Lexi Clarke SXU Athletics
Saint Xavier’s indoor track season concluded at the NAIA Women’s Indoor Track & Field Championships that took place Feb. 29 thru Mar. 2 in Brookings, South Dakota. Junior Lexi Clarke has made program history with her performance in the 800m this season.
At the recent indoor championships, Clarke ran a time of 2:15.77 for the half mile, finishing fifth in the finals. Clarke and teammate Olivia Mathis made SXU history by earning NAIA All-American honors for the 800m at this event.
But this did not happen overnight. Clarke attended Plainfield South High School, and it was not until her senior year that she was told to give the 800m a try. At this point, she had not run cross country or many distance events, so the half mile was a new animal that would prove to be life-changing.
Despite all of the support, college sports were not originally the goal. Clarke recalls not making the state meets in high school, especially when the pandemic took away some athletics for a period of time.
“I never had times where someone would look at me and go, ‘yeah, we want you; we’ll recruit you,’” Clarke commented. “No one was interested. I was doing it because I was enjoying it. I never, in my head, was like ‘I can be a collegiate athlete.’ My times in high school just didn’t show it, but I had the work ethic.”
The same coach who encouraged her to try out the 800m ended up telling Clarke she should continue pursuing the sport at the collegiate level. At a Minooka meet in high school, Clarke had her first encounter with Coach DeGraw, the head track & field coach at Joliet Junior College. Clarke decided to go to junior college and pursue running further.
JJC ended up having their first ever women’s track program in 2023, where Clarke gave the 800m another go. At the conclusion of that season, the team had secured a third place finish at their first ever nationals.
After her time at JJC, Coach DeGraw was able to help Clarke get in contact with the track coaches at SXU to further both her academic and athletic careers.
Transferring to SXU gave Clarke the opportunity to explore more of what she wants to do as an athlete. She remembers taking on multiple events at JJC due to the program being new. When she got to SXU, there were more people running, which led her to try new things.
She also recalls conversations with her coaches pertaining to her personal goals and desired races. Early on, Clarke knew she wanted a go at being a nationals qualifier. Racing at SXU would soon prove she was capable of anything she put her mind to.
“The first time I had ran the 800m for the track season was at a meet in Michigan. The qualifying time was 2:18.5 and I ran 2:18.73. That was four seconds off the best time I ran before,” Clarke explained. “I was like, ‘maybe I can do it.’ I started believing in myself.”
During the current season, Clarke has gained a lot of confidence in her abilities, which has been strengthened by the philosophies held by her coaches.
“They really emphasize [to] just believe in yourself [and] have the confidence,” Clarke added.
As the team enters the outdoor season, Clarke will need to hit her specified qualifying time at any race to guarantee her spot at nationals at the end of the semester. For the 800m, it will be 2:14.5 to achieve ‘A’ standard.
“Some tracks have conversions. So, if it’s a flat 200m track, they’ll shave off a couple seconds [from] your time because if it were a 300m track, or a banked track, you’ll normally run faster,” Clarke elaborated.
With the success Clarke has had thus far, she is sure to put up a fight in the coming months. She currently holds two school records for indoor track: 2:14.82 for the 800m on Feb. 17, 2024 and 9:32.08 for the 4x800m on Feb. 29, 2024 (with N. Martinez, O. Mathis, and K. Booker).
The relay team had put no pressure on themselves with no set expectations. They had seen how fast some of the competing teams were, and knew they would have to fight hard to keep up, which is what they were able to do.
“Coach Torres says ‘run lights out.’ Nothing left in that tank. When you finish, you should be dead,” Clarke explained to be a phrase that has stuck with her through the highs and lows.
This mindset alongside team workouts getting increasingly more difficult has made Clarke confident that her nationals goal is possible. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it.
The Xavierite wishes Clarke and her team the best of luck at the upcoming events for outdoor season!
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