JACKSON BURNEY COMES THROUGH THE LINE WITH JADYDEN WILLIAMS CLOSE BEHIND
PHOTO ALBUM: Over 1,300 pictures from Saturday's C.E. Byrd Fall XC Invitational!
Good things come to those who wait.
Just ask Calvary's Jackson Burney, who opened his season on Saturday with a win at the Sportsworld C.E. Byrd Fall XC Invitational. Burney's time was 16:16.57, just a few hundreths of of seconds faster than Airline's Jayden Williams, who had his second consecutive runner-up finish after finishing in the same spot at the Ruston High Invitational.
"We went out pretty good in the first mile," Burney said. "I think it was 5:03. Then we definitely shut it down a little bit. We were in the 5:20s (pace) for the rest of the race. It was a good race though."
Burney's thoughts on his time?
"I was maybe hoping to get something a little better than that," Burney said. "But, I'm still happy with that time."
Burney is coming off a recruiting visit to LSU.
"It was really cool," Burney said of his official visit to LSU. "It opened my eyes to what college is going to be like for track wise."
Anyone who was at the 2023 LHSAA State Cross Country Championships will remember Burney's battle with Lafayette Christian Academy's Talan Sievers, who edged Burney out on the track at the Walter Ledet Track and Field Complex in Natchitoches, LA.
MileSplit LA asked Burney what he remembered about that epic state championship race.
"I just remember it being really difficult," Burney said. "I gave it all I had in the end."
But that was then, and this is now. Burney
"I want to go sub 15:00 and do the best that I can at the state meet."
For Williams, it was the second consecutive impressive runner-up performance for the junior, who is ranked No. 10 in Louisiana for the Class of 2026.
"What was going on my mind is just to stay with him (Burney)," Williams said. "He was a player. He was a dawg, just like me, so I knew that we could push each other."
While they were wearing different color singlets on Saturday, both athletes were very familiar with one another as they are coming off a summer where they trained and competed together with the River Cities Track Club.
Williams led his Vikings to the team title. Scoring runners included Austin Bonney (No. 12; 18:06), Brady Parks (No. 13; 18:14), Gabe Laval (No. 18; 18:44), and Jordan Williams (No. 22; 18:52).
Williams spoke about what the win means to an Airline team which is motivated by their injured head coach.
"It means a lot," Williams said. "Knowing our head coach isn't here due to some injuries, we are all motivated. We want to run for her and do good things. Also, just knowing that Airline is the underdog here when it comes to cross country and long distance. So, really, we just want to put that name on the map, as well. Winning this meet, we will get a little love and people will know that Airline is coming."
Airline head coach Angel Turnbow is recovering from an injury she sustained while on a bicycle training for a triathlon. Williams said she continues to communicate with the team through text--sending workouts and encouraging messages.