Republic track senior Holly Burks has saved her best performances for her final season in a Tiger uniform. But now she’ll have four more seasons to improve further at the college level. Burks has signed to compete on the track team at Evangel University next season.
Republic coach Tori Mooneyham says Burks’ response to injuries during her career has played a big role in her success.
“Holly’s tough. She’s battled a lot of injuries, but she pushes through them. Never stops, never gives up,” says Mooneyham.
Despite the injuries, Burks has put up good times in her sprint events and in the long jump this season. One of her best nights came a little over a week ago at Ozark, where she took 5th in the long jump, 6th in the 100-meter dash, helped the 4×200 relay team take 4th, and finished 3rd as part of the 4×100 relay team.
Mooneyham says Burks’ dedication before the season began is what’s paying off now with better results.
“This year, she did a lot of work on her own outside of track. She’s running some of her fastest times that she’s ever run, so we’re proud of her for that,” Mooneyham says. “We’re looking forward to seeing what she does here with conference and districts coming up.”
“I did a lot of CrossFit. I went pretty much every day in the summer,” says Burks, who added endurance classes to the training mix during the offseason. She says she’s excited about joining Evangel for several reasons.
“I really like the fact that they’re really God-oriented, and they focus on that a lot,” says Burks. She also likes the size of the Evangel campus. “I like smaller places because I can get to know each and everyone better that way.”
Evangel coach Lynn Bowen says he’s looking forward to seeing Burks compete for him next season.
“Holly will fit into the fabric of Evangel track and field, and Evangel University as a whole. We’re excited about having her come and be with us,” he says. “She’s a very confident young lady, and I think … that will show itself out on the track next year when she’s performing.”
