BVU Record-Setter Sets Pace as Senior Year Begins
Emily Hoesing prepares for her final season with BVU’s cross country team, aiming for more success on and off the course.
The first track meet Emily Hoesing ever attended was one in which she competed as a freshman at Buena Vista University.
Hoesing, a senior leader on the BVU cross country team this fall, emailed BVU Coach Colt Slack during March of her freshman year, seeking his permission to join the women’s track and field team.
“I played tennis for four years at East High in Sioux City,” says Hoesing. “I ran one year of cross country at East.”
“I am so proud of Emily and everything she has accomplished. I am certainly looking forward to one ‘last lap’ with her on our squad!”
Colt Slack, Head Track and Field Coach
With tennis and the track seasons occurring at the same time (spring) in Iowa high schools, Hoesing didn’t run track as a prep. That didn’t mean she didn’t run.
“I like to run, and I like to run lots of miles while training,” she says.
The training has paid off as Hoesing holds the BVU records in the indoor 3K, indoor 5K, outdoor 5K, and outdoor 10K. She was also a member of the Beavers’ record-setting indoor distance medley.
Hoesing had designs on earning a berth in the NCAA Division III Track & Field Meet last May, but the season and the national event were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hoesing attended classes from her home in Sioux City and kept training. She returns this fall with high hopes.
“I love long runs,” she says. “I run high mileage to build endurance required for long-distance races.”
“Emily has been such a standout distance runner here at BVU. It has been a long journey for her over the past several years, but she has continued to rewrite the Beaver record books in the distance events,” says Slack, Head Track and Field Coach. “Emily has such a solid work ethic and brings a great attitude to practice every day. That work ethic certainly shows in the meet results. COVID-19 threw a wrench in the season, but I am fully confident Emily would have made a run to the national meet for the outdoor season last year. However, we are hopeful she will still have that chance in the future as she is returning for a final season in ‘Blue & Gold.’ I am so proud of Emily and everything she has accomplished. I am certainly looking forward to one ‘last lap’ with her on our squad!”
That “last lap” will coincide with class and student-teaching assignments for an art education major who will be certified to teach Spanish as well. Hoesing will take a variety of coaching classes this fall to earn a coaching endorsement. Come spring, the Dean’s List honoree will student-teach while competing in both the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons for the Beavers.
Hoesing, who serves as president of Sigma Delta Pi, the Spanish honor society, is also a member of Kappa Delta Pi, the education honor society. Following her semester of student-teaching, Hoesing may work as a substitute teacher until she lands a full-time job or goes into art as a vocation, which remains a possibility.
“I may go into glassblowing and earn my certification,” she says. “I’ll substitute teach and take time to figure out who I want to be.”
She’ll also keep running. All the way to the Boston Marathon, a race already on the horizon for this dedicated BVU record-setter.