2024-2025: Cross Country – ran in the first two XC meets of the season. Did not compete in the WAC
Championships or the South Central Region XC Championship.

2023-2024: Cross Country – ran in all 6 XC meets for ACU. A highlight was finishing 79 th  (1 st  ACU finisher)
at the prestigious Chile Pepper XC Festival in Fayetteville with a 5K PR time of 18:40. A illness led to a
77 th  place at the WAC championship and 2 weeks later impacted a 142 nd  place at the South Central
Region meet. Indoors – placed 5 th in the Charlie Thomas Invitational 5K in College Station in her only
indoor meet of the year. Did not compete in the conference championship. Outdoors – ran in 4 meets,
highlighted by 3 rd place finish in the Corky/Crofoot Invitational steeple run at Texas Tech.

2022-2023: Cross Country – medical redshirt. Indoors – competed in 4 meets for ACU indoors,
highlighted by a 7 th  place finish in the TTU Red Raider Open 3K and a 12 th  place finish in the Pittsburg
State Inv 3K. Ended the indoor season by placing 22 nd  in the WAC Indoor Championship 3K. Outdoors
– took a medical redshirt for the season after sustaining an injury in the Wes Kittley Invitational, the first
meet of the season.

2021-2022: Cross Country – placed 21 st  in the WAC championship race – 6 th  best among freshmen. Also
placed 4 th  in the Naimadu Classic XC race at the ACU XC course.  Indoors – in her first collegiate
conference track meet, she finished 7 th  in the 5K and 9 th  in the 3K at the WAC Championship. She also
finished 5 th  in the Red Raider Open 3K earlier in the season and 8 th  in the Pittsburg State Inv 3K with a PR
time of 10:14.79. Outdoors – finished 7 th  in the steeplechase (PR time of 10:35.41) and 18 th  in the 5K (PR
time of 17:23.98) at the WAC championship. Also finished 10 th  in the Texas Relays steeplechase and won
the Oliver Jackson Twilight steeplechase at Elmer Gray Stadium.

Before ACU: Tessa did not compete in HS track until her senior year, concentrating instead on soccer.
However, during her HS senior season, she showed great potential quickly – finishing 3 rd  in the NM 5A XC
(leading Rio Rancho HS to the state 5A championship), then in the spring she finished 2 nd  in both the NM
5A 1600 and 3200.

Personal: Tessa was a 2021 graduate of Rio Rancho HS in New Mexico, where she was also a National
Honors Scholar and on the Honor Roll, finishing in the Top-25 graduates. Her parents are Clay and
Shawna Holderman, and she has 3 brothers, J. Cole, Jack and Macen. She is a Kinesiology/Pre-Physical
Therapy major at ACU and a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship, Women of ACU Scholarship, and a
Royce L. Money Scholarship, as well as a student in the Honors College. She has been Dean’s List each
semester at ACU. Tessa is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and has also
been active in the not-for-profit, Simple Charity, at ACU, as well as volunteering at the Highland Church
of Christ.

Why did you choose ACU? I love the people here! The team energy is so special and everyone is so kind.
What is your favorite thing about ACU? The community and relationships I have with my professors and
peers.