NEW WILMINGTON — Abbey Basta burst out of the blocks, cleared each hurdle with ease and crossed the finish line.

She had done it hundreds of times in her track career at Slippery Rock High and now at Westminster College.

But this time was different.

Basta gasped for air. Her legs felt like they were about to give out. Her time was unusually slow.

Something was wrong.

"I remembered thinking, 'I shouldn't be this tired,'" Basta said. "I knew something wasn't right when I tried to run fast, but couldn't."

That was the extent of her indoor season last year as a junior at Westminster.

At first, Basta chalked up her malaise to the extraction of two wisdom teeth earlier in the winter.

Further tests revealed she had mononucleosis.

The illness rendered her completely inactive for several torturous weeks.

"I didn't really appreciate running until I couldn't do it anymore," Basta said.

Basta returned to the track late in the outdoor season and was good enough to help Westminster capture the Presidents' Athletic Conference championship.

But, in many ways, Basta viewed it as a lost season.

"It was nice to run in the last meet," Basta said. "But I'm a very competitive person. I was happy the team won, but I wanted to win for myself. I was a little disappointed I didn't do well individually."

That experience has given Basta a whole new resolve this year as a senior.

Back at full strength, Basta is assaulting the Westminster record books again.

She set the school's indoor record in the 55-meter hurdles last month with a time of 8.93 seconds.

Basta now has five Westminster track records: three indoor and two outdoor.

She's still not satisfied.

"I definitely didn't want my last impression of track to be I had mono and did OK," Basta said. "I have a lot of big goals this season. I want personal bests in all my events. I want our team to win the conference championship again and I want to go to nationals."

Basta got a taste of the NCAA Division III meet as sophomore, advancing in the 400-meter relay. She was a PAC champion in that event and in the 100-meter hurdles.

After last season's detour, Basta isn't leaving anything to fate.

She worked hard in the offseason and spent the indoor season trimming her times to prepare for the spring.

Basta will get an early test Saturday when she and her Westminster teammates compete in the Coastal Carolina meet.

Some of the best Division III track and field athletes will be there.

And Basta can't wait.

"It's a big meet," Basta said. "There is a lot of competition. I'm anxious to see where I am."

Basta said she never envisioned the success she has had on the track.

Even at Slippery Rock, she surprised herself with her speed and hurdling ability.

"I was a basketball player," Basta said. "I did track just as something to do. Even when I went to college, I thought I'd do it as something to do to stay in shape. I never thought I would end up specializing in the sport."

As a senior at Slippery Rock, Basta placed eighth in the 100 hurdles at the PIAA Track and Field Championships.

In her first meet at Westminster, she broke the school indoor record in the 60-meter hurdles. That record still stands.

Basta would like to end her career the way she started it: on top.

"What happened last year made me even more focused," Basta said. "I'm never satisfied. That's the competitor in me. I want to be the best."

Slippery Rock High graduate Abbey Basta holds five school track records at Westminster College:Indoor<B>Event Time</B>55-meter hurdles 8.9360-meter hurdles 9.921,600-meter relay 4:13.75Outdoor<B>Event Time</B>100-meter hurdles 15.12400-meter relay 48.26