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Jacob Burcham waited until the the hill before the 1st mile marker to take command of the boys varsity race. This would be Burcham's and also Cabell Midland's first trip to the Maymont XC Festival in Richmond, Va. Burcham set two goals for himself, which was to win and also set a new meet record. He did both by running 15:28 on the hilly 3.1 miles
Despite not having their top 4 runners, Midland's depth proved too strong for the field at the Rio Grande Invitational. Led by Freshman sensations, Andrew Short and Nick Salmons, the two runners finished 5th & 8th with only a 3 second separation. Short would run 17:08, while Salmons ran 17:11. Eric Wooten would cross in 11th place with teammates, David Jobe in 16th place and Hunter Adkins in 20th place rounding out Midland top 5 runners.. A split of only 51 seconds between 1 thru 5 gave Midland a 10 point win over Thomas Worthington High School.
The Trinity Invitational ranks among the top meets in the nation on this particular weekend. Midland would face their toughest competition by far against nationally ranked teams and individuals.
Jacob Burcham would latch on to leader, Jacob Thomson, of Holy Cross and hold to him until the last 400 meters. Thomson was too strong in the end for Burcham and came away with a new course record and the top time in the nation with his 14:52 over the 5K course. However, Burcham plans are to be at top racing shape come the end of October thru November. The Geico Classic is always the largest meet in West Virginia each year because teams from across the state want the opportunity to compete on the WV State Championship course. The meet also attracted many teams from Ohio and Kentucky.
Jacob Burcham would lead his team with any easy victory crossing the line in 16:11 with teammate, Avery Campbell taking the runner-up position in 16:45. Jeremy Waugh (17:13-6th), Brian Lawhon (17:40-12th), and Eric Wooten (18:08-20th) rounded out Midland's top 5 for the team victory. Midland beat out runner-up Ripley by nearly 50 points. |
