Olmsted Falls senior Katie Clute announced her verbal commitment to join the University of Oregon Ducks program on Sunday evening over social media.
Clute has been a cross country and distance track ace for the Bulldogs throughout the duration of her high school tenure. On the grass during the 2022 campaign she's collected individual meet titles in all six of her starts while running national level times.
Clute threatened the elusive sub-17 minute benchmark last month at Seneca East going a career best 17:02.68, a mark which stations her atop the state rankings and in the number fifteen position nation-wide.
She was the OHSAA Division I state meet runner-up in 2021 and the seventh place finisher two years ago. Beyond state-side competition, Clute has tested herself against elite talent at the Garmin RunningLane Championships and the Champs Sports Midwest Regional (formerly known as EastBay and Footlocker).
Clute's work on the track has been equally impressive. She picked up 3200 meter state titles as a junior, both indoor and outdoor, where she established personal record marks at the distance; 10:19.47 at the OATCCC Championships and 10:28.97 at the OHSAA Championships.
Similar to her tendency to run postseason XC races, Clute has sought out the highest level of track competition that she can find. Her resume includes trips to the Penn Relays and New Balance Nationals, where she is both an indoor and outdoor veteran of the series.
Clute is set to join one of the country's most storied collegiate programs in Oregon and will be accompanied by fellow class of 2023 standouts Kate Peters (Lake Oswego, OR) and Lily Cridge (Bishop Chatard, IN) in Eugene.
In her Instagram post, where she shared the news, Clute expressed her excitement about joining the Ducks and thanked her coaches, teammates, family and friends for their help and support.
Clute is eligible to make her commitment official on November 9th during the opening of the National Letter of Intent period.
