Adam Burkett can add another state medal to his growing collection.
The California junior, who was competing at the cross country state finals for the third time, placed 19th in the Class 2 boys race Saturday at Oak Hills Golf Center in Jefferson City. The top 25 individuals earn All-State honors.
"I have a little book. My mom made me a book," Burkett said after receiving his third All-State medal. "I keep them in there with pictures from the race."
Despite making yet another appearance at the awards ceremony, Burkett couldn't hide his disappointment. He was hoping for a higher finish after placing fourth as a freshman and 12th last year. He finished Saturday's 5 kilometer race in 17 minutes, 25.46 seconds, which was his season-best time.
"I can't wait for next season," he said. "I put in more effort than ever and this was my worst (state finish). I think it was my mindset. I should have been more focused."
Burkett said he didn't have a good start in Saturday's race.
"I totally feel like I went out too hard. That's where it hit, after the second mile," he explained. "I went 5-flat in the first mile, then about 5:20s, then it just plummeted. I started way too fast."
Pintos cross country head coach Kenny Goans also noticed that Burkett was hindered by his starting position.
"If you don't start in the top 20, you're already fighting," Goans said. "The first time I saw him (after a half-mile), he was already at No. 48 in the running order. He had to fight all the way just to make All-State. Everyone is trying to fight for position. You have slow runners in front of you, and fast ones behind trying to push your heels."
Goans was happy to see his star runner improve in each of his last several meets.
"He's been running the best I've seen," Goans said. "Every week, for the last five or six weeks, he gets better and better and better. We had success, but maybe if we had two more weeks, we would have done even better at state.
"It's always fun to watch kids get a medal. Inside, he'll still be happy he made All-State. He knows he ran his best, so he doesn't have to say, "I wish I would have run a little harder.' He knows he ran his best."
Burkett wouldn't give up his state medal for anything, but would have been even happier to trade it in for a higher-placing one.
"It's one of the best feelings ever. It's amazing," he said. "I just wish I could do a lot better sometimes."
Goans is confident he will see improvement from Burkett next season.
"I think he'll expect himself to be consistently below 17 (minutes)," Goans said. "That should be his goal next year, to be around 17 throughout the season and maybe start a little quicker. He peaked at a good time, but maybe at the beginning he started out a little slow."