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SPORTS
Midland's Burcham blazes to new record in 1,600 meters
Jacob Burcham set a new meet record for the boys 13- to 14-year-old 1600 meter run at the Hershey Youth Track and Field State Meet Saturday June 20, 2009, at Cabell Midland High School.
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ONA -- Jacob Burcham's performance Saturday in the Hershey's Youth Track and Field state meet was one for the record books.
Burcham, a 14-year-old Cabell Midlland High School freshman, shattered a 26-year-old Hershey's state meet record in the boys 1,600-meter run for 13-14 year-olds with a time of 4 minutes, 43 seconds. The old record of 4:49 was set by George Angelos in 1983.
"I'm glad I broke the record," Burcham said. "Although, that wasn't my best run, that was 10 seconds off my best run."
His best time in the 1,600 -- and the fastest in the nation this year by a middle school runner -- was 4:33.22 when Burcham ran for Barboursville Middle School at the Hurricane Invitational on April 29.
Cabell Midland track and cross country coach Chris Parsons, the Hershey's district coordinator, said one of the reasons for Burcham's success at such a young age is his mental approach.
"He can mentally break things down." Parsons said. "He is a smart runner. He doesn't hammer it out from the get-go. He paces himself. His goal today was to run between 4:40 to 4:45 and he ran 4:43. He understands what his goals are and how he wants to get there."
After setting the state record, Burcham wasn't finished.
About an hour later, Burcham won the state crown in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:14.
People at Chris Parsons Track were speculating that Burcham might break the 800 state record too. However, in the beginning of the race, Burcham was noticeably limping. Afterward, he revealed his hip began hurting at the start of the race.
Burcham doesn't believe his injury to be serious. He said he would ice it and everything should be fine.
The girls 1,600-meter race also had a sterling performance.
Jorden Thornton from Milton Middle School who is also headed to Cabell Midland in the fall won in the age 13-14 category with a time of 5:39. She came within two seconds of breaking a 24-year-old meet record held by Susan Frost.
Thornton's time was a personal best.
Hershey's state meet winners don't automatically advance to the nationals in August at Hershey, Pa., because of a geographical distribution rule that says each state meet has at least five qualifiers. A selection committee will announce which athletes will compete.
Parsons said the goal is to have each state represented, and not have a few states dominate the national championships.
The Hershey's Youth Program was originated in Charleston by Dr. Donald Cohen in 1975 with a goal of getting kids age 9 to 14 started in a physical activity. The national meet was once held at Marshall University.
"I think the mission of this event is to give kids an opportunity to compete in the sport of track and field," Parsons said. "Clearly, there are few opportunities. We want to introduce the sport of track and field to younger kids.
"It's a real neat thing that this event has gotten so big nationally, and it all started in our back yard."
