Huskies compete well in Lovell and Ethete

With unseasonably high temperatures upwards of 90 degrees this past week, the Burlington Harriers are feeling the heat. 

“I think all of our kids would probably prefer running at 6:00 every morning, rather than face the heat after school,” said Coach Ryan Olson. “[But] everyone still comes with a positive attitude and is ready to run.” 

The Middle School Invitational in Lovell on Thursday was the first meet of the week. 

“Lovell always does a nice job hosting and I think all of our kids really enjoyed the afternoon,” said Olson. “Kellen Winters continues to impress, running two minutes faster than anyone on the two-mile course. He continues to improve each week — choosing to workout with our three all-state high school runners every afternoon is a luxury a lot of middle school runners don’t have.” 

Kelli McNiven took second overall on the girls’ side. Of McNiven, Olson remarked, “She is such a quiet girl, but when that gun goes off, she runs with some real energy. I’m proud of our middle school runners. We modify the high school workouts for them a little bit, but not much. It’s great to see their hard work get results.” 

Friday, the high school traveled to Ethete to compete in the Chief Nation Invitationals. “A lot of our boys have good memories on this course, winning the state team title there in 2021 and 2022. It’s not the fastest course we run, but we like the running surface and the hills. It matches a lot of what we do in Burlington.” 

Three boys placed in the top ten, led by Connor Hoyt at 18 minutes flat. “He just barely got out-kicked at the finish line for 2nd place. Paul McNiven and Howard McNiven followed close behind. The boys’ team took second place overall in a meet with a lot of talented schools. Adelle Olson finished fifth in the JV race on the girls’ side.” 

Both middle and high school Huskies will travel to Riverton for the Berry Bryant/Kyle Johnson Memorial Meet on Thursday. Middle School races begin at 10:00 a.m. and high school races will follow. 

CHIEF NATION INVITATIONAL RESULTS

VARSITY BOYS — 2, Connor Hoyt, 18:00; 4, Howard McNiven, 18;34.66; 6, Paul McNiven, 18:58.43; 23, James McNiven, 20:41.94; 49, Colt Haslam, 24:25.54. 

JV BOYS — 17, Nick Olmstead, 23:47.32; 18, Ben Mendenhall, 23:50.27; 32, Greg McNiven, 25:08.83; 38, Brian O’Barr, 27:35.72; 45, Jackson Olson, 40:02.52. 

JV GIRLS — 5, Adelle Olson, 29:21.02. 

LOVELL MIDDLE SCHOOL INVITATIONAL RESULTS 

BOYS — 1, Kellen Winters, 10:53; 9, Hyrum McNiven, 13:43; 27, Jaxon Buck, 15:28; 44, Spencer Hamilton, 16:26; 44, Ariel Cordova, 16:26. 

GIRLS — 2, Kelli McNiven, 13:21; 26, Natalie McNiven, 16:14; 85, Sydney Jacobson, 23:05.