WV Runners is proud to announce the selection of Emily Godwin of Buckhannon-Upshur and Jacob Burcham of Cabell Midland as West Virginia Track and Field athletes of the year. This year was an easy choice for both boys and girls. Sophomores Godwin and Burcham stood out in the 2011 season which had many great performances and achievements.
Godwin came away from the West Virginia AAA State Championships with 3 individual state titles. She displayed her best at the state championship as she won both hurdle events with personal best performances. Godwin ran the 300m hurdles in the WV #1 time of the season in 44.23 and the 100m in also a WV #1 time of 14.77. Even though Godwin finished 3rd in the long jump at the State meet she has the season's best long jump of 17' 9 ". However, it was the high jump where Godwin has established herself as one of the best in the nation. The incredible athlete won the high jump by 4 inches as she cleared 5’ 8”. Godwin’s best performance of the year and the height that got her national attention was when she soared above the bar 5’ 10” above the track at Lewis County High School. The height is still tied for the US #5 best mark even after most of the post season national meets have ended.
Emily Godwin photo by Lance McDaniel
The male athlete of the year is a given. Jacob Burcham is becoming a household name in track and field in the United States and beyond. Burcham has reached a level that is world class and his performances have been mind boggling. It would take a book to write about all of his achievements and he is just a sophomore. At the West Virginia State Championships, Burcham was a triple winner. Burcham won the 800m in 1:54.01, the 1600m in 4:08.80, and the 3200m in 9:43.30. On June 11th, Burcham ran a blistering 4:07.66 full mile at the Addidas Grand Prix which proved to be only a warm-up of the earth shattering performance at the IAAF World Youth Track and Field Championships held in Lille, France. Representing the USA in the 1500m, Burcham qualified for the finals with a 4th place finish in heat 3 with a time of 3:51.22 and went on to place 7th in the finals in a world class time of 3:46.55, and a new American sophomore record. This is the US#1 1500m for high school athletes. On the national scene, Burcham is ranked #7 among all U.S. sophomores in the 800m, 2nd in the 1600m, and 3rd in the 3200m. However, as stated above, in the 1500m Burcham is ranked #1 in this great land among all high school athletes.
| Position | Bib | Athlete | Country | Mark | . |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 320 | Teshome Dirirsa |
 ETH |
3:39.13 | (PB) |
| 2 | 524 | Vincent Kiprotich Mutai |
 KEN |
3:39.17 | (PB) |
| 3 | 527 | Jonathan Kiplimo Sawe |
KEN |
3:39.54 | . |
| 4 | 324 | Fayidu Murad |
ETH |
3:40.60 | (PB) |
| 5 | 282 | Yonas Habtemicael |
 ERI |
3:43.89 | (PB) |
| 6 | 368 | James McMurray |
 GBR |
3:46.51 | (PB) |
| 7 | 827 | Jacob Burcham |
 USA |
3:46.55 | (PB) |
| 8 | 364 | Robbie Farnham-Rose |
GBR |
3:47.60 | (PB) |
| 9 | 460 | Lorenzo Dini |
 ITA |
3:48.40 | (PB) |
| 10 | 437 | Ruairí Finnegan |
 IRL |
3:49.58 | (PB) |
| 11 | 109 | Hocine Khelif |
 ALG |
3:51.24 | (PB) |
| 12 | 470 | Emilio Perco |
ITA |
4:11.11 |
Jacob Burcham Photo Coutesy of Cabell Midland
Congratulations to Godwin and Burcham and all the other great athletes of West Virginia.