As a 4ft11, 75 pound Freshman from Randolph High School, Leanne Burke burst onto the High School Cross-Country scene in 1987 with an impressive third place finish in the Eastern Massachusetts Division 1 Championships. A week later, the tiny Freshman finished an impressive 6th place at the MIAA All State Championships. This earned her a spot on the Boston Globe All Scholastic team. As a Sophomore in Cross-Country Burke continued to improve, as she won some memorable battles with Wouburn’s Diane Connolly nipping her twice at the finish line. After edging Connolly out for the Eastern Massachusetts Division 1 title, Leanne Burke was starting to be known throughout the State as having one of the most fierce “Finishing Kick’s” around. As a Junior, Burke began to dominate the High School Cross-Country scene. She went undeated in Massachusett and she won her first All State Cross-Country title. She finished 3rd at the Kinney Northeast Regionals in New York City, she would later finish 23rd at the National Championships a few years later. She dominated Massachusetts Cross-Country again as Senior. Winning her second All State Cross-Country title and again qualified for the Kinney National Championships. This time she finished 4th place which landed her as a First Team All American. To this day, Leanne is one of only five MIAA Cross-Country runners to finish in the Top 5 at the Footlocker / Kinney Cross Country National Championships. Her Track credentials were just as strong as her Cross-Country accomplishments. She is a 5 time Massachusetts High School 1 Mile State Champion, winning three Indoor titles and two Outdoor titles. She also won the Massachusetts State Championshionship in the 800M run. She also excelled on the Track in both Regional and National competition. She won the Keebler International Games in the Mile run as well as the New York Games in the 800M run, and the Eastern Indoor Championships in the 100 Yard Run. Her personal best times on the track were : 800: 2:08.68, Mile run 4:52.95, and 10:43 for the Two Mile. Other Accomplishments Include She was a 9 x Boston Globe All Scholastic, four of which she was named “Athlete of the Year” She was also named New England High School Runner of the Year. Her Guidance Councelor John Donovan once said “ What amazes me is this Peanut-size person is such a Giant Killer. Leanne may be small in Stature but she has the heart of a Lion and runs like the wind” In the classrom, her academic resume was just as strong as her athletic one. At Randolph High School she was #1 in her Class, carried a 4.0 GPA and scored 700 on her Mathmetics Level 2 Achievment tests. She went on to attend Providence College where she was a 2 x time NCAA Cross Country Qualifier. She earned All American status as a member of the 4x800M Relay Team.
Class: 1991 Inducted: 2020