Teamwork makes the dream work.
For the Fitchburg State University men’s cross country team, longtime coach Jim Jellison makes it a point to bring in recruits who are all about the team.
Veterans and rookie runners are all valued and respected. There’s no jealousy, there’s only love.
Remember, it’s all about the team with the Falcons.
“We look at it like a family,” Jellison said.
It’s that team-first and family approach that has Fitchburg State flying high. The Falcons showcase a fantastic blend of experience with senior captain Michael Burns and youth with freshman sensation Paulino Guevara Mateo.
“Some kids can run forever and some kids just work their rear ends off,” Jellison said. “(Guevara Mateo’s) both. He’s got great form and he loves running. You can see it. He’s also a great kid. Michael is the same way; he’s a great kid, too. I wish I had 10 of them. You can never have enough of those kinds of guys.”
Burns is already an extremely familiar face on campus, including service as Student Government Association (SGA) senator, current SGA president, managing editor of The Point newspaper, ACT Center Tutor/Peer Mentor, and a member of the first cohort of the Presidential Ambassadors, to name a few.
The 21-year-old Burns is a history major with a minor in political journalism.
“He’s going to be a politician,” joked Jellison. “He’s going to be the mayor of Fitchburg. He’s doing everything on campus.”
Guevara Mateo is quickly becoming recognizable while strolling through the quad on his way to class due to his eye-popping exploits on the cross country trails.
Guevara Mateo, who attended high school at Cambridge Rindge and Latin, has put the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) on notice. For the third time this season, the freshman was tabbed the MASCAC Men’s Cross Country Runner and Rookie of the Week after finishing second overall at the 2025 James Early Invitational, hosted by Westfield State, with a time of 25:30.10.
“Across the MASCAC he’s a spark,” Burns said. “His first two weeks of competing for Fitchburg State, not only was he the Rookie of the Week of the MASCAC, but he was the Runner of the Week, meaning he was the fastest runner in the entire MASCAC for two weeks in a row. That’s just phenomenal. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Guevara Mateo – a construction management major – just keeps collecting weekly honors. He recently finished first at the 2025 Norwich Cadet Invitational, hosted by Norwich University, with a time of 26:06.9.
“He’s got the potential to go to the nationals this year, but he’s also on that borderline where he could be bumped out,” Jellison said. “If he keeps doing what he’s doing now, nobody is going to touch him and he’ll definitely qualify for the nationals. He’s just a no-quit kid.”
Earlier this season, Guevara Mateo secured the top spot in 25:39.81 at the 2025 Pop Crowell Invitational, hosted by Gordon College.
“If he continues to develop his knowledge and love for the sport that he already has a vast wealth of, he’s going to be something really special,” Burns said. “He already is.”
Fitchburg State will give you an education, and more importantly an experience that will take you further than you can imagine. I think that cross country will give you an experience and take you further than you could ever imagine. Fitchburg State is a catalyst. You can make Fitchburg State what it is and you can make yourself what you want to be with Fitchburg State. All it takes is some determination and hard work.
Receiving recognition as a rookie surprised Guevara Mateo.
“I wasn’t expecting that because I was expecting that there were more people faster than me,” he said. “Getting Rookie of the Week was very nice; I’m proud of that.”
And to think, Guevara Mateo had the burning desire to play soccer when he was younger. But after not making the soccer team, he elected to run cross country his sophomore year of high school.
“(Cross country) changed my life, basically because I didn’t know the beauty of running,” he said. “Now, I’m running for me, for the team. The team is getting motivated by seeing me run with them.”
Meanwhile, Burns – a three-year MASCAC All-Conference selection (2022-2024), MASCAC Fall/Winter All-Academic Team selection (2023-2024) and a four-year member of the cross country, indoor and outdoor track teams – has been a steady scoring presence for the Falcons, along with junior Samuel Edwards.
“He’s gotten better every year because he’s another one of those guys who grinds and does the work,” Jellison said. “He’s never been the No. 1 runner, but he’s always been in that top 3 and always is pushing everybody. He never gives up and always works.”
Burns, who ran a 28:00.80 to finish fourth overall at the Norwich Invite on Oct. 3, says that he’s been “pretty consistent overall” for his times, but he’s not exactly where he wants to be yet.
“The goal is to peak at championship season,” Burns said. “The middle of the year is for continuing to build and build. Then we’ll bring it back in terms of mileage and then really peak toward championship season. Myself, I’ve been trying to bring that team aspect together. It takes seven guys to win. The main goal is to compete as well as we can as a team, but the little side goal is to be a four-time, first-team all-conference member for MASCAC. That’s what I have my sights set on personally.”
The MASCAC championships are Nov. 1 at Westfield State University’s Stanley Park.
Besides his exploits on the course, Burns is also a strong mentor to the young Falcons runners.
“He’s the captain and he’s a very good captain,” said Guevara Mateo about Burns. “The entire team is very good at supporting each other.”
Not only is Burns a captain, but he’s a true leader who has taken the freshman sensation under his wing.
“It’s weird because he’s running a minute, minute-and-a-half faster than me across these meets, and in a lot of ways it’s, ‘let him go and do his thing,’” Burns said. “But at the same time there are so many things that I try to bring to him with the intricacies of this sport.”
Burns has taught Guevara Mateo about course layouts, the surfaces, where to move on the course, and how to understand opponents for tactical purposes.
“He can learn those skills that he’s learned from meets and get to a point where I’m not here and he can do that on his own and do that for everyone else,” Burns said.
The bond between Burns and Guevara Mateo developed quickly after they met for the first time during a campus tour. That bond has only grown and strengthened from preseason practices and into the fall.
“You could tell instantly that there was a love of the sport of cross country and track and field that’s immeasurable,” Burns said. “That’s something that you can sense from someone when you start talking to them about the sport. Immediately you could tell he had the potential based on the pure numbers of it, but everything was right. His attitude was there, his passion was there, his diet, his fitness, his planning, his regiment was there. He was in a spot to plug and play, and that’s what we’ve seen so far, and that’s what we’ll see in the next few years. It’s exciting.”
It’s also been an exciting journey for Burns.
“Fitchburg State will give you an education, and more importantly an experience that will take you further than you can imagine,” Burns said. “I think that cross country will give you an experience and take you further than you could ever imagine. Fitchburg State is a catalyst. You can make Fitchburg State what it is and you can make yourself what you want to be with Fitchburg State. All it takes is some determination and hard work.”
And teamwork to make that dream work.