During a cross country meet, it can be difficult to spot a specific runner.
It’s not unusual for the Saint Martin’s University men’s team to participate at an invitational that features 150-200 competitors. This sizeable headcount makes it extremely tough to pick out an individual among the sea of athletes while the race is going on.
However, if you’re trying to find Colton Buster and Levi Schilter after a race that is significantly easier. All you have to do is focus on the finish line. They will be the two runners who stick around after completing the race themselves, and applaud every single participate who finished behind them.
The two could be exhausted. They could be in pain, and you will still see them congratulating their fellow runners.
Photo courtesy: Saint Martin’s University
It’s something that started while they attended Northwest Christian High School and their post-race routine is one of several similarities between the two runners.
Both transferred to Northwest Christian as sophomores. Both helped the Navigators win multiple cross country state championships before graduating and heading over to SMU for college where they both continued their cross country careers.
Another similarity? Schilter, a senior, and Buster, a junior, are now both playing large leadership roles in helping a young Saints’ team achieve their goals this season.
“With seven new freshman male distance runners on the team this year. It has been really nice to have our upperclassmen like Levi and Colton step up and set an example for the kind of work ethic and dedication it takes to be a collegiate athlete. They have made our younger runners feel welcome to the team. I’m really proud of their leadership,” SMU head cross country coach Jim Brewer said. “They are quiet leaders on our team. The other athletes look up to them because they let their legs do the talking.”
It’s been that way for the duo since high school.
Schilter transferred to Northwest Christian after attending Pope John Paul II High School as a freshman. The following year, Buster became a Navigator after transferring from Centralia High School.
“I met Levi the first day I practiced with Northwest (Christian) and we quickly became good friends,” Buster said. “We had similar PRs, ran the same events in track, and responded well to the same training. So he ended up being my primary training partner during my first year at NCHS.”
It proved to be a successful pairing as during Schilter’s senior year and Buster’s junior as the Navigators captured the state cross country championship.
Schilter was the first to arrive at SMU. Buster showed up the next year.
“We had a tight-knit group at Northwest and I knew I wanted to continue training with at least one of my high school teammates, so having Levi at SMU did influence my decision,” Buster said. “Ultimately it came down to Saint Martin’s offering me better scholarships than the other schools I was looking at, but knowing that I’d get to run with one of my old teammates was definitely an added bonus.”
After finishing third overall at the Puget Sound Invitational on September 1 in Tacoma, the Saints hosted the SMU Ken Garland Classic on September 22.
More than 250 student-athletes competed in the event with Buster placing second on the team at 28:13.74 and Schilter finishing third in 28:52.03 to help SMU place fifth overall on the men’s side.
The following week, the team headed to Willamette University to compete in the 44th Charles Bowles Invitational. Buster paced the Saints, finishing 86th overall with a time of 26:46, while Schilter wasn’t far behind as he crossed the wire in 27:16.
“The season has been going pretty well. We have only raced twice on slow courses so it is somewhat hard to tell where everyone actually is as far as racing,” Schilter said. “It was weird having so many new freshmen at the start, but they are all doing well and meshing with the team well.”
“We have our first true race this Saturday so that will be the real test,” added Buster, “but I’m expecting the team to do pretty well based on how our workouts have been going.”
The Saints will hit the road for their next three meets, beginning with the Warner Pacific CC Classic in Portland, Oregon on October 13.
SMU will close out the regular season schedule in Bellingham on October 20 at the Western Washington Invitational before competing in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships in Monmouth, Oregon on November 3.
“My main goal for this cross country season is to see the team improve on the GNAC performance from last year,” said Schilter, a mechanical engineering major who is a two-time All-Academic GNAC selection. “We had a rough race last year and I want to see the team do better this year.”
The NCAA West Regionals will be on November 17 in Billings, Montana, while the NCAA Nationals is slated for December 1 in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.
“I would love to see Colton and Levi finish in the top 2 or 3 on our team throughout the season as well as break 26 minutes for the 8K and 33 minutes for the 10K,” Brewer said. “I’m really proud of these young men and it’s a pleasure to work with them. I’m excited to see how the season progresses. They are motivated and working very hard.”
