Unsung Hero: Track Senior Audrey Burger

In her seventh grade season, Spring-Ford distance runner Audrey Burger won the Philadelphia Archdiocese Championship, running a 5:18 in the 1,600. Excited by the win, Burger wasn't quite privy to how important that time would be.

"I had Coach [Geoff] Kahler as my science teacher that year," Burger said. "I didn't realize it was that big of a deal until the coaches started talking to me when I would come for my practices at CYO [Christian Youth Organization]. When I came into high school, there were a lot of expectations for me to the point where I couldn't really handle it."

As a freshman, Burger said she would frequently stress over her place and score in races and meets. Over the next two years, she battled to beat her 5:18 personal record. The closest she came was hitting it flat.

Meanwhile, Burger said she improved in her other events: the 800, 3,200 and occasionally the 400. And after lots of hard work during her junior season, she still came out hitting the same old time... 5:18.

"This year I got diagnosed with mono[nucleosis] right as the season was starting, so I missed preseason and the first week of competition," she said. "I was just so devastated. In cross country I had a stress fracture and in winter track I found out I was anemic. It was so bad. I just felt like I was never going to be able to reach this time, because I felt like I plateaued. I just couldn't go down anymore."

Then, Burger had a shot at hitting it on one of the most glorious of days for any senior athlete - Senior Recognition Day. The event was extra special as it was the final dual meet of the season for the team. But Burger suffered an all too familiar fate... 5:18.

"You can ask anyone," she said. "I was mad when I came off the track. It was our senior day and all I wanted to do was PR. I was so upset about it. Coach [Ken DeAngelo], Coach [Meghan] Noecker and Coach [Danielle] Stauffer all said 'Audrey, it's fine! You have a meet Friday and you just need to be positive about it.'"

That Friday was the Henderson Invitational. And Burger again was "freaking out."

"A big meet, great competition," she explained. "Coach D came up to me and said some really nice things to boost my confidence, because I was sitting there and freaking out."

On a hot and sunny Friday, 5:18 would be no more for Burger. She hit her personal record by five seconds and ran a 5:13.

"That had been my goal all through high school," she said. "It was nice to finally be able to break through that."

So, in light of her hard work and perseverance, DeAngelo chose Burger as this week's Unsung Hero.

"It's really exciting," she said. "I know Coach D has been very involved in my track career since I was in seventh grade. I know him myself, everyone, expected me to progress better in the past years. So, the fact that he's recognizing that I finally am reaching my goals is really nice."

The PAC-10 Championship is this weekend for the track team and Burger hopes to lead her teammates to personal victories.

"I try to be a leader," she said. "The fact that as a freshman I was already put into a spot of kind of leadership, because if you are leading the races, you're kind of setting the pace for the rest of the team. If I'm not running well, it's kind of hard to set the gauge for the other girls to run.

"If I'm not doing the workouts, then the other girls will think it's OK not to do it. So, my goal really is to lead by example and when necessary step in and talk to the underclassmen. There's some freshman this year that have a great amount of talent. I just try to stop before races and talk to them, tell them it's OK and to take a step back and relax. I want to hinder them from doing what I did - killing my own career."

Burger is grateful to her coaches, who have guided her through a tough, yet enjoyable career.

"The coaches have all really supported me through my ups and downs," she said. "I can honestly say that I'm one of the most inconsistent runners out there, but the fact that they still trusted me, believed in me and put me in leadership positions, and still went with me in tough positions, it's really an honor and I respect them a lot for it."