Jamie Burnham is in his 27th year as a full-time coach with the Lions cross country and track & field teams. He is in his seventh year leading the men's cross country team and fifth leading the women. In total, Burnham has more than 30 years of service to Missouri Southern. Burnham was also inducted into the MSSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021.
Burnham has helped to mentor what has become one of the most dominating dynasties of distance programs the MIAA has seen. Burnham has won four MIAA Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year honors and has helped the Lions take home the title in that race as both the head coach and an assistant in five of the last seven years, and has been on staff for all 13 of the Lions' MIAA Men's Cross Country Titles.
2021 saw the Lions finish second in the MIAA Championships, but that didn't stop Burnham from helping to mentor the individual MIAA Champion in Ryan Riddle. Riddle went on to win the NCAA Central Region Individual Title as well and the Lions took second in that meet en route to a 13th place finish at the National Championships. At that race, JP Rutledge placed sixth individually as he and Riddle earned All-American honors.
The success didn't stop at the end of the cross country season for Burnham and the Lions' distance runners. Riddle went on to win both the 3k and the 5k at the MIAA Indoor Championships and earned All-American honors in the 3k at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships. In the out door season, the Lions saw Riddle win both the 5k and the 10k, while Gidieon Kimutai and JP Rutledge also earned All-MIAA honors in the 10k as the trio finished 1-2-3 in the event.
During the 2020-21 season, Burnham helped the Lions to another year of continued success. Burnham's distance runners missed out on a cross country season due to its cancellation during the Covid-19 pandemic, but that didn't stop the group from showing its dominance in the rest of the year. Burnham coached two All-American performances as Ryan Riddle picked up honors in the mile during the indoor season, while the distance medley relay team also earned honors.
During the MIAA Championships, the Lions had six All-MIAA honors in the indoor season and seven during the outdoor season. Riddle was the MIAA High Point winner in the indoor season, while winning both the mile and the 3k. Gidieon Kimutai won the 5k on the men's side while Kelie Henderson won the 3k on the women's side. In the outdoor season, Kimutai won the 10k, while Riddle won the 1,500m.
During the 2019 season the Southern men won all but two races, finishing second at the highly-competitive Lewis University Crossover and finishing 14th at the NCAA Division II National Championships. The men were ranked sixth nationally going into the final meet of the season where sophomore Gidieon Kimutai nearly won the individual title, finishing fifth for his second-straight All-American performance.
The men had four runners place in the top eight at the MIAA Championships, while six total men earned All-MIAA honors. The Lions followed up the momentum at the Regional where the team and Kimutai repeated their championships from a season prior and five runners were named All-Region.
The 2019 Southern women started strong with a win at Southwest Baptist and a third-place finish at the Southern Stampede. The Lions finished third at the MIAA Championships and eighth at the NCAA Central Region Championships. Kelie Henderson finished sixth and Julianna Determan was eighth at the MIAA meet where both earned All-MIAA honors. At the Regional, Henderson and Determan both earned All-Region honors. In total, the Lions had eight earn All-MIAA honors and seven were named All-Region between the two teams. The success didn't stop on the course, though, as the Lions had both teams earn the Team Academic Award from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, while four runners earned All-Academic status. The men carried a cumulative 3.25 GPA, while the women posted a 3.41 mark.
During the indoor track and field season, Burnham coached Ryan Riddle to an MIAA Championship in the mile, while Kimutai won the 3k. On the women's side, Henderson was second in the mile as three Lions finished in the top-eight of the race.
The 2018 season saw Burnham win another MIAA Cross Country Coach of the Year award as the men won the MIAA and Regional Championships en route to an 11th-place finish nationally. The Lions saw Kimutai capture the MIAA and Regional individual titles, while finishing fourth at Nationals. In total, the Lions picked up eight All-MIAA selections between both the men and women, and five All-Region honors.
The 2017 season saw the Lions once again a national force on the cross country scene. The team swept its first two meets at Southwest Baptist and Saint Louis University as both the men and women took home titles. The Southern men finished third at the MIAA Championships, but rebounded to place second at the NCAA Regional Championships, earning a trip to the National Championship for the fifth time in the last six years. Between the two teams, the Lions had five All-MIAA honorees and two All-Region selections.
The 2016 season saw Burnham help the Lions to the MIAA Men's Cross Country Championship, the tenth in the last 16 years, while coaching Vincent Kiprop to four individual NCAA Division II National Championships. Kiprop won the cross country, indoor 5k, and outdoor 5k and 10k national titles. He was also named the National Athlete of the Year during both the cross country and outdoor seasons, while repeating as the National Scholar-Athlete of the Year during the cross country season.
The 2015 season saw Burnham help mentor freshman Vincent Kiprop into an MIAA and NCAA Regional Champion and eventual NCAA Runner Up. Kiprop became the highest-ever finisher at an NCAA Regional and National Championship for the men's program.
In 2014, Burnham helped coach the men's and women's cross country teams to the MIAA Championships as each team took home the title. He helped coach Eric Schott to an All-American finish in the 2015 Outdoor 10k, while also helping Kindra Emberton to an All-American finish in the outdoor 800m, setting a school record in the event. In the indoor season, he helped Emily Harris to a runner-up finish and school record in the mile, earning All-American honors in the process.
The 2009 Southern women's cross country team won its fourth-straight MIAA cross country title, its third-straight NCAA Division II South Central Regional title and finished the season with a third-place finish at the national meet in Evansville, Indiana. The cross country team had six All-Region selections and four All-American selections that year where the team set MIAA and NCAA regional records for the fewest points scored (18) at each event.
Also assisting with the track and field teams, Burham helped the women to the MIAA Triple Crown in 2007-08 (Championships in Cross Country, as well as indoor and outdoor Track and Field). All together, Burnham has been part of Missouri Southern staffs that have won 28 MIAA Team Championships since 1998.
An accomplished runner himself, Burnham was a five-time All-American for Missouri Baptist, and in 1987 was national runner-up in the 10,000-meter run. He holds Missouri Baptist school records in the 5,000-meter run (14 minutes, 3.00 seconds), 10,000 (29:30.00), and marathon (two hours, 26.00 minutes). He is a member of the Missouri Baptist Athletics Hall of Fame.
Burnham also has had his share of success since completing his collegiate eligibility. A native of Carl Junction, Mo., he competed in the Dallas White Rock Marathon and New York City Ekiden Marathon Relay in 1987, finishing third and 25th, respectively, and in 1988 was 50th in the Los Angeles Marathon before competing in the United States Olympic Trials Marathon.
