February 5, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Written by: Quincy Bentley | Sports Editor<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabe Burchfield, a fourth-year for Western hailing from Grants Pass, Oregon, has always been an athlete willing to push his limits. Now, as a standout multi-event competitor, he\u2019s making his mark by breaking records and setting his sights on nationals.
Burchfield\u2019s journey in track and field began in sixth grade when his mother encouraged him to join sports. Initially a distance runner, he quickly realized his passion was in a different field. \u201cWhen I looked over and saw the technique and explosiveness of the high jumpers, I realized that was the stuff I wanted to do,\u201d he recalled.
In high school, Burchfield expanded his resume, adding high jump and long jump to his skill set. While he found these events enjoyable, he craved a greater challenge, leading him to the decathlon. Unfortunately, as soon as he made this decision to compete, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted his plans. However, upon arriving at Western, head coach Octavious Gillespie-Bennett, also known as Coach G, recognized his potential in multi-events and encouraged him to pursue them fully. Training for multiple events is no easy task, as it requires a strict balance of strength, speed, endurance and technique. \u201cEvery day, you\u2019re doing something different,\u201d Burchfield explained. \u201cOne day it\u2019s explosive work, the next it\u2019s technical. Without the guidance of Coach G, my body wouldn\u2019t be able to handle the wear and tear.\u201d
Though it may sound confusing, Western\u2019s track season consists of two separate seasons: indoor, running from early December to mid-February, and outdoor, spanning late February through late May. During the indoor season, men\u2019s multi-event athletes compete in the heptathlon, which consists of seven events, while the outdoor season features the decathlon, which includes ten events. Of the seven indoor events, Burchfield finds the 1,000-meter run the most challenging. Still, he remains dedicated to improving. \u201cIn our last meet, I got a five-second PR. I\u2019ve been adding more cardio on off days, and have already seen results. I\u2019ve realized that I just have to try to enjoy running, because, honestly, the distance events suck.\u201d
On the flip side, his favorite events consist of high jump, hurdles and pole vault. \u201cThe adrenaline from pole vault is unmatched, the high jump feels amazing when you clear the bar and hurdles are super intense the whole way through.\u201d
Success in the multis requires more than just raw talent; a rigorous training schedule is essential. Burchfield\u2019s daily practice schedule includes two hours on the field, alternating between explosive and technical workouts, sprints and endurance runs. As a team, they lift three days a week, but Burchfield often trains beyond that, working with sports performance coach Josie Boucher even on his off days. \u201cI\u2019ve been in the weight room for at least three days a week since June 2024 and haven\u2019t missed a single session. Showing up on the days you don\u2019t feel like it is what makes the difference.\u201d His relentless discipline has paid off, as he has already broken Western\u2019s indoor heptathlon record twice, surpassing the previous mark of 4,850 points set by J.J. Walker.
While breaking records is significant, Burchfield remains focused on the bigger picture. \u201cThe goal has always been to chase greatness. I wasn\u2019t necessarily aiming for the school record, it was about making it to nationals. Breaking the record was just a step toward that goal, but for now, the job\u2019s not finished.\u201d
One of his proudest moments this year was setting a personal best in his most challenging event during Western\u2019s last multi-event competition in Washington. \u201cI ran with no fear and came out on top. That gave me a lot of confidence heading into my next 1,000-meter run.\u201d
Looking ahead, Burchfield remains dedicated to his primary goal: qualifying for nationals. As for competing beyond college, he remains open to the possibility. \u201cI won\u2019t say it\u2019s impossible, but I want to see where life takes me. If I get the opportunity to compete professionally, I\u2019d take it and run with it \u2014 literally.\u201d With his work ethic and hunger for greatness, Gabe Burchfield is proving that the sky\u2019s the limit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
February 5, 2025 Written by: Quincy Bentley | Sports Editor Gabe Burchfield, a fourth-year for Western hailing from Grants Pass, Oregon, has always been an athlete willing to push his limits. Now, as a standout multi-event competitor, he\u2019s making his mark by breaking records and setting his sights on nationals.Burchfield\u2019s journey in track and field […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2222,5898,1520,5902,5896,3627,5900,5897,1609,5899,4185,5895,246,5509,3611,4302,5068,5901,1454,2165,684,66,39],"class_list":["post-22250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports","tag-athlete","tag-breaking","tag-competition","tag-endurance","tag-explosive","tag-field","tag-hurdles","tag-jumps","tag-nationals","tag-pole-vault","tag-records","tag-speed","tag-sports","tag-standout","tag-star","tag-strength","tag-success","tag-technique","tag-track","tag-training","tag-western","tag-wolves","tag-wou"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22250"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22253,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22250\/revisions\/22253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}