To be selected as a Track and Field News magazine National High School Athlete of the Year out of tens of thousands of candidates is a memorable achievement. To be selected twice? To be one of only a handful of repeat honorees – in 1988 and 1989 – in more than seven decades leaves Rio Mesa High graduate Angela Burnham-Teart among the sport’s all-time greats.
When Angela won the 1986 California state girls 100-meter title as a 14-year-old, she became the youngest and only freshman to have accomplished the feat. In total, Angela won five state, four CIF-Southern Section and three section Masters individual titles.
No telling how many more she would have added had not a bout with chicken pox and a hamstring injury knock her out of the 1987 sophomore season after setting personal bests in the 100 and 200 that year.
If there was one year that stood out the most, one could point to 1988. That spring, Angela won section and Masters Meet titles in the 100 and 200. Participating in four events at the state meet, Angela won the 100 and 200 as she helped Rio Mesa become the only Ventura County girls team to win a state track and field title. And she wasn’t done.
At the 1988 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, where she was the youngest competitor at age 16, Angela reached the semifinals of the 100 with third-fastest clocking – at the time – of 11.28 seconds for a high school female.
As a senior, Angela repeated as a double state sprint champion—the first girls ever to defend these titles. She was the National Junior Champion in the 100 and represented the U.S. in the Pan American Games in Argentina. She was selected as the 1989 Gatorade National Player of the Year in girls’ Track and Field.
In her freshman year at UCLA, Angela won the 1990 PAC-10 100-meter title. Injuries sustained on the track and in an automobile accident cut short her collegiate career.
The Oxnard resident and her husband Anthony are the parents of Ashley and Anthony, who was also a state champion Track & Field athlete for Rio Mesa in 2012.