New Milford track and cross country star Claire Daniels commits to Penn State
NEW MILFORD, Conn. — The Green Wave track and cross country superstar Claire Daniels has officially committed to Penn State University following a historic four-year career at New Milford.
Daniels capped off an incredibly successful high school cross country career by helping lead the Green Wave to their first CIAC Class L Title since 1997, along with capturing the school’s first State Open Cross Country Championship.
Recently, Daniels committed to Penn State to run collegiately at the Division I level. It wasn’t always a clear-cut decision, but she’s ecstatic with her choice.
“Yeah, it came down to Penn State and UConn,” she confirmed. “It was a pretty close call, but I’m really happy with my decision.”
Daniels’ longtime friend and teammate Madelaine Sweeney will be going to UConn next year, speaking to the talent that’s on this Green Wave roster. Of course, the girls wouldn’t have made it to where they are today without the help of their coaches Giles Vaughan and Michael Nahom.
“They’re both so knowledgeable and they’ve both taught me everything I know,” Daniels said. “They’re just amazing coaches. I would not be where I am today without them. They really know what they’re doing and they’ve both been really supportive throughout the entire process.”
A runner in every sense of the word, Daniels wasn’t always certain she had what it took to run at the Division I level. However, her years of hard work strengthened her self-belief as well as her abilities.
“Honestly, I think my freshman and sophomore year I wasn’t really thinking about it,” she began. “I knew it was a possibility, but I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to yet. Then, last year I realized I wanted to see how far I could go and how far I could push my body. So I wanted to work on it the next four years.”
When speaking to Coach Vaughan, he asserted that his team is an immensely tight-knit group. The comradery is one of Daniels’ favorite aspects of the sport.
“The competition is definitely fun,” Daniels said. “It’s also a really social sport. You get to meet a bunch of new people and you’re talking the whole time you’re running which is really fun.”
When it’s all said and done, there’s little doubt that Daniels will go down as arguably the best runner in New Milford’s illustrious history. Notably, Daniels persevered through illness down the final stretch of the 2021 cross country season in order to help her team achieve their lofty goals.
Daniels is going to be a key addition the next four years to the Penn State Nittany Lions cross country and track teams.
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