A former Maine high school running standout is coming home.

Heather Clark, a distance record-setter at Brewer High School from 1999-2003, will transfer from Florida State University to the University of Maine this fall.

Clark has been out with a stress fracture in her leg since the fall cross country season, according to FSU running coach Bob Braman.

Clark, a nursing major, said she had been doing well both on the cross country trails and in the classroom. She was the Seminoles’ fifth runner for most of the cross country season, and maintained a 3.9 grade point average for two semesters.

“The academics are amazing, and I’ve been doing really well,” said Clark, who will continue to major in nursing at UMaine and will receive scholarship aid. “The training was also great, I got fast and strong early on, and felt like I was contributing to the team.”

Clark will join a solid Black Bear women’s distance squad that already includes former Messalonskee High of Oakland standout Hana Pelletier of Belgrade and one of Clark’s former Brewer teammates, Heather Jovanelli.

“[Coach] Mark Lech thinks I’ll fit in nicely there [at Maine],” said Clark, who added that she will most likely redshirt during the cross country season. “It’s a matter of training.”

“She’ll definitely be a great addition to the team,” added Lech.

One of the biggest reasons Clark said she was transferring was to be closer to her family, which became more evident when she was injured.

“After being hurt, I realized I wanted to be with my family,” she said. “I’m not really homesick, but I just miss my family. I just didn’t think Tallahassee was the place for me.”

The college running experience was also much different than the experience Clark enjoyed at Brewer.

“You have to do lots of things on your own here [at FSU],” she said, referring to race preparation and training. “[Coach Dave] Jeffrey and [coach Glendon] Rand were always active in races and helping us be prepared [at Brewer]. It was a real learning experience, a challenge with some good and bad. I really missed the way we had a good sense of team camaraderie in high school.”

At age 19, Clark felt she was an inexperienced runner for college competition and needed more help.

“I’m still a young runner and I still need some attention, and I just didn’t have that here [at FSU],” she said.

Braman said he felt fine with his Clark’s decision.

“We just want what’s best for Heather,” Braman said.

Clark holds the Eastern Maine Indoor Track league record in the mile at 5 minutes, 4.66 seconds, which she set last year, and she was a key part in the Witches winning the league title in 2003.