Fitchburg State will give you an education, and more importantly an experience that will take you further than you can imagine. I think that cross country will give you an experience and take you further than you could ever imagine. Fitchburg State is a catalyst. You can make Fitchburg State what it is and you can make yourself what you want to be with Fitchburg State. All it takes is some determination and hard work.

Michael Burns

Receiving recognition as a rookie surprised Guevara Mateo. 

“I wasn’t expecting that because I was expecting that there were more people faster than me,” he said. “Getting Rookie of the Week was very nice; I’m proud of that.”

And to think, Guevara Mateo had the burning desire to play soccer when he was younger. But after not making the soccer team, he elected to run cross country his sophomore year of high school.

“(Cross country) changed my life, basically because I didn’t know the beauty of running,” he said. “Now, I’m running for me, for the team. The team is getting motivated by seeing me run with them.”

Meanwhile, Burns – a three-year MASCAC All-Conference selection (2022-2024), MASCAC Fall/Winter All-Academic Team selection (2023-2024) and a four-year member of the cross country, indoor and outdoor track teams – has been a steady scoring presence for the Falcons, along with junior Samuel Edwards.

“He’s gotten better every year because he’s another one of those guys who grinds and does the work,” Jellison said. “He’s never been the No. 1 runner, but he’s always been in that top 3 and always is pushing everybody. He never gives up and always works.”

Burns, who ran a 28:00.80 to finish fourth overall at the Norwich Invite on Oct. 3, says that he’s been “pretty consistent overall” for his times, but he’s not exactly where he wants to be yet.

Besides his exploits on the course, Burns is also a strong mentor to the young Falcons runners. 

“He’s the captain and he’s a very good captain,” said Guevara Mateo about Burns. “The entire team is very good at supporting each other.”

Not only is Burns a captain, but he’s a true leader who has taken the freshman sensation under his wing.

“It’s weird because he’s running a minute, minute-and-a-half faster than me across these meets, and in a lot of ways it’s, ‘let him go and do his thing,’” Burns said. “But at the same time there are so many things that I try to bring to him with the intricacies of this sport.”

Burns has taught Guevara Mateo about course layouts, the surfaces, where to move on the course, and how to understand opponents for tactical purposes.

“He can learn those skills that he’s learned from meets and get to a point where I’m not here and he can do that on his own and do that for everyone else,” Burns said. 

The bond between Burns and Guevara Mateo developed quickly after they met for the first time during a campus tour. That bond has only grown and strengthened from preseason practices and into the fall.

“You could tell instantly that there was a love of the sport of cross country and track and field that’s immeasurable,” Burns said. “That’s something that you can sense from someone when you start talking to them about the sport. Immediately you could tell he had the potential based on the pure numbers of it, but everything was right. His attitude was there, his passion was there, his diet, his fitness, his planning, his regiment was there. He was in a spot to plug and play, and that’s what we’ve seen so far, and that’s what we’ll see in the next few years. It’s exciting.”

It’s also been an exciting journey for Burns.

“Fitchburg State will give you an education, and more importantly an experience that will take you further than you can imagine,” Burns said. “I think that cross country will give you an experience and take you further than you could ever imagine. Fitchburg State is a catalyst. You can make Fitchburg State what it is and you can make yourself what you want to be with Fitchburg State. All it takes is some determination and hard work.”

And teamwork to make that dream work.