Raceland Grad Sprints Toward Success

Raceland Grad Sprints Toward Success

Jarrod E. Stephens

The Ashland Beacon

When a student reaches their senior year of high school and begins to reflect on their educational journey, it is sometimes easy to pick out individual events that have shaped the journey. However, in the case of Raceland senior Max Burton, the highlights have been so numerous that it’s hard to define singular moments, which makes it easy to say that his journey itself has been a highlight.

Max has always been an excellent student who excelled in the classroom. His hard work led him to be part of several organizations including TSA, the Academic Team, Beta Club, and Key Club.  He was a member of FBLA for two years. Max was also Parliamentarian for FBLA for one year, Sargent At Arms his junior year and Secretary of TSA his senior year.  During his senior year Max was the team captain of his varsity track and field team.

Academic success is typically the result of a great supporting cast of teachers and that’s the case for Max. When asked who had influenced him throughout high school he replied, “Mrs. Clere, my academic team coach, helped me tremendously throughout the years.  If I ever had trouble with work or needed help, she was always there to guide me. I would like to thank Mr. Pennington as well for helping me and being a great teacher. Tech Ed would not have been as fun without him.  Finally, I would like to thank Coach Helton. He is a great coach who made running actually fun. Plus, in a crunch he always was able to write great recommendation letters.”

  Max has not only experienced success in the classroom. His high school career also allowed him to be part of some memorable sporting achievements. “I had the game sealing interception against Kentucky Country Day my junior year to send the football team to state.  It was a moment that is extremely important to me and is the highlight of my time on the team.”

Another notable sporting event that happened during Max’s sophomore year perhaps opened the door for what would become a stellar track career. Max recalled, “Our team was tied with our rivals Pikeville going into the last race, the 4x400. Our relay team was a group of guys I was very close with, so it was amazing that it was up to us to win the meet. I was running anchor and our team had us in a solid lead, but Pikeville's last runner was the fastest 400 runner at the meet running it in 50 seconds.  The pressure was on me to beat him and somehow, I pulled it off, running a personal record in the process.”   

Most recently Max competed in his final high school track season where his success as a junior was eclipsed by his success as a senior. For much of the season Max blew away the competition in the 110 hurdles. He saved his best performance of the season for the region meet where he ran a blistering 15.17 seconds. That wasn’t all the state championship events that he qualified for. Max also placed 2nd in the 100-meter dash, 1st in the 300 hurdles, and 1st in the 200-meter dash. His performance earned him the Top Male Point award for the Region.

At the Kentucky Class A state track meet on May 21, 2026, Max proved that he had more accolades to add to his resumé. In the 110-meter hurdles he placed 3rd with a time of 15.88 seconds. As cliche as it may sound, Max did truly save the best for last. Although it was a tight race from start to finish, Max became the Class A state champion in the 300 hurdles with a time of 40.38 seconds.  

 Aside from his sports related successes, Max had one other achievement that may have eclipsed them all. Max described the moment as, “The moment I was told I was Valedictorian by my principle. It was a goal I worked extremely hard at achieving and to hear those words after years of hard work was so rewarding and something that Raceland schools helped me achieve.”

With high school now in his rearview, Max is now turning his attention to college. He will be attending. The University of Louisville and majoring in engineering. When asked why he chose engineering, Max gave one of the most honest answers ever. “I chose engineering because I enjoy being a problem solver which is what being an engineer is all about.  I have also always been good at math and science, so engineering just seemed like a clear choice, plus the pay isn't a bad reason either.”

As Max has proven time and again, nothing is impossible when you put your mind to it. Good luck and God bless as you continue your educational journey.