“Connor has a grind like no other—he shows up day-in and day-out with his hard hat on. He’s very goal-oriented, he leads from the front and he’s a very good teammate.”

Adrian Cummings

Head Coach - Southern Boone coach

Athletic Excellence

The 6-foot, 135-pound junior shattered the state record for the mile this past season with a time of 3:58.83 at the Hoka Festival of Miles, which ranked as the nation’s No. 3 performance among prep competitors in 2022 and No. 5 in U.S. prep history. Burns’ time was the fastest ever run by a high school junior, passing the 58-year-old mark set by legend Jim Ryun. Burns broke another state record while winning the 3200-meter run at the Class 3 state meet with a time of 8:48.76, and placed second in the 1600. He also won the 2-mile run at the Brooks PR Invitational in 8:45.52—the nation’s fastest clocking in 2022.

Academic Achievement

Burns has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom. He will begin his senior year of high school this fall.

Exemplary Character

President of his school’s Student Council, Burns has served as a math tutor and has volunteered locally on behalf of a food bank.