Talk about an athlete making the most of her chance. Kristy Windy Buzzi did just that in the final week of her senior season at Augustana.
The year was 1998 and Windy was in the process of wrapping up a tremendous four-year career as a distance standout for head coach Fred Whiteside’s Vikings. She was an integral member of Augustana’s College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin championship team in the spring of 1998 but she was desperately trying to get her 1500 time down to qualify for the NCAA Division III national meet.
In the final regular season meet of the year she was unable to lower her season’s best time of 4:42.74 and she went into the Sunday of selections perched precariously on the edge. She was seriously on the bubble but caught a break when the track & field championships committee decided to have a 1500 field with 31 competitors. Windy squeaked in with the 30th best time.
Once given the chance, however, the Geneseo, Illinois product made the most of it. She finished fifth in her heat with a time of 4:40.19, over two seconds better than her previous best and scraped her way into the final with the 11th best time in a field of 12.
Throughout her career Windy had always been a competitor and in the biggest race of her life she certainly counted on that characteristic. In the final, she was fearless and with a lap to go found herself near the front of a second pack, chasing leaders Jayna Mathieu of St. Olaf and Rachel Milligan of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. She eventually caught Milligan down the stretch and nearly nipped Mathieu at the wire, finishing second with a time of 4:35.01. She broke the previous school record of 4:37.02 by Rachel Knapp by over two seconds and earned her first ever NCAA Division III All-American certificate.
While that was the crowning glory for Windy, it was not surprising because she was a standout throughout most of her career. She was a key figure in some of the most successful women’s cross country and track & field teams in Augustana history. During her eight seasons of competition, she helped the Vikings win a total of seven CCIW titles – three in cross country (1994, 1996 & 1997) and four in track & field (1995, 1996, 1997 & 1998). She was voted the team’s Most Valuable Performer in cross country in 1995 and 1997 and in track & field in 1998.
In cross country she won the Illinois Small College state championship as a sophomore in 1995 and placed seventh in the CCIW in 1995 and 1996 and was third in 1997. She finished ninth in the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional in 1996 and as the senior captain in 1997 Windy helped lead the Vikings to their first ever berth in the NCAA Division III national meet, where they placed 19th. She was a member of school record performances for top five and top seven total times.
She was an eight-time place winner in the CCIW track & field meet during her career with a second place in the 800 in 1995 as a freshman and a second in the 1500 in 1998 as a senior. When she graduated she was a member of school records in the distance medley, 3200 and 1600 medley relay teams.
During her senior season Windy was named to the GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America team and she was the winner of the Jack Swartz Award in the CCIW in 1997 for her combination of athletics and academics.
“I have nothing but good memories of my time at Augie,” she said. “The camaraderie within both the cross country and track teams was amazing and really served as a guiding force for me during my college years. Our coaches were second to none and I continue to be grateful for their guidance and positive example to this day.”
She graduated in 1998 with a degree in elementary education and she earned her Master’s of Education in curriculum and technology from University of Phoenix in 2003. She also earned a certification endorsement as a library media specialist from the University of Virginia in 2013.
Windy and her husband Jeff Buzzi have three children: Kaitlyn, Jena and Henry. She is currently a language arts teacher in Haymarket, Virginia.
