Bartlett grad Schneider finishes college career on a high note

With time running out on her college cross-country career, Bartlett High School alum Alyssa Schneider hit the jackpot.

Schneider running in her fifth and final year of eligibility as part of the University of Illinois women's cross-country team finished 17th in the nation at this past season's NCAA championships in Louisville, Ky.

Schneider's all-American showing capped a productive collegiate career that saw her qualify for the NCAA championships twice in cross-country, while logging three Top 30 Big Ten Conference finishes, including a third-place showing this past season (where she broke the 20-minute barrier). Schneider was a three-time all-Region selection at Illinois.

"It feels great to have done that," Schneider said of her final performance in Louisville. "It has been a goal of mine since I came in as a freshman. To achieve it on my last chance is really awesome. I built off a lot of consistent seasons I had. All that experience over the years helped me. I had high goals for myself."

Schneider, an all-Big Ten Conference first-team selection in 2015, said she tried to employ the same race strategy she's used in the past. "I tried to focus on starting off more conservative," she said. "In the past I was a lot less patient during races. I focused on being patient and more relaxed."

She admitted her strategy had to be altered a bit during the NCAA race. "I raced the way I have all other races before, but it was a little different with such a high level of competition," Schneider said. "I had to start off a little faster. Mentally I was much better and kept building off the momentum I had from earlier in the season."

Being her last race, Schneider, who rebounded from an injury earlier in the season, didn't focus so much on the finality and urgency, but rather just living in a special moment. She ended up logging the best postseason finish for an Illinois women's runner since 2009.

"I really wanted to soak in the experience and not ruin it by being too nervous," she said. "I tried to use the confidence I built earlier in the season to do exactly what I had been doing previously. I was completely satisfied with what I did. I went above what my expectation was. I wanted Top 40 and I didn't know the Top 20 was in my grasp until the race itself. I always dreamed about something like this. I always hoped it would happen. I feel extremely lucky to have been able to achieve a lot of goals I set for myself. A lot of times in college people don't get there because of things outside of sports. I definitely surpassed my initial expectations."

Schneider, a three-time academic all-American selection, is equally excited about her future prospects. She's a mathematics major at Illinois and has plans to teach the subject. Her preference is to teach math at the high-school level. Schneider is slated to student teach at a high school in Champaign during the spring semester and said she would like to get into coaching eventually.

As far as running goes, Schneider, who holds the sixth-fastest 6K time in program history, has no plans to completely shut it down. She's thinking about future road races and various forms of marathons. "I'll take some time to figure all that out," she said.

Looking back to her days running at Bartlett, Schneider is thankful her career was able to advance to the stage it did.

"I'm extremely grateful I had a chance to pursue this and compete at such a high level," she said. "I loved my time in college and have no regrets. I'm grateful I've been able to have so much success in it."

Mike Miazga has been reporting on Fox Valley sports for more than two decades. Email him at mjm890@gmail.com.