule," Arra said. "With that in place, I expect her to peak at the right time this spring and to go as far as she can this season." In between basketball games and study sessions, that means Springer will be spending a lot of time in the weight room this winter. "The only way to get better in throwing is to get stronger," she said. "I'm hoping to push past my limits." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.