Cabell Midland High School sophomore Jacob Burcham completed a sick triple crown at the West Virginia State Championships this past weekend. The youngster set two state records in the 1600 and 800 meter runs with times of 4:08.80 and 1:54.01 respectively on Saturday. Jacob Burcham won the 3200 in a time of 9:11.29 with splits of 4:48-4:23 and a last 1200 of 3:06 (65-62-59...splits courtesy of Ricky Quintana) on Friday evening.
What was great about these races is that Burcham had to battle Jefferson senior Brandon Doughty in each. Last year Doughty had a big state meet running 1:56.66-4:14.30-9:23.20 and anchored the second place 4x800 team. This year Doughty ran 1:54.03 (state record time), 4:12.90 (state record time) and 9:20.23...none of which were good for the win. The only redemption Doughty got was in the 4x400 relays when Jefferson and Midland went at it, Jefferson ended up with the title 3:23.00 to 3:25.29. Brandon Doughty will head to the University of Oklahoma this fall.
Heads up to all the college coaches out there, Burcham looks to have some big races ahead of him!
Here's an article from a local West Virginia paper on the performance and below are the 800 and 1600 meter race videos. Definitely check out the 800 and Doughty's desperate dive at the line!
This guy run sub 4 in the mile , right? I hope so! He runs a 4:08 open 1600m but ends up running 3:04-3:06 at the end of the 3200m? I may not know a lot but I would think that you could put a little bit more effort into the open 1600m when you are a LITTLE bit more fresh. He has definitely got potential.