Behind the success Southern Boone's Connor Burns enjoyed in the month of May
What a month it has been for Southern Boone senior Connor Burns.
The Oregon signee and Eagles senior came into the month of May having won a state title so far this year. He'll approach the final days of the month adding to that state title count and setting a U.S. record.
This weekend in Jefferson City, Burns added to his state medal total at the 2023 MSHSAA track and field championships.
On Friday, he won the Class 3 state title in the 1600-meter race with a time of 4:13.52. On Saturday, Burns won the Class 3 state title in the 3200-meter race with a time of 9:20.14. He improved on his second-place finish in the 1600-meter run during the 2022 state championships.
Burns was the final leg of the 4x800-meter relay team on Saturday, joining fellow Eagles Brian Burns, Landon Rehg and Noah Ottinger.
By the time Burns got the baton, Southern Boone was in sixth place with 800 meters remaining. By the time Burns crossed the finish line, he pulled the Eagles comfortably into second place. Still, Burns was disappointed he wasn't able to completely close that gap and win a title for Southern Boone.
"Normally, on a good day, I would have been able to make up that gap," Burns said after the 4x800-meter relay. "For whatever reason, I just felt like complete crap today."
Southern Boone scored 28 points at the end of the state championships. Burns, scoring 10 apiece in the 1600-meter and 3200-meter races and willing eight points out of the 4x800-meter relay, was nearly single handedly responsible for those points.
Success isn't new to Burns at all, however.
Before this weekend, Burns was a five-time state medalist. He repeated as the MSHSAA Class 3 cross country state champion last November. During the 2022 track and field season, Burns broke the 3200-meter state record and won the Class 3 state title with a time of 8:48.76.
On May 6th, Burns set an American record. He became the U.S. high school 5,000-meter record holder after finishing in 13:37.30 at the On Track Fest in Walnut, Calif.
However, Burns' record only stood for 20 days.
Newbury Park's Lex Young ran the 5,000-meter race in 13:34.96 to break the U.S. high school record of 13:37.30 Burns set. Galen Rupp, the previous record holder, held the record for nearly 19 years before Burns broke it; Young now owns the record.
May wasn't the only month Burns set a milestone. In March, he became just the fifth U.S. high school runner to break the four-minute mark in the indoor mile.
Burns has national awards in his trophy case, too. Last February, he was named the 2022-2023 Gatorade Missouri Boys Cross Country Player of the Year. Last year, Burns was named the 2021-2022 Gatorade Missouri Boys Track and Field Player of the Year.
Burns has running in his blood. His father, Marc, was the head cross country coach at the University of Missouri for eight seasons.
At Oregon, Burns will be a cornerstone of head coach Jerry Schumacher's first recruiting class. He was hired in July 2022.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Behind the success Southern Boone's Connor Burns enjoyed in May
