June 15, 2021
At MPA, the last name Bourne at MPA is synonymous with cross country running, track and field, and Nordic skiing. Kristin and Kim Bourne dominated the competition in those sports from 2007-2013, and younger brother Matt continued the family tradition before graduating in 2019.
Matt Bourne competed in cross country running, earning all-conference and qualifying for the state meet three times. He helped lead the Panthers to a runner up finish at the 2017 section 4A championships. They went on to finish 12th at the state meet. Bourne’s personal best over 5K of 16:35 is fifth all-time in school history.
On the track, Bourne led MPA’s 4x800m relay team to an all-state finish, placing ninth in a time of 8:20.17, his favorite MPA athletics memory and the fourth best time in school history. He appears on MPA’s track and field top ten list 11 times, including being seventh in both the 1600m (4:37.39) and 3200m (10:16.82) and eighth in the 800m (2:05.19).
It was Nordic skiing where Bourne made his biggest impact. He was all-conference three times, all-conference honorable mention once, qualified for state four times, placing as high as fifth in 2019, and earned all-state honors twice.
Across his three sports, Bourne recorded a total of 17 varsity letters, 12 IMAC all-conference awards, 7 state qualifications and 3 MSHSL all-state honors.
Bourne chose to compete collegiately in Nordic skiing at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, MI. “My college experience has been great,” Bourne says. “I have been able to focus on skiing and electrical engineering which are things I am interested in. I have started to become the skier I dreamed about.”
Competing for the Wildcats so far, Bourne has placed 13th in the Freestyle race at the Pre U.S. Nationals CXC Cup, and second in the 2021 Michigan Tech Holiday meet U-20 race. He was also named to the 2021 United States Collegiate Ski Coaches Association All-academic Ski Team.
“MPA prepared me to be ready to balance both school and skiing. In college, team practice time is much more, and a lot of other athletes aren’t ready for the work load,” Bourne says. “For skiing it’s all about being fit and the MPA coaches helped me reach my fitness goals to be prepared for college.”
