Dowling Catholic celebrates 'Caitlin Clark Day' ahead of the Final Four
Caitlin Clark graduated from Dowling Catholic High School a few years ago, and now she's on college basketball's biggest stage.
Clark and the Hawkeyes are getting ready to take on South Carolina in the Final Four.
Ahead of the game, Dowling Catholic celebrated "Caitlin Clark Day." Students ditched their school uniforms for Hawkeye gear.
"Everybody's talking about Caitlin Clark. Everybody's talking about the game," said Jack Nedved, a Dowling Catholic senior.
Students say it's surreal to think Clark was roaming the halls of Dowling just a few years ago.
"It's really cool to see her going that far knowing that she went here and went to the same elementary as me," said Madi Brown, a Dowling Catholic sophomore.
Some students wore Iowa State gear, and others joked that they couldn't root for the Hawkeyes, but they'll still tell you it's pretty cool that Clark is representing Dowling on the national stage.
"It means a lot because she's the G.O.A.T," says Vinnie Bertagnolli, a Dowling Catholic senior. "She's the best in women's sports right now, and that means a lot from Dowling."
Seniors like Lauryn Frerichs were freshmen at Dowling when Clark was a highly recruited senior.
Frerichs was even on Clark's basketball team.
"I'm proud of you. Good luck and go kill it, represent Dowling," said Frerichhs.
Meanwhile, in Dallas, Texas, plenty of Dowling grads and staff members are ready to cheer on Caitlin Clark, including her high school coach.
"It's pretty surreal," said Kristin Meyer, Dowling girl's basketball head coach. "I think all of us who watched and coached and played with her when she was in high school knew she would do great things, but what she is doing has surpassed our wildest expectations."
As Meyer gets ready to watch her former star player, Dowling students are going home with friends to watch Clark continue to change the game.
Iowa plays South Carolina on Friday night at 8 p.m.