Katherine Rusch ’15 Races to International Success with U.S. National Cycling Team

When Katherine Rusch ’15 graduated from Kent School, she never imagined she would one day be racing for the U.S. National Cycling Team. A four-year member of Kent’s Girls Varsity Soccer team, Rusch didn’t discover competitive cycling until college. Today, she competes against some of the world's top cyclists while balancing a full-time career as an aerospace engineer—a journey shaped by the curiosity, discipline, and balance she first developed at Kent.

Rusch first tried cycling as a freshman at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute after joining the school’s club team with an old mountain bike borrowed from her brother. What began as a way to meet people and stay active quickly became a passion. During the pandemic, while working remotely, she devoted more time to training and quickly found success in regional races. Her results led to an invitation to join the elite women’s cycling team CCB Kenetik p/b Levine Law Group in 2022.

This past spring, Rusch reached another milestone when she was selected to race with the U.S. National Team in Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Czech Republic. During the three-week trip, she captured a victory in Belgium after narrowly missing a win in the previous race, where she led for much of the day before being edged out in the final 200 meters to finish second.

“I think just getting the confidence over the other two days of racing and being able to stay near the front of the pack really helped [win the final race],” Rusch said. “By the third race, I knew I had to make my move [at the end]... if it came down to a sprint, I wasn't going to win, so I sprinted on the [final] downhill and got a gap on the field. Then it was just, 'Hold on till the end.'”

Although cycling wasn't part of her time at Kent, Rusch credits the lessons she learned at the School with preparing her for the demands of her life today. As a student-athlete, she learned how to balance competing priorities, a lesson that has carried into her life as she manages the demands of both an engineering career and elite-level competition.

"Kent really placed a big emphasis on balancing sports and academics," she said. "Now I'm balancing a full-time [engineering] career with training and racing, and it feels very similar. Learning those time management skills at Kent made that transition much easier."

Rusch also credits Kent with encouraging her to embrace new opportunities. While at the School, she stepped outside her usual athletic routine to try tennis in the spring, her first experience taking up a sport simply for enjoyment and curiosity rather than competition. The experience reinforced the value of trying something new and being open to unexpected possibilities.

“If you’re interested in trying a new sport or a new class, just go for it,” she said. “You never know where it might lead. It could end up changing your life.”

Rusch will continue her season this summer and fall with races across Europe and North America.