Courtesy of LC Athletics
Riley Buese ’25 is one of the best cross country athletes in Lewis & Clark’s history. In 2023 alone, her accomplishments included running the fastest time in program history (21:25.0) and highest finish (17th) by an LC women’s cross country runner at an NCAA DIII National Cross Country Championship Meet, running the second-fastest 5K time in program history, recording the largest NWC winning margin by an LC individual champion, winning a Northwest Conference Individual Title and earning countless other awards and accolades.
Buese has a long history with the sport. She began running in third grade, when she joined Girls on the Run, a national nonprofit program that “inspires participants of all abilities to recognize their individual strengths while building a sense of connection in a team setting,” per their website.
“I kind of just did it to hang out with friends, but I ended up really liking it,” Buese said. “I decided to do cross country in middle school, and once that program ended, that was the first time I started running competitively. I really liked how you could kind of compete against yourself and keep getting better.”
Cross country was one of the reasons that Buese decided to attend LC. Here, she learned to balance her love of running with the time commitments and responsibilities of being a college student.
“In high school, living at home, I’m not having to think about making my own meals and doing laundry and all that basic stuff. We also travel a lot more in college to out-of-state meets and things like that,” Buese said. “(It’s) just learning to balance being a collegiate athlete with the other aspects of college.”
She reflected on the ways that she has grown as an athlete throughout her college career, not only in honing her skills but also developing in her mindset and approaches.
“(I learned) more about how to manage injuries and keep my body healthy from a nutrition standpoint. And all the extra strength work that’s needed — in high school, I was just like, ‘Oh, the running is all I need.’ But there’s a lot of extra things that go into staying healthy as an athlete,” she said.
Buese also acknowledged how knowing her limits and pacing herself has made a pivotal difference.
“I’ve gotten a lot better at understanding how I work best as an athlete and knowing when, you know, maybe I need an off day or to take it a little easier,” she said. “As a result of that, I’ve been able to stay a lot healthier in college and deal with fewer injuries than I did in high school.”
Being part of a team has also been a huge part of Buese’s journey at LC.
“I honestly feel like some of my favorite runs have just been a random weekly training run with the team where the weather is super nice and we’re listening to music. It just feels like a great time. I think that’s probably the thing that I love most about this sport,” she said.
Over her four years here, Buese has also seen the program grow and change for the better.
“We’ve had a couple of rough patches throughout the program’s history,” Buese said. “But our team has grown a lot, and the environment is really positive. We’ve had a lot more people show interest in joining … It’s nice to know when I’m leaving the program, that it’s in a better place than it was when I started my freshman year.”
Looking ahead to after graduation, Buese hopes to keep cross country in her life.
“There are a lot of semi-professional running clubs,” she said. “So I’ve been thinking about joining one of those, in addition to wherever I end up on my career path. It gives you an opportunity to continue training and competing with people, and they’ll help pay for the entrance fees to races. I think that would be a great way to stay involved.”
Buese has made history on LC’s cross country and track teams the last four years, and her legacy will be shared for years to come. Check out her stats on lcpioneers.com website to learn more about her groundbreaking achievements.
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