The 6-foot-3, 150-pound junior distance talent won the MHSAA 5A state title this past season, breaking the tape in 15:50.60—nearly a minute ahead of his next-closest competitor—to clock the fastest all-class time of the day and lead the Hornets to a fourth-place finish as a team. Unbeaten by an in-state opponent last fall, Balcer won the MHSAA Southern Regional Championships in a personal-best 5K time of 15:50.28 and picked up a victory at the MC Watson Ford Invitational in 16:02.31. A 2019 Clarion Ledger First Team All-State selection, he capped his season at the Foot Locker South Regional championships, crossing the line as the top Mississippi finisher, in 62nd, with a time of 15:59.00.
Balcer has maintained a 3.95 GPA in the classroom. He will begin his senior year of high school this fall.
A member of East Central’s Future Farmers of America chapter, the Key Club, the student council and the school’s student-leadership group known as The Swarm, Balcer has volunteered on behalf of multiple community service initiatives with the Caswell Springs United Methodist Church Youth Group.
