Clearview HS graduate, Katherine Byrne, ready to run for Georgia Tech
MULLICA HILL, N.J. — Class of 2021 Katherine Byrne聽ended聽a remarkable Cross Country and Track & Field career at Clearview High School. She will continue her journey at the聽Georgia Institute of Technology聽where she will聽pursue a degree in Biomedical Engineering at the #2 program in the country and run Division I Cross Country and Track.
Katherine graduated with a long list of impressive honors and accolades for excelling both on and off the track. Earning 11 Varsity letters in Cross Country, Winter Track, and Spring Track & Field while maintaining all As throughout high school, she received both the Clearview Scholar-Athlete Award and the NJSIAA Scholar-Athlete Award and Scholarship. She was also a member of the Student Council, National Honor Society, Math Honor Society, French Honor Society, and World Language Honor Society (four years of As in a foreign language). With a weighted GPA of 4.7, her academic achievements were recognized with the Frank S. Flowers Award and Scholarship, awarded to聽the聽top 10 scholars of her graduating class.
A natural athlete, Katherine was a competitive gymnast for years and a New Jersey State Champion on Balance Beam. She joined Clearview’s Cross Country/Track & Field teams in the 9th grade and spent two years juggling the demands of both sports 鈥� going directly from Clearview’s practices to four hours of gymnastics training every day 鈥� all while maintaining a straight A average. Eventually, she decided to focus on running. Her hard work and determination through injuries has been nothing short of impressive.
“I am most proud of my trend of dropping PRs despite not having a full year of competition last year,鈥� said Katherine. 鈥淚 had struggled with an iron deficiency and some hip injuries, so I was determined to come back strong.鈥� She lowered her 1600m personal record (PR) by 11 seconds in a matter of weeks and ended her four year career as the second all time leader at Clearview in the 800m and the 1600m events.
Senior year, Katherine qualified for the聽 NJSIAA Group IV State Track & Field Championship Meet where she finished 7th in the 800m and 12th in the 1600m. She also qualified for the Meet of Champions, where the best runners in the state compete. Running in the scorching heat, she came in 18th in the 800m with a time of 2:19.22. 鈥滻 couldn’t be happier with how my senior season turned out.”
“She’s one of the better cross country runners, not only in our conference and Gloucester County but in South Jersey, and for four years straight,” said her Coach, Tom Hengel, in a recorded speech given at her Commitment Signing. 鈥淪he’s currently the fastest person on the team, sprinter or distance runner. She is up there with the elite people we’ve had come through our program.鈥�
Although she was accepted to many universities and offered thousands of dollars in Merit Scholarships, Katherine committed to Georgia Institute of Technology. 鈥淚 am excited to meet new people at Georgia Tech and compete at the Division I level. My recruiting class is really strong, and I can’t wait to see how we progress over the next few years,” said Katherine.
“Being a part of the Clearview Cross Country and Track teams has meant a lot to me,鈥� she continued. 鈥淚’ve been lucky enough to have amazing coaches and teammates to help me to grow as a runner, and ultimately as a person, over the last four years. I wouldn’t be the athlete that I am today without them.”
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