Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, Amy Burlingham: Fast learner

Barry Faulkner

Just six track meets into her high school sprinting career, Newport

Harbor High freshman Amy Burlingham doesn’t know much about the string of

postseason meets beyond league finals. She is also a novice when it comes

to starting blocks, race strategy and which rivals comprise her prime

competition.

But while Newport Harbor Coach Eric Tweit believes Burlingham will

eventually become familiar with all that, he knows his fleet tenderfoot

has plenty of something he can’t teach.

“Her key is, she just does not like to lose,” Tweit said. “She’s so

competitive, if she loses a race, she wants to figure out how to get

better, then come back and beat that person.”

The list of runners who can motivate Burlingham in this fashion is

growing ever shorter, however, as her coming out party at the Orange

County Championships revealed.

Burlingham, a soccer and volleyball veteran virtually new to the fast

track, finished second in the 200 meters at Trabuco Hills High. Her time

of 25.44 ranks second in the county, behind Corona del Mar senior Liz

Morse, who won the event in 24.50.

“It was her first time in a situation where everyone else in the race was

good and she was way out in lane 9,” Tweit said.

“In dual meets, she’d been staying with people, then running hard at the

end. But I told her she had to go out hard and keep going, because she

wasn’t going to be able to see anyone coming up on her from the outside

lane.

“She never saw anyone, until Liz beat her, but maybe it was good to be in

lane 9, because she ran her race and didn’t worry about anything else.

Still, it will be nice when she’s able to run the same type of race in

the middle of the track, because she’s so competitive, she may run faster

when she sees someone ahead of her.”

An exciting prep career is clearly ahead of the Daily Pilot Athlete of

the Week, who admits her sprinting success has been somewhat unexpected.

“I was really surprised with the time and the finish,” Burlingham said of

Saturday’s meet. “When I heard I was running against Liz Morse, I was

kind of scared. But I was impressed with what I did. People were coming

up to me asking ‘Are you Amy Burlingham?’ I’ve never had that before, but

it was neat to be recognized.”

Burlingham was hardly the only one impressed, though Tweit believed she

was capable of such a bust-out performance.

“I had seen her run in junior high, so I knew she had ability,” Tweit

said. “I thought she’d be among the better runners around, but to be

second in the county is a little surprising.”

Burlingham, who runs primarily the 100 and 200, will be asked to fill a

leg on the Sailors’ 1,600 relay, and also run the occasional 400,

according to Tweit.

“I think her best events will end up being the 200 and 400, because the

longer she runs, the more time she has for the competitiveness to come

out,” Tweit said.

Burlingham said she currently favors to the 200, though she is eager to

tackle new challenges.

“For now, I’m focusing on the 200 and just trying to get stronger,” she

said.

Tweit believes there is plenty of room for improvement as Burlingham

gains experience and masters the technical aspects of sprinting.

“There are a lot of little nuances she’ll pick up with experience,” Tweit

said. “For the amount of workouts she’s had and the number of races, I’d

say she’s about a five on a scale of one to 10. That doesn’t necessarily

mean she’ll get faster, but she needs a little fine tuning. I think she’s

definitely a CIF (Souther Section Division II) finalist.”

Burlingham, whose work ethic is reflected in her near-4.0 GPA, is

anxious to improve her starts and perfect her form.

“I love to work hard,” she said. “I normally don’t slack off.”

A member of the Tars’ junior varsity volleyball team and a varsity

starter in soccer, Burlingham said she enjoys the three-sport grind.

She plays club soccer for the SoCal Blues under-16 team and is also a

member of the Olympic Development Program’s West Region team.

“Soccer is probably my favorite, since I’ve been playing it the longest,”

she said. “But I like playing a lot of sports. It keeps everything

fresh.”

A fresh face on the sprinting scene, Burlingham figures to be a force for

years to come.