From joining Cross Country in 8th grade to placing in the top 45 at state as a sophomore, Abigail Burns ‘26 has seen tremendous growth throughout her XC journey. Burns recounts fun runs as a kid and running throughout middle school after joining XC in 8th grade. Once she got to City, she had to “take it more seriously” for her freshman year.
“I decided to start running because both my parents ran in high school and college and running has always been a part of my life. The team aspect is also super great, it’s nice to have something to do, to keep active and connect with your teammates,” Burns said.
This year, “it was all about the team effort” for the Girls’ Cross Country team. They have been extremely successful despite being led by a young team and carrying injuries during the season. Some achievements include securing an 8th place finish as a team at state in class 4A, the highest they have placed since 2016. The Little Hawks were led by Ani Wedemeyer ’25 who placed 12th overall, earning her first career medal. Nicole Peterson ’25 placed 26th, Burns ended 41st, Nina Peterson ’25 in 61st, and freshman Grace Hamann finished 80th.
“We were super excited and pumped up to race at state. We didn’t see the results we wanted last year and we were looking to change things for the better this year,” Burns said.
Though, before all the success, it didn’t start easy. The team had to navigate through a few injuries and, as it was a young team, a handful of learning curves. The varsity squad comprised of two freshman, two sophomores, and three juniors.
“At the beginning of the season, Nina and Nicole Peterson, both Varsity runners, were getting back to running after some injuries. It was hard without them up to par for the first few meets, but they gradually improved,” Burns said.
Burns kept positive to keep consistency when it got hard throughout the season and she tried her best to help out and push teammates.
“We all had our goals and we were all ready to race for the team and that’s what we ended up doing,” Burns shared.
