Plano West boys cross country’s Hudson Heikkinen ran strong in 2021
PLANO, Texas — The 2021 boys cross country team at Plano West High School was one of the best in the state of Texas. The Wolves were ranked as the seventh-best boys cross country team for 2021 in the Class 6A level of competition. One of the top contenders for the Wolves in 2021 was Hudson Heikkinen, a senior who closed out his high school career strong.
Heikkinen was originally pegged for three-mile races, but he eventually moved on to 5,000-meter races, which are about 0.106 miles longer.
Heikkinen had a personal best time in a competition of 16:53.6 in 5,000-meter races in his freshmen year. He continued to see improvement each year while running for the Wolves. His 5,000-meter time dropped to 15:28 in 2019, and it went down further to 15:13.3 in 2020.
His senior campaign in 2021 saw him break the 15-minute mark, as he finished a 5,000-meter race at 14:59.4. He set his personal record on Sept. 11 at the MileSplit TX Invitational. He finished in second place during that event.
Heikkinen competed in seven 5,000-meter races in 2021, finishing in first place in five of those events. One of his wins came outside Texas, as he won the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree race on Sept. 18. His time of 16:06.4 was three seconds faster than the second-place finisher.
He continued to show strong results late in the year, including a dominant victory in the UIL 6A District 6 5,000-meter event on Oct. 15. He won that race at North Lakes Park in Denton with a time of 15:40.4. His time was 22 seconds faster than the second-place finisher, fellow Plano West senior Ryan Gulick. Heikkinen’s younger brother, Hogan, who is a junior, also finished in the top ten, while Wolves teammates Will Parks and Kade Holec also finished in the top 20.
Heikkinen qualified for the Texas UIL 6A State Championship on Nov. 6. He completed the 5,000-meter race at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock with a time of 15:04.9. He finished in second place during the event, with Austin Vandegrift’s Kevin Sanchez winning at 14:53.4. Heikkinen was by far the fastest runner for the Wolves in the state championship, with Gulick finishing in 41st at 15:56.6 and Parks at 70th on 16:17.6. The boys event featured 151 runners.
While Heikkinen will be graduating from Plano West this year, his younger brother Hogan will still be competing in 2022 as a senior. Hogan appears to be picking up where his brother is leaving off, as he too has seen regular improvement in 5,000-meter races. He was a top-20 finisher three times this year.
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