An unforgiving late-summer heat wave forced the Central Heights Vikings to shift their practices to early mornings for the first three weeks of the season. Despite having low mileage and minimal time to adjust to race-day temperatures, the Vikings proved their toughness on a challenging course at the Burlington Invitational.
Both the varsity girls and boys squads brought home second-place team finishes, highlighting an impressive opening meet that featured 11 personal records and a haul of individual medals across all levels.
Varsity Girls Grab Silver with Three Top-10 Medalists
The Lady Vikings tallied 30 points to secure second place in the team standings, packing their entire varsity lineup inside the top 25.
Makenzie Moon paced the squad with a bronze-medal effort, finishing third in 21:38.40. Ebony Hughes took sixth place in 22:27.50, and Lily Burkdoll grabbed the final top-10 medal with a 10th-place clocking of 22:47.30. Katelyn Burkdoll crossed in 13th at 24:06.20, followed by Kamden Moon in 16th with a new personal record of 25:25.70. Faith Coons capped off the varsity pack with a 25th-place finish in 30:20.60.
Varsity Boys Put Three in the Top Five to Earn Second
The varsity boys put together an equally dominant showing, finishing just shy of the team championship with 38 points to lock up the runner-up plaque.
Josiah Meyer led the charge, claiming individual silver in 17:14.10. Stetson Miller was right behind in third place at 17:26.80, while Ben Wuertz turned in a career-best time of 17:41.50 to take fifth, giving Central Heights three runners in the top five.
The depth of the Vikings secured the silver finish as Cash Miller (13th, 19:31.60), Knox Cannady (17th, 19:56.40), Mathew Dunbar (21st, 20:29.50), and Timothy Carmack-Roberts (23rd, 20:30.00) packed all seven varsity runners inside the top 23. Many of the varsity runners on both teams matched their league-meet times from a year ago, an encouraging milestone so early in the season.
Junior Varsity and Middle School Runners Add to Medal Count
The younger divisions gave fans a glimpse of the program’s bright future:
- Junior Varsity (2 Miles): Freshmen Sawyer Lickteig (5th, 13:52.50) and Ramsey Moore (7th, 14:28.80) each captured medals and PRs in the boys race, while Cristian Duran added a PR in 14th (15:10.00). On the girls side, Elizabeth Meyer took home a seventh-place medal in 17:46.40, followed by Mackenzie Macy (12th, 19:27.50) and Rilya Lickteig (15th, 20:26.10).
- 8th Grade Girls (2 Miles): Emery Hughes took third place in 16:59.70 to grab hardware, and McKinley Smith medaled in seventh at 18:20.30 in her first career cross country race.
- 7th Grade Boys (1 Mile): Made up largely of sixth graders running up a division, the boys squad finished second overall with 37 points. Brody Burkdoll earned the runner-up medal in 5:42.50, backed by top-20 finishes from Deacon Bures (15th, 6:31.00), Calan Dunbar (16th, 6:34.30), Wyatt Moon (17th, 6:34.70), and Brody Kratzberg (20th, 6:43.70).
- 7th Grade Girls (1 Mile): Kenzli Mason notched a personal record, crossing the finish line in 13th place at 7:35.40.
Up Next
The Vikings will look to carry their momentum into next week when they travel to Lyndon for their second meet of the season.
Burlington Invitational Complete Results
( = Medalist | PR = Personal Record | SB = Season Best)
Varsity Boys (5K) – 2nd Place (38 pts)
- 2nd: Josiah Meyer – 17:14.10 (SB)
- 3rd: Stetson Miller – 17:26.80 (SB)
- 5th: Ben Wuertz – 17:41.50 (PR)
- 13th: Cash Miller – 19:31.60 (SB)
- 17th: Knox Cannady – 19:56.40 (SB)
- 21st: Mathew Dunbar – 20:29.50 (SB)
- 23rd: Timothy Carmack-Roberts – 20:30.00 (SB)
Varsity Girls (5K) – 2nd Place (30 pts)
- 3rd: Makenzie Moon – 21:38.40 (SB)
- 6th: Ebony Hughes – 22:27.50 (SB)
- 10th: Lily Burkdoll – 22:47.30 (SB)
- 13th: Katelyn Burkdoll – 24:06.20 (SB)
- 16th: Kamden Moon – 25:25.70 (PR)
- 25th: Faith Coons – 30:20.60 (SB)
Junior Varsity (2 Miles)
- 5th: Sawyer Lickteig – 13:52.50 (PR)
- 7th: Ramsey Moore – 14:28.80 (PR)
- 14th: Cristian Duran – 15:10.00 (PR)
- 7th: Elizabeth Meyer – 17:46.40 (SB)
- 12th: Mackenzie Macy – 19:27.50 (SB)
- 15th: Rilya Lickteig – 20:26.10 (SB)
8th Grade Girls (2 Miles)
- 3rd: Emery Hughes – 16:59.70 (SB)
- 7th: McKinley Smith – 18:20.30 (PR)
7th Grade (1 Mile) Boys Team – 2nd Place (37 pts)
- 2nd: Brody Burkdoll – 5:42.50 (PR)
- 15th: Deacon Bures – 6:31.00 (PR)
- 16th: Calan Dunbar – 6:34.30 (PR)
- 17th: Wyatt Moon – 6:34.70 (SB)
- 20th: Brody Kratzberg – 6:43.70 (PR) Girls:
- 13th: Kenzli Mason – 7:35.40 (PR)
Photo credit: Troy Prosser
