Calling it the hardest decision and the best decision she has ever made, Poway High School cross country and track standout Tessa Buswell announced Wednesday that she will attend BYU next season.
Buswell, the 2022 California State Division Girls Cross Country Champion, chose BYU over offers from Oregon, Oklahoma State, USC, UCLA, Vanderbilt and Texas.
“My goals are to run in the Olympics and run professionally,” Buswell said. “I believe BYU is the best school to help me reach my goals.”
BYU was ranked No. 3 in the nation, but finished 14th out of 31 teams at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The track team finished 24th at the NCAA Championships.
Cougars coachs Diljeet Taylor was one of the major reasons why Buswell chose BYU.
“I love the coach, I have family in the area, and I already know some girls on the team,” said Buswell. “I know I’ll be running at altitude. I know I’ll be running in the cold, And the first month or two might be tough. But I’ve been to camps at BYU, and I know what to expect.”
BYU took part in meets in Oregon, Virginia, Iowa and Texas last season.
The Cougars have a San Diego feel. Jacey Harkins-Farmer of Rancho Bernardo is a sophomore runner for BYU while El Camino’s McCall Dame is a freshman.
Buswell, who carries a 3.95 GPA and plans to major in exercise science, was third last season in the 800 at the California State Meet. She is a two-time Nike All-American in the 800 with a best of 2:08.30.
“The 800 is my favorite race, but I’ve had a lot of success in cross country,” Buswell said. “I wasn’t expected to win the state in 2022, so it was that much better.”
With high school track season right around the corner, Buswell said she plans to run the 800 and 1,600.
“And if I hit times and goals early in the season in the 800, we might do some different things before we really need to get serious at the end of the season.”
