On April 9, senior Tea Chatelain had the distinction of becoming the first athlete to ever wear the new Bushnell University logo on the national stage as she qualified for the NAIA Championship.
 
Chatelain continued the longest string off success for any Bushnell program. For eleven straight years, at least one cross country runner from the fabled Beacon women's program has competed at the NAIA's ultimate race.
 
She got there by way of an at-large individual qualification, having earned All-Cascade Collegiate Conference honors with a ninth-place finish at the CCC championship race on March 26.
 
This run was the culmination of an unlikely story that saw the one-time track & field sprinting recruit transform into a premier distance athlete in just three years. A member of the women's 4x800 relay team at the 2019 NAIA track championship, this will be her first trip to the Cross Country national event.
 
Just two seasons prior, in 2018, Chatelain ran a season-best 21:38 at the conference championship and finished in 64th place. In just one year, she had taken nearly three minutes off of her PR, running 18:49 to take 22nd. This season, she ran an 18:00 flat at the conference meet.
 
At the NAIA championship, Chatelain got off to a great start and was in position for a possible top-50 finish, but was encumbered by an injury at the one mile mark. Head Coach Tom Boldon said, "I am so proud of the way Tea stayed in there and battled. She executed the start and first mile perfectly and was in the top 40 before she got a side ache. It was a tough way to end it, but it was still a great season for her."
 
Chatelain finished in 118th place in the 326-runner race and crossed the finish line in 19 minutes, 21.22 seconds. It was a highly competitive race that saw just six runners break the 18-minute mark.

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