Burlington, Riverside team up to win state crown

It was an incredible day for the Huskies in Cheyenne on Saturday, as they competed in the state cross country meet. “It would be hard to draw up a more perfect day,” said Coach Ryan Olson. “The course was beautiful, the weather was perfect and our kids ran great! The boys achieved their goal of a third consecutive 2A state championship and for the first time in three years, it didn’t come down to a single place.”
The boys finished first, 20 points ahead of Wyoming Indian, with Thermopolis coming in third. The Huskies have previously teamed up with Rocky Mountain and this was the first year they competed under their own name. Three runners from Basin also joined the team this season.
“I’m so proud of these kids. It’s not easy for a small 1A school to go up against towns like Lovell and Thermopolis, with seven or eight times our population. But these boys show they can do it again and again. They’ve been determined all year long to win this trophy and it feels good to see their hard work pay off. They would get some of the toughest workouts given to them throughout the season and they would do it without hesitation or complaining. And in distance racing, that hard work pays off in a good way almost every time. It certainly did on Saturday,” said Olson.
Junior Howard McNiven was the 2A boys winner with a time of 17:40. Sophomore Paul McNiven and freshman Connor Hoyt took second and fourth place, respectively, earning all-state awards. “Those boys pushed each other all season long and made themselves better,” said Olson. The big question, for the Huskies, was who would be their fourth scorer. On Saturday, it was Levi Wardell, who finished 21st overall to seal the win for the Huskies. “It’s fitting that Levi would fill that spot. He worked all summer to improve his time and even some stomach issues the day before couldn’t stop him. Bruce McNiven, James Bassett and James McNiven also ran hard and had races they can be very proud of.”
Senior Jessie Michaels won the girls race by almost a full minute. “I feel that Jessie is one of the best athletes that has ever run in Burlington and her school records show that. But more importantly, she’s a really good girl and our team feeds off her fun energy,” said Olson.
The girls team finished third overall in the 2A division. “That’s fantastic, especially after considering we only had a full girls team for one other meet. Linnie McNiven and Joey Chatwin ran so hard on Saturday, giving us some great points. I’ll miss these three seniors, they gave so much this year and it’s great seeing them end their season with a trophy. Cadence Schlenker
battled through an ankle injury that showed she was the ultimate team player. Without her finish, we wouldn’t have had a qualifying girls team,” said Olson.
“We want to express our appreciation to the schools and communities of Burlington and Basin. From the huge send-off through the hallways on Friday, to the fire engine/police escort through town on Saturday night, it was certainly a weekend to remember. Riverside has been wonderful to work with this year and this championship is theirs as much as ours. Hopefully we can keep this good thing going for many more seasons,” ended Olson.

STATE RESULTS
BOYS — 1, Howard McNiven, 17:40.4; 2, Paul McNiven, 18:01.2; 4, Connor Hoyt, 18:06.9; 21, Levi Wardell, 20:00.5; 27, Bruce McNiven, 20:14.4; 40, James Bassett, 20:47.5; 43, James McNiven, 21:01.9.

GIRLS — 1, Jessie Michaels, 20:49.7, 11, Linnie McNiven, 22:58.7; 17, Joey Chatwin, 24:17.6; 35, Cadence Schlenker, 27:28.3.