Alycia Burnham to Compete for Morgan St. Track Team

Alycia Burnham, a June graduate of Rio Mesa High, will attend Morgan State in Baltimore this fall on a track and field scholarship.

Burnham, the sister of former Rio Mesa sprint standout Angela Burnham, emerged from her older sibling’s shadow when she placed third in the 100-meter low hurdles in the state high school championships in June, helping the Spartans to a runner-up finish behind Inglewood Morningside in the team standings.

She signed a letter of intent with the NCAA Division I school last week after taking recruiting trips to Nevada Las Vegas and UC Santa Barbara earlier this summer.

“I was really impressed with the school when I went there,” Burnham said.

“There is a different atmosphere. It’s a predominantly black school, and I always wanted to experience that in college.”

With personal bests of 14.45 seconds in the 100 hurdles, 45.3 in the 300 hurdles, and 18 feet 3 1/4 inches in the long jump, Burnham could be a successful heptathlete in college. But she said she will concentrate on the 100 hurdles and the long jump as a freshman.

“My (college) coach would like to see me run in the mid-13s in the 100 hurdles next season,” Burnham said. “I don’t think I’ll be running the 400 hurdles too often. I hated running the 300 hurdles in high school.”

Burnham won the long jump and placed fourth in both hurdle events in the Southern Section 3-A Division championships in May to help Rio Mesa win its second consecutive division title.