Anchorage Daily News

Back when Bailey Stevenson set the Talkeetna Elementary two-mile record, she ran because she loved it.

Now a lanky, 14-year-old freshman, and already a major force on Su Valley High's cross-country team, Stevenson runs because she feels the eyes on her.

Little brothers O'Riley, 10, and Kallen, 7, are watching from the sidelines. And Stevenson certainly doesn't take her big-sis role lightly.

"I know they're watching me," Stevenson said. "And O'Riley especially wants to be like me."

Mom agrees.

"The little guys want to be just like the big guys," Stephanie Stevenson said.

And even though she has an older brother, Michael, who is also a Su Valley runner, "Bailey runs the roost," Stephanie Stevenson said. "It's like we have two first-borns."

Stevenson began planning her high school cross-country career the day she left junior high.

On the first day of summer, she knocked on the door of her soon-to-be coaches, husband-and-wife team Jane and Larry Buskirk.

"We sat down at the computer and came up with a training plan for the whole summer," Jane Buskirk said. "And that says something about her commitment. She's a special girl."

With O'Riley and Kallen in mind, Stevenson followed the plan. She even squeezed in a race in Minnesota, toting along an excited O'Riley, during a family vacation.

The training apparently paid off, because soon after the season began Stevenson was training with the Su Valley boys.

"She was just at a higher level," Jane Buskirk said.

O'Riley and Kallen have watched their sister lead the Su Valley girls team in every competition this season. Besides her top finishes, the adoring brothers witness Stevenson's gracious post-race demeanor.

"I sort of have a tradition of congratulating the girl who (crosses the finish line) with me," said a bubbly Stevenson, who distributes a generous amount of hugs to her competitors.

And even though she's repeatedly topped by her rival, Colony freshman Alyssa Hutchins, Stevenson doesn't get sour. Not even when the race is close, like it was Wednesday when she trailed Hutchins by five seconds to finish second at the Mat-Su Borough Championships.

Stevenson was also the runner-up Saturday at the Su Valley Invitational, this time behind Kenny Lake's Kailey Wilson.

If Stevenson has ambitions to claim victories at either the regional or state championships, she isn't saying. For now, she's more focused on being fast than being first.

For the state meet her goal is simple: "Just keep my time low."

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