Jordan Burnett is fast. Any questioning of that fact would disappear faster than any hopes of catching as she blitzes her way to another win in the 100-meter dash. Or the 200. Or the 400.
The sprinter from South Park is looking to do something that she has come close to in her two previous state track meets, but never been able to complete.
Burnett has sprinting titles on her mind. In the 100, she finished seventh as a freshman and fourth as a sophomore. Now in her senior season, she came into the year tired of watching others finish ahead of her. So tired of it that no one has finished ahead of her in any race she has run this year.
What started as just something for her to do in sixth grade has turned into a passion that will proper her to the college ranks and leave a lasting impact at South Park for years to come.
“I joined track in sixth grade as another leisure activity to pass the time here in the mountains,” Burnett said. “It’s pretty secluded so I just joined and ended up loving it.”
Her running career started as a kid when she jumped into trail runs with her mom and grandpa. She didn’t take it too seriously and it was something to do for fun.
When she got into organized running, she fell in love. She began competing in the hurdles races, but quickly involved into just a dead sprinter where she has shined ever since.
“I never ran the long distances,” Burnett said. “In sixth grade, the coach made us do all the events from the 100 to the 1,600. After looking at all of my times, we decided that the short sprints were going to be better for me.”
In that sixth grade year, she found herself hanging with the eighth grade runners which was her first indication that she might be pretty good at this. She qualified for state as a freshman and a sophomore and even got herself on the podium.
This year has been the next step in that evolution.
Burnett went to the CSU-Pueblo Early Bird track meet where she claimed gold in the 100, 200 and 400. She beat runners from Fountain-Fort Carson, Pueblo West and other big track programs.
Her results since then have been similar. She competed at the Max Marr Invitational in Berthoud, the Husky Invite at Battle Mountain, the Tiger Invitational in Del Norte and the Blossom Invitational in Canon City.
She has finished no worse than first place in any of those events.
Throughout her high school athletic career, Burnett has been more than just a really fast runner. She’s a three-sport athlete for the Burros. She totaled 85 kills in 37 sets for the volleyball team this year and before that, averaged 5.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game on the basketball court.
But when she begins classes at Colorado Mesa University next fall, she’ll be going as a sprinter.
“My junior year is when I decided to get more serious about it and make track my primary sport,” Burnett said. “I never thought it would be track that I pursued. It’s so thrilling to think about. I always wanted to pursue sports in college but I never knew which sport it was going to be or where I would end up. To know that I’ll be in Colorado still and running track, which I love, is really exciting.”