Jeffrey Barnett, Class of 2015, Trine University
FREMONT – Jeffrey Barnett may not have wanted to run sprints for his Trine University track and field team, but it’s easy to understand why the Thunder coaching staff wanted him to do it.
Since Barnett walked onto the Trine campus after a prolific athletic career at Fremont Ross, pretty much everything the Little Giant alum has touched has turned to gold.
Barnett has taken the potential he showed in two sports at Ross and turned it into a shining two-sport career at the Division III college level.
But as much as he preferred to focus on his track and field specialty, the long jump, when his coach asked him to pinch in on a running event, Barnett, not wanting to let his team down, relented.
“When I first got there, I told coach ‘I don’t want to run at all, I want to strictly do long jump,’” Barnett said. “Then we got close to the conference championship meet and we’re sitting there and he’s like, ‘You think you can run the 200?’ and I’m like, ‘I don’t want to but if you need me to, I will.’ We get there and the next thing you know I’m in five different events.”
In his first 200-meter dash at the college level, Barnett won the event with a time of 22.68 seconds, just 0.3 seconds shy of the school record. Last spring he helped Trine’s 4×100 relay team to a conference meet championship.
Despite his speed on the track, Barnett’s passion has remained the long jump, and for good reason.
Barnett was runner-up at the National Indoor Track and Field Championships, set the school record in back-to-back meets, holds Trine’s long jump record in both indoor and outdoor competitions and was named the Division III Great Lakes Region Field Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Having accomplished so much already in just his first two years, Barnett, has one more major goal to strive for.
“Hopefully I can bring a national title home,” he said.
But before Barnett can resume his track career, he and the Thunder are looking to improve on a solid sophomore season on the gridiron.
A 5-foot-7, 155-pound receiver, Barnett used his speed to produce nearly 1,000 yards. He caught 59 passes for 937 yards and eight touchdowns. He also had more than 500 yards in kick return to finish the season with 1,466 all-purpose yards in helping the Thunder to a 6-4 record and 3-3 mark in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
“Going into my sophomore year I got comfortable,” Barnett said of his breakout season. “I knew the system, I started playing and, from there, I all I did was grind.”
Barnett enjoyed a solid showing as a true freshman, with 28 receptions, 421 yards and a touchdown along with another 500 yards in kick returns, including a touchdown.
“Freshman year, you’re playing with a bunch of different people that you never played with in your life, you have to get used to it and the fact they put me on varsity was real nerve-racking because it something that never happens,” Barnett said.
Like his track career, Barnett has a clear goal in mind for what he wants to achieve in his junior year on the gridiron.
“I want to reach that 1,000 yards.” Barnett said. “And hopefully we can make that conference championship come to Angola.”
Richardson looking to start
Tray Richardson, Class of 2015, Trine University
Barnett is not the only former Little Giant looking to help the Thunder roll in the MIAA.
Tray Richardson, Barnett’s fellow 2015 Ross graduate, is entering this season looking to secure a starting role on the defensive line.
Though a junior in school, Richardson is entering his sophomore year of athletic eligibility, having taken a step away from the program last year for personal reasons.
“It was my choice it was the best decision for me,” Richardson said. “I went back with a better mindset and things are looking better, I should be starting. There are no guarantees, but I feel like right now it’s my spot to lose.”
The 6-foot-1, 260-pounder is slotted to play at nose tackle and knows staying focused on the task at hand is the surest way to get on the field.
“Stay focused, that’s the main thing,” Richardson said. “Stay focused, keep my nose in the playbook and everything else will take care of itself. I got to keep my head in the right place.”