CHECKING IN WITH ... CLAYTON SMITH
(Editor's note: The Day will be publishing a profile of a spring athlete for each day of the canceled high school athletic season.)
School: New London High School Class: Senior Sport: Boys' track & field College choice: Nichols College Chosen major: Athletic training
Athlete you grew up admiring: Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants, he keeps pushing to where he wants to be and never let things bring him down even when things didn't go as planned. He's always helping up other players and his teammates and I can relate to him. Favorite high school class: Math with Mrs. Battista Checking in with Clayton: "I would like to thank my track team for making track the best experience I will never forget. I hope to see all the seniors in the class of 2020; congrats on where you are going for college and keep improving in life and stay ready to learn new things. And I want to thank my family and parents for being there for me in any sport or path I wanted to go down."
What you need to know about Clayton: Smith was part of New London's fourth-place 4x100-meter relay team at last year's Eastern Connecticut Conference outdoor championship and went on to finish seventh in the 55 dash and sixth in the long jump at the ECC Division II indoor meet, followed by running a leg of the Whalers' sprint medley relay team which finished fifth at the Class L state championship. "I was looking to finish my senior year with my outdoor track team and watching everyone get better and making NLHS noticed for producing great athletes in the classroom and on the field or track," Smith said. Of course, Smith's speed was no surprise to anyone who has seen him play football. Smith, a linebacker/tight end, caught a 74-yard touchdown pass last season against East Lyme and also had an interception against Fitch. He earned recognition as New London's ECC Sportsmanship Award winner. He will continue his football career at Nichols. "On offense, just doing my job so we can move up and down the field and blocking or catching a pass to put the team in a great spot to score," he said. "My favorite thing on defense was just stopping the other team from scoring and just flying around the field to make a play and showing what I can do as an athlete." Smith's first sport was wrestling, introduced to the mat by Rashib Robledo, who has coached at the youth level as well as high school in New London. Smith and his brother Colby were pictured in The Day when they were younger playing a pick up game of tackle football.