SweetwaterNOW congratulates the Class of 2019 Rock Springs High School Hall of Fame inductees. We will feature each inductee throughout the week leading up the banquet on Saturday, September 7. Profile features are made possible by Tanner Family Dentistry.

Kim Buston – Athlete

Kimberly Kay Buston (Kim) is a native of Rock Springs, Wyoming and a 1986 graduate of Rock Springs High School. Kim’s passion for sports is evident as she lettered eleven times during her high school years.

Basketball

Kim lettered three times for basketball, four times for swimming and four times for track, earning her the top female athlete her senior year. Kim excelled in all three sports but her greatest love was basketball where she averaged 16.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game.

While playing basketball for Rock Springs, High School, Kim made All Conference for three consecutive years in 1983-1984, 1984-1985 and 1985-1986. She also made All State two years in a row in 1984-1985 and 1985-1986.She was picked for the USA Today All-American Team in 1986.

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Kim was recognized with an Honorable Mention as a Southwest District Administrative Association Outstanding Student Athlete in 1986, and was an All-Star South Basketball Team participant and a South All-Star MVP.

Kim’s accomplishments in swimming are no less impressive. She lettered all four years of her High School career. She was a member of the Conference Championship team in 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985.

Swimming

Kim received the NISCA State Top Ten Award in 1983-1984 for the 100-Yard Breaststroke and the 1983-1984 NISCA Top Ten Award for the 200 IM. In 1984-1985 Kim achieved All State for the 100-Yard Breaststroke and All State for the 200 IM.

In 1985-1986, Kim was honored with the NISCA State Top 10 Award for the 100-Yard Fly, the 100-Yard Breaststroke and the 200 IM. It was also in 1985-1986 when Kim achieved All-State in the 100-Yard Breaststroke and All-State for the 200 IM.

In 1985-1986 Kim set the Rock Spring High School and the Conference record for both the 100 Yard Breaststroke and the 200 IM. Kim held the Rock Springs High School 200 IM school record for 33 years from 1985 until 2018. To this day, Kim holds 2nd place in the Rock Springs High School All-Time Top Ten for the 200 IM with a time of 2:17.85.

She holds 3rd place in the Rock Springs High School All-Time Top Ten for the 100-Yard Breaststroke and she holds 6th place in the Rock Springs High School Top Ten for the 100-Yard Butterfly.

Track

Kim lettered in track all four years of her high school career as well. Her events mostly consisted of shot put and high jump. At the regional track meet, Kim was one of 12 girls to qualify for state.

At regionals, she placed 3rd with a throw of 33 feet, nine and one half inch. Kim also placed 7th in the high jump with a 4-foot, 8-inch jump. Kim’s best shot put throw of her track career was 35 feet, 7 inches. That throw gave her the opportunity to participate in the 1985 Meet of Champions. The Meet of Champions was held in Worland, Wyoming that year, but Kim unfortunately had to decline due to other obligations.

College Days

Upon her graduation from Rock Springs High School, Kim was recruited by a number of college basketball programs. Being the devout Wyoming fan that she is, there was never any doubt where she wanted to study.

Kim received a full athletic scholarship to play basketball at the University of Wyoming. Kim received her Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Wyoming in Physical Education K-12 and Health Education K-6, and later a Master’s in Art of Teaching Education at Grand Canyon University.

During Kim’s basketball career at Wyoming she ranked 3rd in total points, scoring 905. She ranked 10th in assists with a total of 178. But she didn’t stop there, she ranked 11th in rebounds, with 471 while also ranking 11th in steals with 98. She played a total of 113 games, ranking 6th place in total games played for 4 years.

University of Wyoming Honors/Awards

• 1986 -1990 Voted best Defensive Player by Teammates and Coaches
• 1986 – 1987 10.9 average points and 5.3 Rebounds per game
• 1987 – 1988 7.1 average points and 4.3 Rebounds per game
• 1988 – 1989 5.5 average points and 3.2 Rebounds per game
• 1989 – 1990 9.0 average points and 4.2 Rebounds per game
• 1989 – 1990 Multi-Purpose Gym record 5 three-point field goals against Colorado State University.
• 1989 – 1990 High Country Athletic Conference Champions with a 9-1 Record
• 1989 – 1990 National Women’s Invitational Tournament (NWIT) Bid 24-5 overall record
• 1989 – 1990 Team Captain
• 1989 – 1990 High Country Athletic Conference Honorable Mention All-Conference
• 1989 – 1990 High Country Athletic Conference All-Tournament Team

Coaching

In 1991, Kim became the University of Wyoming women’s basketball grad assistant while she finished up her bachelor’s degree. From 1992-1996, Kim was an assistant coach for the Rock Springs High School Girls Basketball Team. In 1997, she was hired as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Western Wyoming Community College where she served until 2000.

Career

After graduating from the University of Wyoming, Kim returned home to Rock Springs and began her career as a Physical Education and Health Teacher where her passion for sports continued.

She currently teaches the students at Eastside Elementary School, spending the majority of her time in the classroom preparing students to be lifelong learners. Kim has devoted her life to helping her students and inspiring them to be their best.

She supports numerous charitable organizations which encourages the young generation to achieve their goals. Kim is especially motivated in helping those students having trouble in the classroom. She is always encouraging her students to succeed and she promotes hard work.

Kim tirelessly works with her students to help them develop athletic abilities as well as daily living skills. “Ms. Buston”, as Kim is known to her students, is well liked at Eastside and is a valuable asset to the school and the district.