After years of hard work and dedication, senior cross country and track athlete Colvin Bussey has committed to run at the D1 collegiate level at the University of Alabama, fulfilling a longtime goal.
“I started getting serious about running in the seventh grade,” Bussey said. “I’ve pretty much been wanting to run in college since then. After sophomore year is when I realized that I had a pretty good chance to go to a good school for it, so I started working towards that.”
At the end of the 2024 season, the Crimson Tide men’s track team was ranked as the #2 NCAA Division 1 program. This ranking, combined with other factors, made committing to Alabama an easy choice for Bussey.
“I think it all around has a lot of benefits,” Bussey said. “It’s very cost-efficient because it’s my in-state school. I like the coaches a lot and I’m really connected with them. The team is great, they do really well at the national races. And then socially it’s also good because people from my high school are going to be there, so it’ll be a nice balance.”
While committing to college reduces some of the pressure for the upcoming indoor and outdoor track seasons, Bussey still has high expectations of his performance for the rest of the year. His primary events are the 800-meter run and 400-meter dash, and he is hoping to improve both of those times before heading to Tuscaloosa.
“There’s definitely a lot of pressure off,” Bussey said. “I know I’m going there, so I’ll just have to solidify that by running my best and proving that I’ll be a good fit there. My goal for this season is to do that by finally winning an individual state championship and getting my times down a little bit.”
HHS track coach Logan Cornutt has been helping Bussey meet his goals for the last two seasons. Cornutt says he possesses the factors it takes to be a great athlete in high school and beyond.
“Colvin has incredible dedication and work ethic and an overall desire to be the best runner he can be,” Cornutt said. “I know that will apply to his running in the future and life in general, so I know he will be successful. I wish him the best moving forward.”
Cornutt believes that Colvin’s contribution to the track team goes beyond just the results he contributes at meets. He’s a natural leader who encourages his teammates to be their best to improve the team as a whole.
“With his dedication and effort to be the best he can be, he has in turn pulled up those around him,” Cornutt said. “People want to meet his expectations and high level of performance, which adds a nice dynamic to the team.”
Helping Colvin both on and off the track is his mother Ashley Bussey. Aside from being his mom, she is also the hurdles coach for the HHS track team. While Colvin doesn’t run hurdles, she still gets to be involved in his athletic career in a unique way.
“I do not coach him, and I’m very appreciative that he has great coaches who do it so well,” Ashley said. “But I do get to be on the sideline cheering, and I’m the first one to congratulate him when he comes off that track.”
As Colvin moves forward in his running career, his mom can’t wait to see what the future holds for him.
“I’m just excited right now that he’s getting the opportunity to run for Alabama and wear the crimson uniform,” Ashley said. “I’m so proud that his hard work and dedication have paid off, and I have no idea what the future holds but I’m excited to see him live out his dream.”
