City High Senior Burns Caps Career With First State Meet Medal
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
FORT DODGE – The prep cross country story for Abigail Burns is a masterpiece in persistence and steady progress.
Burns got her storybook ending to her career on Saturday.
A four-time state qualifier, Burns concluded a stellar prep career with her first state medal, placing 15th at the Class 4A state meet on an overcast and cool morning at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge.
“It’s definitely really, really rewarding,” Burns said of her state medal. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about since last year, it means a lot.”
Burns journey to a spot on the Lakeside Golf Course balcony and a state medal began more than four seasons ago and was a spellbinder that featured close calls.
Mostly it was about an unwavering work ethic that helped Burns trim nearly three minutes off her state meet times in her career.
“It’s just the work that she put in and the way that she trained all four years,” City High coach Ryan Ahlers said. “It’s not just one year, she ran here as a freshman and ran 21 minutes and had a big jump her sophomore year but even more jumps now in her junior and senior years.”
Burns finished 100th at the state meet as a freshman in 21:04.58.
Undeterred, she cut nearly two minutes off that time the next season placing 41st as a sophomore in a time of 19:16.7.
“It’s a building process,” Ahlers said. “She came to the state meet and understood how fast it is and then went to work instead of shying away from that.”
Burns put in the work and results began to show.
Last season Burns showed she could compete with the best in the state but her breakthrough junior ended with disappointment.
Burns struggled down the stretch at the state meet and slipped to a 24th place finish.
On Saturday Burns refused to allow another late-race slide.
“I really wanted to get on the podium and I was willing to do whatever it took to do that,” Burns said. “Last year I was running in eighth until about 400 meters left and I hit a wall and dropped down to 24th and I said no matter what happens I cannot let that happen again so I fought until the very end.”
Burns hung with the front pack for more than half of the 5,000-meter race on Saturday.
She finished 15th in a time of 18:13.5 which was nearly 40 seconds faster than her previous best time at the state meet of 18:51.1 from last season.
“Everyone wants to be on that podium one day but back then I was just happy to get to state,” Burns said. “Each year as I got faster and I progressed I realized that it is actually attainable and it’s something I really, really wanted.”
Dallas Center-Grimes junior Piper Messerly claimed her second consecutive 4A title winning in a time of 17:41.9 and was followed by a pair of freshman.
Waukee Northwest freshman Sundet Laney was runner-up in 17:48.5 and Dallas Center-Grimes freshman Tenley Heidgerken was third in 17:51.9.
“Going into the meet today I just reminded myself that I belonged here,” Burns said. “I belong with these top runners and I can do it.”
The top-15 finish from Burns helped City High to a seventh-place team finish.
Waukee Northwest won the team title with 67 points, defending champion Pleasant Valley was runner-up with 103 points and Johnston was third with 113 points.
City High finished with 213 points.
“Abigail competed so hard, she knew what she wanted going into it and that was to secure a spot on the podium and she knew that was going to help lower our team score as much as possible,” Ahlers said.
Junior Grace Hamann finished 20th overall for City High in a time of 18:43.1 and sophomore Eliza Doster was 34th overall in a time of 19:07.9.
Hamann was more than 12 second faster than her state-meet time from last season and Doster improved by more than three seconds.
“The goal is to come here and have your best race of the year and time wise they did,” Ahlers said. “What I love is they wanted to compete more and move up in those spots and if you want to be a podium team that’s what you have to do but you also have to take the really good things we did and celebrate those.”
Junior Naomi Downing-Sherer was 89th in 20.02.7 and junior Madeline Fischer was 95th in 20:11.1.
West High freshman Ava Twait, Adrienne Hodge and Ellie DeWaard all made their state meet debuts on Saturday.
Twait was 84th in 19:59.9, Hodge was 96th in 20:11.8 and Ellie DeWaard was 115th in 20:47.3.
Liberty High junior Chelsea VeDepo finished 56th overall for the second year in a row in a time of 19:38.5 and freshman Aleah Williams was 121st in 20:59.
Class 4A State Meet
At Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge
Team scores – 1. Waukee Northwest 67; 2. Pleasant Valley 103; 3. Johnston 113; 4. Dallas Center-Grimes 114; 5. Ankeny Centennial 136; 6. Cedar Falls 183; 7. City High 213; 8. Waukee 224; 9. Dubuque Senior 247; 10. West Des Moines Dowling 270; 11. Ames 270; 12. West Des Moines Valley 275; 13. Linn-Mar 287; 14. Cedar Rapids Prairie 323; 15. Norwalk 338
Individual medalists – 1. Piper Messerly (Dallas Center-Grimes) 17:41.9; 2. Sundet Laney (Waukee Northwest) 17:48.5; 3. Tenley Heidgerken (Dallas Center-Grimes) 17:51.9; 4. Joley Sullivan (Davenport Central) 17:52.5; 5. Maddie Millage (Pleasant Valley) 17:55.4; 6. Emmy Stubbendeck (Waukee Northwest) 17:59; 7. Emma Chesterman (Dubuque Senior) 18:01.7; 8. Ellie Blevins (Ankeny Centennial) 18:02.6; 9. Alyx Woodley (Johnston) 18:06.9; 10. Charlee Gall (Cedar Falls) 18:08; 11. Nakia Ollivierre (Waterloo West) 18:10.3; 12. Ele Wharton (Johnston) 18:12.4; 13. Makenna Madetzke (Ankeny) 18:12.7; 14. Rebecca Flick (Ankeny Centennial) 18:13.5; 15. Abigail Burns (City High) 18:13.5
City High (213) – 12. Abigail Burns 18:13.5; 16. Grace Hamann 18:43.1; 30. Eliza Doster 19:07.9; 75. Naomi Downing-Sherer 20.02.7; 80. Madeline Fischer 20:11.1; 82. Lucy Sherburne 20:17.5; 86. Calissa Fruin 20:29.3
West High – 84. Ava Twait 19:59.9; 96. Adrienne Hodge 20:11.8; 115. Ellie DeWaard 20:47.3
Liberty High – 56. Chelsea VeDepo 19:38.5; 121. Aleah Williams 20:59
Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating
