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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

CV track athletes compete at national meet

Greg Barnes, Brad Whitley take time out of busy summer to experience event in Omaha, Neb.

Steve Christilaw Correspondent

When you play three sports at a Greater Spokane League high school, summers get very, very busy.

Still, a pair of Central Valley track athletes found time to qualify for last month’s USATF National Junior Olympic championships in Omaha, Neb.

Brad Whitley qualified in the 800 meters, placing fifth in the nation. Teammate Greg Barnes qualified for the meet as a hurdler and a long jumper, but did not place.

For both qualifying was a last-minute thing.

A three-sport athlete, Whitley has been on a steady diet of team camps since school ended in June.

“I’m with my family in Montana on a vacation this week,” he said by telephone Tuesday. “This is the first time I’ve had two days off in a row, but I just got back from a run, so I guess it never really ends.

“Right after school I went with the team to a football camp at the University of Idaho. From there, I went to two basketball team camps and after that I did a track camp at Washington State. I got back from track camp on Friday and on Saturday I ran the regional to qualify for the national Junior Olympic track meet.”

Whitley said he had no time to seriously train before qualifying for the national meet, but was pleased that he was able to run close to the time he turned in at last spring’s state Class 4A meet in Pasco. The then-junior turned in a time of one minute, 54.41 seconds to place third at state, just two-tenths of a second behind the state champion.

“When you get to nationals it’s a whole different thing,” he said. “The field (in Omaha) was so much deeper. There were guys from all over the country, and each one of them was really good.”

Whitley turned in a 1:57.57 in his preliminary heat to reach the finals, where he ran a 1:54.72.

Barnes’ big moment came in the long jump at the local regional qualifying meet.

The senior came straight from the track and field camp at Washington State University.

“I went down there to concentrate on the long jump and they had me doing some pretty heavy lifting and some new lifting routines,” he said. “When I got back I was pretty sore.

“But once you get warmed up and get into the competition, the adrenalin kicks in and the soreness goes away.”

“We were running warm-ups right next to the long-jump pit and I had a chance to watch Greg jump and he was really jumping well,” Whitley said.

And then some.

Barnes uncorked a jump of 22-feet, 11½-inches, breaking the school record by more than 8 inches.

“I have the school record for sophomores and the school record for juniors in the long jump,” Barnes said. “If they counted me as a senior, I’d have that record too, but I won’t officially be a senior until school starts.”

The new lifting program emphasizes a jumper’s explosiveness – something that will come in handy for football season, where Barnes doubles as a free safety and tight end.

“I’m looking forward to football,” Barnes said. “But after jumping so well, I almost wish I could concentrate on jumping all year-round. I’m going to do indoor track over the winter, so that will give me a head start on next year. By the time the school season starts, I’ll be all ready to go.”

Central Valley coach Chuck Bowden, who accompanied Whitley and Barnes to Omaha, along with his young son, who also qualified for the meet, is excited about what his jumper can accomplish.

“He’s looking at jumping 23 feet next year,” he said. “I’m excited for him.”

The magic number 23 figures large in Barnes’ future plans.

“I’ve been told that, if you’re jumping 23 feet that a lot of colleges will offer full-ride scholarships,” he said. “I’d like to stay fairly close to home. I’d love to go jump at Idaho or Washington State. I know long jumpers at Eastern who are on three-quarter scholarships who were only jumping in the high 22s.”

Contact Steve Christilaw by e-mail at schristilaw@msn.com.