For Shelby Buwalda, winning a conference championship was meaningful—but not in the way most might expect.

Full Interview 

The Dordt senior captured the 600-meter title and helped the Defenders secure the team championship by the narrowest of margins—just one point—at last week's conference meet. Yet while the individual honor represented years of steady progress, it was the collective achievement that left the strongest impression.

"I don't usually put a lot of emphasis on winning races necessarily," said Buwalda. "I feel like I'm pretty content if I can just run a good race or PR. But the 600-meter title is something I've been working toward the last couple years, so it felt good to finally do that. But the team title was definitely the most exciting part of the day."

That excitement carried an added layer of drama. Dordt's championship came down to the final event—the 4x400 relay—with Buwalda playing a critical role. After winning the 600 meters earlier in the day, she had roughly two and a half hours before returning to the track for the relay that would help decide the team standings.

She knew the situation was close but didn't know the exact margin until just before the race.

"Right before the race, coach told me we needed to get second," Buwalda said. "I was like, all right."

The clarity didn't change her approach.

"I pretty much run my hardest every single time I run that race," she said. "I knew I just needed to do everything that I could do. Ultimately, I can only do what I can do."

That mindset—focused on effort rather than outcome—has become a defining trait over the course of her Dordt career.

Buwalda's path to collegiate track success wasn't built on early specialization. Growing up in Wisconsin, she balanced four sports—volleyball, basketball, soccer and track—often splitting her attention between soccer and track during the same season.

Because of that, track was never her sole focus.

"I really didn't know what to expect out of track when I came to college," she said. "I thought all the workouts were going to be absolutely terrible. But I found that I really love doing the workouts, especially the harder workouts. I look forward to them."

That discovery helped shape her into one of Dordt's most dependable middle-distance runners. She credits the program's structure with helping her develop gradually while maintaining her passion for the sport.

"He really does a good job of easing you in," she said of the coaching staff. "With fall training, it's super easy to slowly get into shape and slowly adjust."

Still, she acknowledges the unique demands of collegiate track, where the rhythm of training and competition continues nearly year-round.

"It's different when you have to do it all year," she said. "It's important to take breaks during the season too."

Track, perhaps more than any other sport, strips competition down to its most individual form. There are no substitutions and no hiding—just the athlete and the race.

"I think one thing I've learned a lot is just the mental piece of track," she said. "Your attitude is half of it. The thoughts you're thinking when you go into the race and during the race have a huge impact on your performance."

That mental strength becomes especially critical in an event like the 600 meters—a race long enough to test endurance, yet short enough to demand speed from start to finish.

To prepare, Buwalda relies on visualization, mentally rehearsing each phase of the race before stepping onto the track.

"I try to plan every part of the race beforehand to make sure that I don't give up," she said. "It's really hard on the 200-meter track, so I visualize it as if it's a 300-meter track."

She assigns mental checkpoints throughout the race, telling herself when to surge, when to hold pace and when to push through fatigue.

"I tell myself exactly what I need to do at every point," she said. "Not giving myself the option to give up."

That approach paid off in her conference championship performance and will be essential again at nationals, where she is scheduled to compete in the 600 meters, 4x800 relay finals and the 4x400 relay.

"I'm super excited," she said. "The 4x400 is my favorite race, and I think we have a really good chance of making finals."

Dordt was never just another college option for Buwalda. Both of her parents attended the university, making it part of her story long before she arrived on campus.

"This was probably the first college I was ever even aware of," she said.

Still, she explored other options before ultimately choosing Dordt—a decision she has never regretted.

"I kind of felt like I'd be missing out on something if I didn't come here," she said. "I knew that if I came here, I would love it."

She quickly found her place, building lasting relationships with teammates and classmates—including her roommate of four years, Ayda Den Herder.

"The track team definitely helped a lot," she said. "They've kind of become my family."

As graduation approaches, Buwalda's time as a student-athlete is nearing its conclusion—but her connection to Dordt track will continue.

She plans to pursue her MBA while serving as a graduate assistant with the track and field program, combining her biology and public health background with an interest in healthcare administration.

"I'm super excited to still be involved with the track team and still be on campus," she said.

It's a fitting next step for someone whose growth has been shaped so deeply by the sport.

"Track has had a huge impact on me," she said. "There's so many lessons you learn—especially mental toughness. Just having the attitude that you can do hard things and push through."