On Saturday, New Franklin senior Mallori Burnett returned to the cross country course at Linn High School for the first time since her freshman season.

Burnett’s first trip to the Linn Athletic Complex was memorable, but not in a good way.

She passed out during the race due to a heart murmur that can cause her to lose consciousness when she pushes too hard. With experience, Burnett has learned to sense when she is reaching that point and she’s managed to train and compete successfully during her senior season.

On Burnett’s second trip to Linn High, she reached the finish line.

She also qualified for the Class 1 state championship race with a 12^th place finish of 25:27.

“There were a lot of hills, but after the first lap I knew what to expect so I went at the second lap a little harder,” Burnett explained.

Saturday, November 7 will be Burnett’s second trip to the state cross country meet. Burnett finished 91^st at state during her freshman season with a time of 24.33

“It’s pretty cool, because my last race is going to be at state,” she said.

New Franklin coach Adam Quest has witnessed all of the challenges that Burnett has faced, and the work she put in to continue running.

“It was a great moment to see her cross that finish line and know that all of the struggles she has had over the years paid off once again,” he said. “There were times that I wasn't sure she would be able to compete this long, so to see her not only get to compete, but to succeed really was special.”

Only three runners came out for cross country this season at New Franklin, two of them are seniors: Burnett and Logan Pierce.

“For them, the district meet at Linn could have been their final race wearing the New Franklin uniform,” Quest said.

“Going back to middle school, both had competed for six straight years, and to see it come to and end would have been bittersweet. Luckily, Mallori came to the meet determined to qualify for state and earn the right to compete one more time. Mallori ran a very strong race from start to finish.

"Unfortunately, her classmate Logan Pierce raced his final race at Linn. I would like to thank him for all of his hard work over the years.”

Pierce finished 35^th with a time of 29:16 and junior Douglass Creason led the Bulldog boys with a 23^rd place finish of 22:33.