The 6-foot, 145-pound junior won the Class AA state meet this past season with a time of 15:48.64, breaking the tape 5.12 seconds ahead of his next-closest competitor and leading the Raiders to the team title. Birnbaum also took eighth at the Nike Cross Heartland Regional Championships and finished 16th at the Eastbay Midwest Regional Championships.
Birnbaum has maintained a 3.86 GPA in the classroom. He will begin his senior year of high school this fall.
The first chair alto saxophone player in the Stevens High jazz band, Birnbaum has volunteered locally as part of multiple community service initiatives through his church youth group.
