ATHLETE OF THE WEEK : Burnham Quiets Critics by Taking Two State Titles

When Angela Burnham of Rio Mesa High successfully defended her 100- and 200-meter titles at the state track and field championships on Saturday, she became the most decorated girl sprinter in state history and put to rest talk of her athletic demise.

That talk began in March when Pasadena Muir junior Inger Miller and Bakersfield freshman Janice Nichols beat Burnham in the 100 and 200 at the Northridge-Alemany Relays.

It became more persistent when Miller defeated Burnham again in the 100 at the Arcadia Invitational in April.

None of the talk, however, phased Burnham, Track and Field News’ female athlete of the year as a junior.

But it irked Rio Mesa co-coach Brian FitzGerald.

“It was frustrating,” FitzGerald said. “Listening to people say that she was washed up when she wasn’t. I mean, people would heckle her on the starting line and tell her that she was through. That Inger was going to beat her. . . . But she would just laugh it off, get in the blocks and focus on her race.”

Burnham’s reaction to her detractors came from the knowledge that her training was geared toward peak performances in June--not March and April.

“I never really got frustrated because I was training hard during the season,” said Burnham, who has beaten Miller in five consecutive races since losing in their first two encounters. “I knew that I wouldn’t run that fast until the end.”

Her performances support that statement. After running 11.74 in the 100 at Northridge, Burnham, who will attend UCLA in the fall, ran 11.64 at Arcadia and a national-leading 11.57 at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays two weeks later.

She won Southern Section 3-A Division titles in the 100 (wind-aided 11.31) and 200 (wind-aided 23.68) on May 20 before clocking national-leading times of 11.52 and 23.49 to defeat Miller six days later in the Masters meet--the Southern Section qualifier for the state championships.

Then came the state championships, in which Burnham defeated Miller in convincing fashion in the 100 (wind-aided 11.31 to 11.46) and 200 (23.56 to 23.86).

Miller’s supporters were shocked by Burnham’s margins of victory; FitzGerald was not.

“I thought Angela would win both races, though I thought her chances were greater in the 200 than in the 100,” he said. “I just didn’t think Miller would be strong enough to beat her.”

Burnham’s second consecutive double--combined with her 100 title as a freshman--made her the first girl to win five state sprint titles, three 100 titles and consecutive 100-200 titles.

Her season is far from over, however.

She will run in the 100 and 200 in The Athletics Congress Junior Championships at Ohio State on Saturday and Sunday. A top-three finish in either event will earn Burnham a spot on the national team that will compete in the Pan American Junior Games in Argentina later this summer.