Jase Burton Stars for Wyoming Contingent at Nike Cross Regionals Northwest 2024

Star Valley’s Jase Burton ran a sub-15-minute time, finished second, and qualified for the Nike Cross Nationals last Saturday at the Nike Cross Regionals Northwest in Boise, ID. The senior competed in the championship division and finished the race at 14:55.3, which was only two seconds behind the winner. Burton punched his ticket to NXN on December 7, 2024, in Portland, OR.

Burton was third at the 1K time check and then fell to 15th at the 2K checkpoint. He worked his way to tenth at the 3K mark and eighth at the 4K time check before he pushed in the final kilometer for the runner-up finish.

Star Valley competed as a team in the Championship Division as Ohana XC and placed ninth with a score of 267 team points. Habtamu Wetzel placed 19th at 15:24.6. Teammate Colton Cranney followed him at 15:50.9 in 55th place. Brigham Hahn and Matt Heywood placed in the top 200 as part of the team’s score.

Maggie Madsen of Cheyenne East was the top finisher in the Championship girls’ division. She ran the course at 17:41.5 and took seventh place. Madison Antonino, who is from Pinedale and competed for the JHRC Jackpines team from Jackson, was 16th at 18:12.2. The JHRC Jackpines girls team took 16th in the team standings with 351 team points.

Other performances in the Championship Division included Trajn Swalstad of Worland, who finished 38th at 15:43.3, Patrick Hardesty of Thunder Basin was 89th place at 16:07.4, and Cheyenne Central’s Race Morrell placed 112th at 16:15.1 for the boys. For the girls, Kinley Cooley from Powell finished 42nd at 18:43.9, Jolynn Jones of Jackson was 46th at 18:47.2, and Sofia Rose of Cheyenne Central took 57th place at 18:56.6.

The Star Valley girls competed in the Girls’ Open Division as Ohana XC and placed ninth with 398 team points. Carlee Angell ran 20:09.5 and took 87th place. The Cheyenne East boys competed in the Boys’ Open Division as the Thunderbirds and came in 47th. Aden Zwonitzer was the top finisher in 39th at 16:26.4.

Burlington’s Howard McNiven ran in the boys’ Rising Stars Division. He finished in 17th place. McNiven covered the course at 17:21.3.

The cross-country meet was held at Eagle Island State Park.