Red Bud High School long distance runner Brittney Burmester lit up the cross country scene this fall and continued to keep the fire burning during this spring’s track season. Burmester capped off her stellar senior season last Saturday in the Class 1A IHSA state track meet, taking first place in the 3,200-meter run. Burmester ran a 11:05.39 at Eastern Illinois University’s O’Brien Stadium, she also took third in the 1,600-meter run.

According to North County News: Despite the media hype on St. Teresa’s Ivy Handley, Burmester was content to follow on Handley’s shoulder through six of the race’s eight laps. By that time, the two had established a comfortable margin over the cluster of runners fighting for third place.

With 600 meters to go, the Musketeer ace shifted into a higher gear that Handley could not match, and Burmester cruised in with an excellent 11:05.39, bettering her own RBHS record in the process.

“I figured Ivy would go out strong and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to catch her in the end if I let her get too much of a lead, so I wanted to be able to stay right on her so I knew I had a chance. I initially wanted to take the lead a little sooner than what I did, but it still turned out nicely,” stated Burmester.

“When I crossed the finish line I felt like I had accomplished exactly what I set out to do,” she said.

“I wanted that win so badly and I just couldn’t believe I got it.”