Kennedy High School senior Slader Buckheister signed with the University of Iowa for track and field to be a part of their distance squad on Nov. 19, 2025. Buckheister is a four-year varsity cross country runner and track and field athlete at Kennedy.
As a high school athlete, Buckheister is a two-time elite all-stater, placing fourth at State his junior year and seventh his senior year. He holds two school records at Kennedy, for the 1600m and 3200m. Buckheister also holds the record for second fastest time run at Kennedy for cross country. On top of that, he was the all-metro athlete of the year for cross country his Junior and senior year.
“I wanted to keep doing cross country after high school because I feel like I’m nowhere near my ceiling yet,” Buckheister said. “I’ve put so much time into the sport, and I still love the process, so it didn’t feel right to stop.”
Buckheister had been in conversation with other universities and Ivy Leagues who showed interest in his talents such as Dartmouth, Brown, Drake, Creighton, NYU, Johns Hopkins and WashU. However, Buckheister accepted the offer from Iowa when they showed interest.
“Deciding where to go was a huge decision for me, but I kind of always knew Iowa was where I wanted to be,” Buckheister said. “I’ve had my eye on their program for a long time and I’ve been a Hawkeye fan my whole life.”
Besides his athletic accomplishments, Buckheister also has the highest GPA of his senior class and will be deemed Class of 2026 Valedictorian. He’s taken 16 Advanced Placement (AP) courses and got a 5, which is the highest score you can get on an AP exam, on all courses but two. Buckheister also is an AP Scholar with Distinction, three-time all-state attorney and co-president in mock trial and he was recognized for Academic All-Conference and Academic All-State.
“One thing that sticks out to me about Slader is that he excels both in the classroom and on the track/course,” Head Cross Country coach Jacob Green said. “No matter what he is doing, he takes a hands-on approach to make sure that he is understanding with all that is going on.”
For Buckheister, finding the balance between schoolwork and athletics is a priority. Whether he’s on the track or doing homework, Buckheister has proved being an academic athlete is possible.
“I’ve always had a bit of a knack for keeping up with schoolwork, so balancing classes with sports wasn’t impossible,” Buckheister said. “It still took time management and focus, but it wasn’t as overwhelming as people might expect.”
As Buckheister finishes his senior year at Kennedy, he prepares to start a new chapter in his academic and athletic career. Buckheister is applying to major in Biomedical Sciences at Iowa on a Pre-Med track, in hopes to attend medical school in the future.
“The success that he has in the classroom and in competition is going to serve him well as he goes to the University of Iowa this upcoming school year,” Green said. “My goal or hope for him once he gets to college is to continue to enjoy running and improve every year as he finds a new home in Iowa City.”
Buckheister’s achievements in and out of the classroom at Kennedy have given him many opportunities to improve and prepare him for attending the University of Iowa. From being a Cougar to becoming a Hawkeye, Buckheister has shown Kennedy students are more than capable of achieving their goals and going on to do impactful things.
“I feel like I would be cheating anyone if I told them there’s a piece of advice that would instantly help them,” Buckheister said. “Balancing school and sports is different for everyone, and the only way to figure it out is trial and error. If you stay consistent with training and academics it’s harder to get overwhelmed by a little bump in the road.”
