Lewis & Clark runner named West Region Track athlete of the year

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Lewis & Clark women’s track & field senior Riley Buese claimed her second West Region Track Athlete of the Year award last week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Buese is now the first athlete in program history to win the title several times after being recognized during both the Indoor and Outdoor Track seasons this year. She joins Frankie Reid (’24) as the only two student-athletes in school history to have won the award.
 
The Denver, Colo. native dominated this season for the Pioneers, outscoring the rest of the West women’s teams at the 2025 NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Nationals Championship. She competed in two events scoring 14 points total to put Lewis & Clark in 17th place overall. 
 
The senior was second in the nation in the 10K with a time of 34:20.14 – only four seconds off her program and Northwest Conference record. She also competed in the 5K, but was seeded at 10th going in and didn’t expect to place higher. However, Buese ran a massive PR of 16:30.64 and ended up third in the nation.

After her performance at nationals, she earned her eighth All-American honor which is a Lewis & Clark school-record.
 
She ran her personal best in the 10K of 34:16.33 at the Stanford Invite earlier this year and it remains as the fastest time in West Region history. No other runners have been able to come within a minute of her time.