Claire was contacted by several schools, but she only visited two – Louisville and Illinois State University.

“Both schools are great,” she said. “But after visiting the campus, I felt Louisville fit me best. They have great academic programs, their facilities are awesome and I really liked the coach and the team.”

Claire was recruited as a “thrower.” In college, there are four throwing events – discus, shot put, javelin and hammer.

“I’ll definitely throw the shot put and discus and they might try me at hammer, too,” Claire said. “I tried it once at a track camp. We’ll see.”

She also noted that Louisville has had success with throwers, including a national champion in the shot put.

“Coach (Dale Cowper) has been there for 14 years,” Claire said. “They have a nice program.”

When Claire made her official visit to Louisville in October, she stayed in a dorm with four other throwers and was impressed.

Claire explained that in college the fall season is mostly for training. The first indoor meet is scheduled in December and then there are meets consistently through the end of May.

“It’s a year-round program,” she noted. “In the fall, they have weight lifting every day. I’m excited about having a good lifting program. It will be different doing just one sport all year.”

Claire is also one of the key returning players for the Teutopolis basketball team.

A high honor student at THS, she has not yet made a decision as what she will major in.

“I’ll be working with an academic advisor,” Claire said. “They treat their student athletes very well at Louisville.”

Before putting on the red and black uniforms of the Louisville Cardinals, however, Claire has two goals she still wants to accomplish at Teutopolis – returning to the state basketball tournament for the third straight season and defending her title in the discus – and possibly adding another one in the shot put – at the state track meet.

“I’m definitely excited about track season,” she said. “I will have to work very hard this year to reach my goals. Winning again is no guarantee. There are a lot of good girls in both the shot put and discus.”

“She’s at the top of her class,” said Coach Hoene. “Claire will put in the work, plus she is a great leader and has such a positive attitude. Those are excellent traits to have, both in high school and in college. I feel like she’ll be very competitive at the collegiate level.”

Claire is the daughter of Pete and Theresa Bushur.