1600 meters. For senior Cade Burks, this number has resonated in his mind since his freshman year when he first began running track at Perry High School. 1600 meters would later become the distance that stood between him, and a Division 1 championship.  

Along with the mile in which Burks took first overall, he also ran the 800, the 4×8, the 400, the 4×4, and the two mile throughout his season. The first invitational of the season, The Aztec Invite sealed the deal for the cross country runner when he qualified for the state meet. “I actually had a pretty good season, especially compared to last season,” Burks said. He also qualified for the two mile at Aztec and later on qualified for the 800 during the Chandler Rotary meet.

Going into the final mile of his high school career, Burks could be described in one word: Confident. “It felt expected,” the senior explained. “I went into the state meet number one in Arizona in 800 and the mile.” He has made an appearance at every state meet since his freshman year, always managing to turn heads.

Burks went in with a conservative mindset, deciding to set a steady pace. “Basically any move that was made, if someone tried to push the pace up front,  or take a new lead or something I’d just move with it.”

However, the race began with a surprisingly slow start.  “Instead when I got into the race…no one wanted to lead so I ended up in front, like right at the break.” the senior recalled.

The first two laps, Burks decided to shut down the pace completely, running a slow 800. The final two laps, Burks described as “basically a sprint.”

However on the last 400, DJ Harris from Desert Vista made a move towards the front. For 300 of the 400 meters the two battled, at some points with Burks trailing by 15 meters. The last 100 was where Burks dug deep, and sprinted out in front, leaving the Desert Vista runner who had previously beat Burks in cross country, behind him. Burks took first in Division 1 with a time of 4:25.02.

Being up on the podium felt familiar to the athlete. “It was just like, finally…I don’t have to worry about this any more.” Burks said. “I should have done this a long time ago.”

Burks will be graduating in the class of 2016 and will attend Northern Arizona University where he will be running cross country.