Smoking fast mile in the rain.

Jacob Burcham, a senior distance standout at Cabell Midland High School in Ona, WV, has made a commitment to run cross-country / track & field at the University of Oklahoma. Burcham will join fellow West Virginians, Brandon Doughty (class of 2011) and Eric Graff (class of 2012) of Jefferson High School / Shenandoah Junction, WV as Sooner teammates!  

With only one senior in their top 5, the top ranked Morgantown girls should be a dominating force for a long time

The rankings will not change, but a few teams are participating in post season meets. 1. Cabell Midland Led by U.S. #9 Jacob Burcham, Cabell Midland was the class of the field. Midland placed 5 runners in the top 13 at the WV State Championship.

Two of the greatest all time West Virginia cross country and track and field athletes have decided on their post season races. Maggie Drazba of St. Marys has chosen Foot Locker and Jacob Burcham of Cabell Midland has selected Nike.

Jacob Burcham and Amelia Paladino Set New State Marks It was a record setting day at the West Virginia AAA High School Cross Country Championships at Cabell Midland High School in Ona, West Virginia on Saturday.  Running in a drizzle under gloomy skies, Morgantown girls and Cabell Midland boys teams each set new records for average team time, shattering the old marks in the process.

Drazba and Burcham Set State Course Records Morgantown Girls are 2012 AAA State Champions Amelia Paladino, junior, from University High School in Morgantown wins AAA Girls race in 17:47.32 Cabell Midland Boys take AAA State Championship Trophy Jacob Burcham, senior, from Cabell Midland High School in Ona set record time in AAA boys race in 14:58.04 Philip Barbour are AA-A girls champions Maggie Drazba shatters course record to win AA-A girls race with a time of 17:17.32 Fairmont Senior wins boys AA-A State Championship as senior Nick Trefz leads them with a 15:52.20 winning time in the AA-A boys race.

Sophie Chase's first 5K of the season was a sub 18 minute performance at Maymont, while her Lake Braddock squad looked like Virginia's best in beating Missouri state champs from Lee's Summit West by putting four runners ahead of their #1 runner. In the invitational boys' division, US #5 Jacob Burcham of West Virginia broke the meet and course record in 15:28..

Cabell Midland Boys and Morgantown Girls lead the early season team rankings. These rankings are based on 2012 cross country performances to date, and do not reflect course difficulty. When more head to head meets take place, the picture may be different. (Cover Photo of Brynn Harshbarger of Morgantown by Derrick Cleveland Photography) WV Girls Team Rankings   WV Boys Team Rankings

  Included are MileSplit’s selection of the top 2012 U.S. boys’ individual and team cross country performances August 27 through September 3.  Photo - Southlake Carroll HS (TX), preseason ranked #2, started the season impressively.

Several West Virginia Athletes competed at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals this weekend at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro, NC. Jacob Burcham led the way with a National Championship in the One Mile Run added to his resume.

  Haley Crouser, Jr, Gresham HS, OR; Javelin -  181’2”, new USA high school record, Aloha Relays, 4/13

COLUMBIA, SC - Jacob Burcham a distance standout at Cabell Midland High School anchored the Knights to a second place finish in the 4 x 800-meter relay during the opening day of the 20th Annual Taco Bell Track & Field Classic at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, SC. Taco Bell Boys 4x800m Relay Video Matt_Lucas_Video_4 x 800m

Cabell Midland High School's 800m relay team is preparing to make some noise and improve upon their time at the New Balance Indoor Nationals when the 800m relay gets under way on Saturday evening March 10, 2012.

With the season ending State Championships looming this Saturday at Cabell-Midland High School in Ona, West Virginia, it’s time to take a look at the contenders for this year’s AAA team and individual titles. 2010 Champion and current WVRunners #1 Cabell Midland again enters the meet as the clear favorite to emerge as team champions.   

The girls AAA race sizes up as a tough clash between two powerful Region I teams.  WVRunners #1 Morgantown barely edged WVRunners #2 University 39 to 42 for the Regional title.  The State Championship race figures to be just as close with the outcome very much uncertain.

File Photo of Tori Dent by Lance McDaniel WV#4 Hurricane girls and WV#1 Cabell Midland Boys ran away from the field with convincing victories at the MSAC (Mountain State Athletic Conference) Championships. Tori Dent of Hurricane and Jacob Burcham of Cabell Midland took the individual titles.

Photo by Jonathan Grooms   US #6 Jacob Burcham, junior from Cabell Midland, ran his kind of race to win the prestigious Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational in Louisville Kentucky in 15:03. Burcham was content to stay in the lead pack and remained in 1st place or 2nd place for most of the race. With about a 1000 meters to go Brock Baker of Oakland High School in Tennessee made a move and Burcham went with him until he made his own move to outkick Baker who ran 15:07. Our fellow Kentucky Milesplit webmaster, Jonathan Grooms, was on site and here is some of his coverage.   Burcham Video Interview   Boys Race Video   Boys Finish Line Video

The 2011 Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational has a lot going for it.  The oldest meet in Kentucky not to mention the biggest has made Louisville the place where several of the best from all the surrounding states meet to showdown.  This year’s version is no different with nationally ranked runners and teams from Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Ohio in attendance.  In total close to 3,500 runners will roll on a super fast course with a great weather forecast projected. 

Jacob Thomson                     Jacob Burcham   Two of the nation's best in Cabell Midland's junior Jacob Burcham and Jacob Thomson, junior from Holy Cross High School, of Lousiville, KY, meet again at the Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational being held on Saturday September 17, 2011.

Cabell Midland Sweeps Conference Titles Jacob Burcham ran the 40th fastest time in the U.S. this year in the 800m with a 1:53.88 while posting a West Virginia #1 best time. Burcham also took the 400m in 51.11 to lead Cabell Midland to a convincing win for the boys at the Mountain State Athletic Conference Championships.  Cabell Midland with 102 points easily outdistance 2nd place finisher South Charleston with 82 points. Jacob Reynolds (200m - 22.49), David Jobe (1600m - 4:33.42), and Tyler Sammons (3200m - 10:05.11) won individual conference titles.   The girls took the MSAC by 1 point over Hurricane by a score of 89 to 88. Kinsey Hall in the 200m dash was the lone individual winner for the girls with a time of 28.10.  

Photo courtesy of Sholten Singer/The Herald-Dispatch   Cabell Midland's Jacob Burcham has served notice that his freshman year was no fluke when he posted the fastest 1600m time of his career at the Carlos Akers Memorial Invitational with a first place time of 4:13.69. At the time of this article Burcham's time was the 10th fastest in the U.S. this year. The sophomore running on his home track in Ona, WV also won the 800m run in 1:57.47. Last year Burcham was the fastest freshman in the nation and came close to setting the national records for freshmen in the mile wilth a 4:15.10 at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals.

Burcham Finishes 16th - Earns All-American Honors    Photo courtesy of Cabell Midland UPDATES: Jacob Burcham, a sophomore at Cabell Midland High School, earns All-America Status at the 7th annual Nike Cross Nationals at Portland Meadows / Portland, OR on December 4th, 2010.   Burcham earned third team All-America Status with his sixteenth place finish in a time of 16:44.9.Only the top 21 runners are given the honor of All-American - 1st-7th (1st team), 8th-14th (2nd team), and 15th-21st (3rd team). There were sixteen seniors, three juniors, and 2 sophmores in this elite group. With the sixteen seniors graduating, Jacob will be retuning in the number three spot. Jacob Burcham's Splits at NXN: Split 1 - 28th - 2:23.98 Split 2 - 16th - 5:47.25 Split 3 - 28th - 9:47.73 Split 4 - 24th - 13:21.15 Split 5 - 16th - 16:44.9   Jacob Burcham and coach Chris Parsons of Cabell Midland are in Portland, Oregon for the Nike Cross Nationals. Jacob is ready to go. Here is his pre-race video.   Jacob Burcham 2010 Pre-Race Interview     Watch live as Jacob Burcham take on some of the best cross country runners in the Nation at the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) Pre-meet coverage - 10:05am (Portland time) 1:05pm (Eastern time) Girls Championship race - 10:25am (Portland time) 1:25pm (Eastern time) Boys Championship race - 11:35am (Portland time) 2:35pm (Eastern ti...me)   Watch Nike Nationals Live   2010 NXN Live Results

  Cabell Midland's sophomore Jacob Burcham finished 5th today in 15:23.1 at the Nike Cross Nationals Southeast Regional held at WakeMed Soccer Complex in Cary, North Carolina. Burcham qualified for the Nike Cross Nationals that will be held on December 4th in Portland, Oregon at the Portlands Meadows 5K course. The top five placing individuals who are not on automatically placing teams advance to NXN as individual qualifiers.   2010 NXN Southeast - Jacob Burcham (WV) Interview   2010 NXN Southeast - Championship Boys Race

One of the Best AAA Boys Races West Virginia has ever seen!   Propst winning her third individual state title   The AAA boys kicked off the afternoon in Ona, WV. Some people were calling it the most exciting race of the day. Others called it the fastest state meet in recent history.

Congratulations to 2010 WV State Champions Drew Woodford, Sarah McCauley, Jacob Burcham, and Letitia Propst and to the teams of Grafton Boys, Philip Barbour Girls, Cabell Midland Boys, and University Girls. More coverage coming later this weekend.     Grafton Boys AA-A WV State Champions    Philip Barbour Girls WV AA-A Girls State Champions    Cabell Midland Boys  WV AAA State Champions     University Girls WV AAA State Champions   2010 WV XC State Meet Live Results   WV Runners State Meet Web Site   Cabell Midland is providing live results for the 2010 West Virginia State XC Championships for those of you who can't make the trip to Ona. West Virginia Runners would like to thank Cabell Midland for the outstanding job of hosting the State Championships. We look forward to seeing you there.    

Burcham moving into 2nd at the Midwest Meet of Champions   Jacob Burcham of Cabell Midland finished 2nd at the Midwest Meet of Champions with an impressive 15:05 clocking, just behind the 14th nationally ranked Zach Wills of Ohio who ran 15:01. With his performance Burcham was recognized by Milesplit's XC Super 50 rankings. Considering Burcham played football last year, this is amazing.   Burcham Video MMOC Runner-Up   Milesplit XC Super 50 Individuals  

On a hot and dry day in Kentucky, Chris Walden (Carmel, IN) and Emma Brink (Sacred Heart, KY) took the individual titles at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in some blazing times. Walden's 14:57 is an improvement upon his showing last weekend against Zach Wills in Ohio, while Brink is a repeat winner after a close win last year. Here's a look at the races from today. (Photo by Dan Andrews)

Another edition of the Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational is upon and there is plenty of anticipation this time around. Carmel (IN) will make the trip south to see if they can steal the show at another big invite, while some of Kentucky's finest will look to make their name against some national-level talent. Full preview, forecast, and virtual meet breakdown are inside.

CORRECTION: Cody Pelliccioni from Morgantown leads the rankings with an amazing 15:22 at the Red White and Blue Classic. This is a 4:57 mile pace! I apologize for not having this PA meet in the rankings when the article was published. This is the 25th fastest time in the Nation this year.   WV Runners is currently up to date with a few exceptions. I am still missing the Small school results from the Brunswick Invitational, the Judge Charles W. Woodward Relays from 9/7, and the Bob Creamer Memorial 3K from 9/4 which is a college meet at Wheeling Jesuit.   I will be glad to post small meets, college meets, and middle school meets along with the high school invitationals if you e-mail me the results.   Currently, Sarah McCauley of Philip Barbour leads the rankings for the girls with a 18:53 posted at the Chick-Fil-A. Letitia Propst of Elkins is narrowly in second with a 18:57.9 clocking at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational.   Brandon Doughty, senior, from Jefferson leads the boys with a Milesplit first team elite time of 15:45 ran at the Interstate Classic. Sophomore Jacob Burcham from Cabell Midland is right on his heels with a 15:49 posting at the GEICO Classic.   Brandon Doughty photo by Charlie Pritt   WV High School Girl Rankings WV High School Boy Rankings  

Jacob Burcham (File Photo) This year’s Geico Classic, which was held on Cabell Midland High School’s cross country course this past weekend, showed significant improvement in time from last year’s race and produced many Personal Records from some of the best competition in the state.     

Misses National Freshman Record by .03 Seconds     Photo by Lance McDaniel   Freshman Jacob Burcham from Cabell Midland entered the New Balance Outdoor Nationals with the fastest 1600m time for a freshman in the U.S. After his run today on the Irwin Belk Track in Greensboro, NC., he left no doubt that he is the top freshman mile runner in the nation. Burcham missed breaking the freshman mile record by .03 wth a time of 4:15.10. Burcham closed his last 400m in 62 seconds to take 2nd in his heat.   Flotrack Video of New Balance Nationals Boys Mile Burcham 4:15.10

Bailey runs 1:53.93 800m   Burcham and Salmons in the 3200m - Photo courtesy of Cabell Midland   WV Region IV AAA  -- Parkersburg. In the most highly contested team championship of AAA, the Cabell Midland boys with 107 points took home another crown as they outpaced 2nd place Parkersburg (102 points) and 3rd place Winfield (101 points).   Leading the way for Cabell Midland was freshman Jacob Burcham with 30.5 points. The U.S. #1 ranked freshman, Burcham, won the 1600m in 4:33.76, which was well below his national best of 4:14.51, and the 3200m in 9:46.74. Burcham claimed 2nd in the 800m (1:58.49) to St. Albans Andy Bailey who posted the #1 800m time in West Virginia in 1:53.93 for a first team Gold Standard achievement.  Burcham added 2.5 points for his lead off leg in Cabell Midland’s winning 4 x 400m relay team (3:32.22). (Open article for complete recap)    

Photo Courtesy of www.tristaterunnur.com   Freshman Jacob Burcham of Cabell Midland established the new standard in the boys 3200m with a time of 9:20.34 at The Gazette / Friends of Coal Relays Friday evening at Charleston's Laidley Field. Gazette/Friends of Coal Day One Results   UPDATE: On Saturday Burcham posted the fastest time in the U.S. for a freshman with a 4:14.51 1600m. He also clocked a 1:56.95 800m while finishing 3rd behind Jefferson's Brandon Doughty's 1:55.64 and Andy Bailey of St. Albans in 1:56.29. His 800m time currently is the 3rd best U.S. freshman time.   U.S. Freshman 1600m Rankings   AAA Results      

  Karissa Knabenshue of Buckhannon-Upshur, Mark Britton of Ritchie County and Jacob Burcham of Cabell Midland have achieved Milesplit US First Team Elite Gold Standards.   Knabenshue heaved the shot put 41' 6" at Elkins last week to take over the State's best mark. She now leads the State in the discus (124'4") and the shot put.   Britton of Ritchie County seems to have a personal best every time he competes. He keeps raising the standard and with his latest throw of 173' 4" in the discuss at the Cline Stansbury Invitational earned a National Gold Standard. To achieve a gold first team standard, a throw of 170' is required.   Burcham earned his Gold standard at the Eastern Relays in the 1600m with a nations best freshman time of 4:16.40. Please see the two articles regarding the Eastern Relays for more coverage on this freshman's amazing race and time.   Milesplit First Team Elite Standards      Congratulations to our West Virginia athletes on these outstanding accomplishments.

Breaking News! Live Results from Kentucky Eastern Relays   File Photo Courtesy of Cabell Midland Freshman sensation Jacob Burcham of Cabell Midland placed 2nd in the 1600m at the Eastern Relays at the University of Louisville in a West Virginia State best 4:16.40 just minutes ago. Burcham has already gone under 2 minutes in the 800m and sub 10 minutes in the 3200m. Burcham is establishing himself as one of the best freshman in the United States.   Boys 1600 Meter Run 1 Ryan Eaton Greenwood 4:15.57 2 Jacob Burcham Cabell Midland 4:16.40 3 Robbie Scharold Campbell County 4:20.64 4 Andrew Stewart North Hardin 4:21.12 5 Jake Wildeman Trinity 4:22.22 6 Jacob Thomson Holy Cross (Lou.) 4:22.99 7 Justin House Apollo 4:23.12 8 Austin Carter St. Xavier 4:23.57 9 Adam Kahleifeh Bardstown 4:24.88   Ryan Eaton and Jacob Burcham   EASTERN RELAYS LIVE UPDATES   KYtrackXC.com’s David St. Louis is LIVE ON-SITE at the Eastern Relays being held today at the University of Louisville.  He is posting updates on the KYtrackXC.com Forum at the link below: http://ky.milesplit.us/forums/ky/topics/69113  

The 2009 WV State Cross Country Meet was run in a steady rain and muddy conditions, and produced a few surprises. Results and performances are posted. Photos by Lance McDaniel are posted.  Congratulations to Jefferson Girls and the host Cabell Midland boys on their AAA State Championship trophies.   Cabell Midland Boys AAA State Champions Jefferson Girls AAA State Champions   Alex Dent,  a senior from Hurricane, upset 2 time defending State champion Letitia Propst of Elkins to take the individual spoils in the AAA girls race. Propst finished in 3rd. Alex Dent - Photo courtesy of www.tristaterunnur   Junior Brandon Doughty of Jefferson pulled away from defending State Champion and #1 ranked Cody Pelliccioni of Morgantown. It was reported prior to the race that Pelliccioni was under the weather.  Brandon Doughty - Photo by Lance McDaniel   Congratulations to St. Marys girls and Grafton boys in capturing the AA-A State Championship hardware. St. Marys Girls AA-A State Champions Grafton Boys AA-A State Champions   Freshman Maggie Drazba of St. Marys took the AA-A girls title and Drew Woodford, a junior from Grafton, claimed the top prize for the boys AA-A race. Maggie Drazba Drew Woodford - Photos by Lance McDaniel  

Cabell Midland claims top team rankings for girls and boys. Some of the fast times were put up on the same course. As we get more into the season, a clearer picture will develop.   Jorden Thornton, a freshman from Cabell Midland, moved into the top 3 rankings with her 19:12.59 at the Adidas Saturday Night Lights  held at Centerville High School in Centerville, Ohio.   The Cabell Midland girls sit atop the WVRunners team standings with an average time of 20:13.93 for the top 5 runners.   Jefferson led by the top ranked runner, Alyssa Boucher, is in second, Hurricane is third, followed by University High School , Morgantown , and Preston     As with all Cross Country rankings, it is not an exact science as courses and conditions are different for each meet.   2009 High School Girls Team Rankings.       WVRunners team rankings for boys have Cabell Midland, led by freshman Jacob Burcham, on top with an average time of 16:46 for their top 5 runners.       Jefferson is in 2nd place with an average time of 17:08. Jefferson is led by the 3rd ranked boy, Brandon Doughty, a junior. Doughty has constantly put up faster times each week as he raced to a 5th place finish in 16:12 at the Oatlands Invitational .       Our current boy leader Cody Pelliccioni, junior from Morgantown, won the Oatlands race in 15:49 as he continues to dominate this Cross Country season.   The rest of the boy’s team rankings show Fairmont Senior in 3rd place followed by University High School, Preston, Berkeley Springs, and Morgantown.     2009 High School Boys Team Rankings

Another weekend of cross country and excitement is in the books.  This week saw Zach Wills dipping under 15 minutes for the first time in his career at the Culver Academis Invitational.  St. Ignatius and Magnificat both won their respective Championship races at the All Ohio Catholic Championship in Kettering, Ohio.

The fourth addition to the Saturday Night Lights is back with a new venue, date and a lot more of excitement.

WV Runners High School early season rankings based on the results we have show some returning favorites for the girls and a new face at the top of the boy’s rankings.   Alyssa Boucher, a senior, from Jefferson leads the way for the girls with a 19:08.40 with her 2nd place finish in the large school division at the Interstate Classic on 9/5/2009 at Clear Spring, Maryland.   Andrea Nickerson, a senior, from Jefferson holds down the #2 spot as she placed 3rd at the Interstate Classic with a 19:26.90.   Rounding out the top 3 for the girls is Lydia Martinelli, a senior, of University as she placed 1st in the AAA division with a 19:37 at the Chick-Fil-A Invitational held on 9/5/09 at Williamstown in Williamstown, WV.   Here is the girl’s list of complete rankings:   WV Runners High School Girl Rankings     For the boys, Jacob Burcham, a freshman, from Cabell Midland took 1st place in 16:38 at the Chick-Fil-A Invitational in the AAA division. Last year Burcham was a standout for Barboursville Middle School.   Patrick Jividen , junior, from Winfield placed 2nd in 16:43 at the Chick-Fil-A Invitational. Jividen was one of only two runners to break 17 minutes on this course in Williamstown.   Brandon Doughty, a junior, from Jefferson ran to a 10th place finish in 16:45.10 at the Interstate Classic in Clear Spring, MD competing in the large school division.   Here are the boy’s rankings:   WV Runners High School Boy Rankings

  Pictured is AAA champion Cody Pelliccioni   The WV 2008 State Cross Country Championship held in Ona, WV at Cabell Midland High School had a few surprises, a few expectations, and one Status Quo. Overall there were 19 National Elites as recognized by Milesplit, there was one State course record, and there was a repeat individual champion. It was a warm and beautiful day for running and the amazing performances put on by the harriers of West Virginia were evident.   Be sure to check out all of the links to athletes, teams, photos (WV 2008 State XC Photo Album), and more embedded in the article.   We will start with the AA-A boys race which got things started.  

The National Scholastics Sports Foundation has released the High School Regional Cross-Country rankings for Week ending 10/11. There are 10 West Virginia runners listed in the watch list. Regional Team Rankings are broken down by region and were formulated by a committee led by Marc Bloom and Rich Gonzalez.  Individuals to Watch are compiled by our state ambassadors in each state and are listed alphabetically below the Regional Team Rankings by state.  NSSF Rankings for w/e 10/11/2008

Preview of the Franklin County Invitational being held Saturday at the Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Several of the top teams from the state will be running in this top-notch invitational. (Photo of Nathan Liversedge by Craig Boyce)

State Meet Results and elite performances have been added. Jasmine Cotten of Fayettville re-writes the record book by large margins in the 100m, 400m, and long jump.. Several others broke State Meet records including Kaylyn Christopher. After checking all of the results a complete write-up will come this afternoon. (All write-ups are completed.)