Allie Buchalski had quite the ride as a State XC and Track and Field Champ, as well as being an integral starter for Johns Creek's varsity basketball team. But her success on the collegiate level was meteoric, leading to a Pro career.
How many state titles did you win in GA (what event and years) and other honors you earned?
Johns Creek High School (2009-2013); PBs 4:55 (1600)/10:42 (3200)/ 17:58 (5k)
6 total state titles
XC: 2009 3A State Champion, 2011 4A State Champion, 2012 6A State Champion
2009-2012 Atlanta Track Club All Metro Team
2012 ATC Ray Buckley Award-Georgia Female Runner of the Year
2013 Gatorade GA Girls XC Runner of the Year
2013 AJC Girls XC Athlete of the Year
Multiple region and county wins
Basketball: Varsity all 4 years
2012 GHSA Region 7-AAAA All Region Honorable Mention
2012 AJC North Fulton All Metro Honorable Mention
2013 GHSA Region 6-AAAAAA All Region 1st Team
2013 AJC North Fulton All-Metro 1st Team
Track:
2012 4A 3200m State Champion,
2013 6A 1600m & 3200m State Champion
2013 Al Woodham Best Performance Award All-Class 1600m & 3200m
2013 ATC All Metro Team 1600m
Multiple region and county wins
Where did you compete in college and tell us how you did there.
Furman University (2013-2018)
Collegiate PBs 4:17 (1500)/ 9:06 (3k)/ 15:35 (5k)
Current PBs are 4:12, 8:59, and 15:22
6 Time First Team All-American
2015 7th NCAA XC
2017 4th 5k NCAA Indoor
2017 7th 3k NCAA Indoor
2017 6th 5k NCAA Outdoor
2017 9th NCAA XC
2018 2nd 5k NCAA Outdoor
All-American
2016 Second Team
4th 5k NCAA Outdoor
Jim Buchalski Charitable Award: First recipient of this award created in honor of my late father for our contribution to Furman University's professional running team 'Furman Elite'
Ran on senior Team USA in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2017 where I helped Team USA to a first place overall finish by placing 10th overall and 3rd for our team at the Bupa Great -Edinburgh International Challenge. I qualified by placing 4th at the USA Club XC Championships.
Ran on junior Team USA at the same race in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2014.
Member of Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK)
Furman Edna Hartness 2018-19 Female Athlete of the Year
Furman Student-Athlete Achievement Award 2017-2018
Tell us about your journey from post graduation to where you are now in life.
I received the NCAA post-graduate scholarship in 2018 that went towards my MBA that I'm working on online from Clemson University. It's a hybrid program which means we WebEx into the live feed (though now everyone is online because of COVID-19). After I graduated and completed my last race as a collegiate athlete, I signed a professional running contract with Brooks Running to be a member of the Brooks Beasts TC coached by Danny Mackey. I packed up and moved out to Seattle, where the Brooks HQ is, to train with my new team. I guess it's fair to stay that I'm still a student-athlete. I limit my class schedule to 1-2 classes a semester so I spend most of my time on the athlete side while still being able to perform on the academic side.
How has COVID-19 affected your daily life?
Our team no longer meets for practices and only teammates who live together can run together. Since I don't live with teammates, all my running has been done solo. I've become accustomed to calling friends and old college teammates on easy runs and pulling up Spotify playlists to keep me going on workout days or long runs. I'm also only outside for exercising or picking up groceries. I have an indoor bike that I'll typically use if I need to double on the day and have also switched to using med ball and body weight exercises instead of our typical weight room routine. It's difficult not seeing my regular people and so I've recently been trying to make a point of smiling or waving (at a distance!) at fellow runners that I see out on the streets. It's a small gesture but helps me to feel connected to my local community still.
Anyone you'd like to thank along the way?
If it weren't for the guidance of my cross country and track coaches along the way, I definitely would not be where I am today. Mauricio Buzeta and Danny Brock from my middle school and high school days helped create a foundation and love for running that I brought with me to Furman where Rita and Robert Gary along with Chris Neal helped to develop me into an athlete that could compete at the national level and put me in a position where I could pursue this as a career. My current coach Danny Mackey for fine tuning and providing an environment where my teammates and I have the best shot to realize our Olympic dream (even if it is postponed) and then of course my mom who is actually stuck out in Seattle with me right now and is my biggest supporter and my late-father who first introduced me to running.
