Running so fast the wind is blowing in her face, Junior Tessa Buswell just trying to beat her previous record time by a few seconds beats it by 41 seconds! 

    Buswell has been a force on the running scene since middle school. Now as a junior, her presence has only grown. On varsity cross country and track since freshman year, she holds school records in an array of distances across both cross country and track. 

     In last year’s track season she finished sixth at the Nike Nationals for track and field in Hayward, Oregon for the 800-meter distance and 4×400 meter relay. And as a sophomore in high school, she broke the school record for the cross country over three miles in 17 minutes and one second, an average of 5:40 pace per mile. Buswell accomplished that feat at Woodbridge, one of the biggest cross country invitationals in the nation.

     At Woodbridge this year, on Sep. 17, Buswell ran 16 minutes and 20 seconds over the three-mile distance, a 5:27 per mile pace. Going into Woodbridge this year, Buswell hoped to improve her time but did not expect to break her record by such a large margin.

   “It was awesome being able to break it again,” Buswell said. “I was really proud of myself and super happy that I beat my last time by more than 40 seconds”. 

    She prefers track, Buswell enjoys running cross country and values its team aspect. She hopes to be recruited to run Division 1 in college. 

    Senior Jessica Shikwana admires her drive. 

   “She pushes all of us to be the best we can be, and she puts in so much effort at practice,” Shikwana said. 

    Shikwana was present when Buswell broke her record and said the performance amazed the whole team.

    Boys’ Captain Carter Schoon respects Buswell’s work ethic as well as her positive attitude at practices. Schoon loves running with the team because they have created such a positive environment. While Schoon was not at the race, he was watching through the livestream.“It was crazy to see just how ahead of the competition she was, and to see every single person at that meet cheer her on was incredible,” Schoon said.