Virginia, at the national level at least, has some good athletes but rarely national champions. Though there are some exceptions, the only event that Team VA really shines at year after year is the boys high hurdles.
Team VA's next hurdling star seems to be Cosby's Michael Bourne. Despite only being a sophomore he has already run 7.44 and ranks 11th in the entire nation. That is US #2 for sophomores and VA #2 behind Kurt Powdar who is US #1 (7.04).
Though his time is nothing crazy quite yet, it is fast enough to really take a look at his stats and compare them against past VA stars. Below we do just that comparing him to the best VA hurdlers these past few years.
| Athlete | Soph. 55mH BEst | 110mH Best | 55mH All-Time Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.44 | 14.40 | 7.44 | |
| 7.36 | 13.59 | 7.04 (NBON Champ) | |
| 8.43 (Fr.) | 14.00 | 7.28 | |
| N/A | 13.78 | 7.32 (7th at NBIN) | |
| 7.28 (3rd at NBIN) | 13.37 | 7.00 (Nat. Record) | |
| 7.98 | 13.62 | 7.36 (4th at NBON) | |
| 7.43 | 13.53 | 7.19 (3rd at NBIN) | |
| 7.72 | 14.07 | 7.45 (6th at NBIN) | |
| N/A | 13.92 | 7.38 (3rd at NBIN) | |
| 8.59 | 14.22 | 7.33 (4th at NBIN) |
As you can see, even before the post-season of his sophomore season, Michael is in very elite company with his sophomore best of 7.44. It also would not be unrealistic to assume he will be below 7.39 by the end of the season meaning just him, Holloway and Powdar will be in that same group.
Just like those two, Bourne also got his start early in the hurdles. In fact just two years ago he was winning the Chesterfield County MS meet for the 110H. He has since moved from Manchester Middle to Cosby High School where he is on a head-on-path to face Powdar and Shirley at the 6A State Meet.
It is there when we should really see what he is made of and how fast he can go. The changing of guards is never a smooth transition and you can put your money on it that Shirley and Powdar are not going to go quietly either.
Michael Bourne is talented in other events too. He owns a personal best of 20-7.5 in the long jump, 36.30 in the 300, and 68.27 in the 500. All of those performances rank inside the top 10 for VA Sophomores.
Michael's next race will be Region 6A followed by the state meet and NBIN.