Jacob Burcham (R) of Cabell Midland - Marleen Vandenneste Photo
Jacob Burcham, a junior distance standout at Cabell Midland High School, placed second in the High School Boys' Mile Run Championship in a time of 4:09.49 at the Penn Relays Carnival on Friday, April 27th, 2012 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, PA.
Craig Engels of Ronald Reagan High School (Pfafftown, NC) won the race in 4:09.42, Jacob Burcham of Cabell Midland High School (Ona, WV) was a close second, Ben Malone of Pascack Vally High School (Hillsdale, NJ) was third in 4:12.24, Drew Magaha of Upper Moreland (Willow Grove, PA) was fourth in 4:12.74, Ahmed Bile of Annandale (Annandale, VA) was fifth in 4:12.81, Zavon Watkins of Liverpool High School (Liverpool, NY) was sixth in 4:15.49, Brent Coulter of Landstown High School (Virginia Beach, VA) was seventh in 4:16:52, Christian Delago of Shaker High School (Latham, NY) was eighth in 4:17.12, Steven Flynn of Edison High School (Edison, NJ) was ninth in 4:18.60, Brandan Robertson of Westborough (Westborough, MA) was tenth in 4:20.89, Jack Huemmler of Strath Haven (Wallingford, PA) was eleventh in 4:21.53, Sean McGorty of Chantilly High School (Chantilly, VA) was twelfth in 4:22.10, and Michael McNamee of Oakton High School (Vienna, VA) was thirteenth in 4:22.68.
Jacob Burcham Out Front - Marleen Vandenneste Photo
Burcham led for the majority of the race, but a late race surge by Craig Engels pulled out the victory by the narrowest margin of seven-hundredths of a second. Ben Malone was third and considered to be one of the favorites to win because of his great speed. He won the national indoor 800-meter title this past winter with a time of 1:49.94, which ranked him No. 2 all-time nationally. Malone just let Burcham get to large of a lead, but when Engels made a strong surge it appeared that Malone just didn’t have another gear to answer.
Burcham has had some tough losses this indoor and outdoor track season against some of the best runners in the nation, but a race like this shows the heart and desire he has to represent West Virginia. Congrats on a job well done!
