Clark Fork's Sam Barnett headed to state for 1600, 3200

LAPWAI — Sam Barnett is state bound.

The Clark Fork junior qualified for state in the 1600 and 3200 at the 1A District 1-2 track and field championships this past weekend in Lapwai.

Barnett captured fifth in the 1600 and fourth in the 3200 to earn berths to state. The top five individuals in each event at districts qualified for state.

Head coach Matt Majors said he wasn't caught off guard by the pair of state bids because when Barnett wants something, he'll do whatever it takes to make it happen.

"Sam is just so mentally tough," Majors said. "When he puts his mind to something, it's pretty hard to stop him from doing it ... None of us were really surprised because of how awesome of a kid he is."

Majors said Barnett knew what spot he needed to be in to secure a trip to state and he sprinted on the final lap of both races to put himself in a position to make it happen. He left it all out there.

Barnett also competed in the high jump and 800 at districts. In the 800, he finished sixth, one spot short of qualifying for state.

With the workload Barnett took on at districts, Majors said he offered to take one of the events off his plate so he could avoid burnout, but Barnett showed no interest in doing that.

"He was like, 'No, coach I'm going to do all four. I can do it,'" Majors said, "and again, if Sam says something like that you're like 'OK.' I'll give him the benefit of the doubt every single time because he's such a hard worker."

And even more impressive, Barnett doesn't train for long distance year round, Majors said. In the fall, Barnett plays football and during the winter he's on the basketball court.

Majors said a lot of the athletes Barnett saw at districts run year round, but Barnett had no issue hanging with and beating some of them.

"It amazes all of us that he never complains about being tired," he said.

Barnett is extremely self-driven, Majors said, and his dedication to putting in miles outside of practice throughout the season paid off.

The seven other Clark Fork boys that competed at districts were unable to qualify for state. Hank Barnett tied for eighth in the high jump and Wyatt Mintken finished one position short of qualifying for the finals in the 400. Nathan Shelton was also 11th in the 800.

Entering this season, the Wampus Cats were extremely inexperienced, but that didn't stop them from improving every single week. Everyone will be back for Clark Fork next season and Majors can't wait to see what they'll accomplish in 2021.

"The other coaches and I were just hoping the kids gained that experience of knowing how to compete against other teams and compete against themselves," he said, "and they really bought into that and just the strides they made throughout the year were just incredible. We're proud of the way they finished the year and we're looking forward to next year."

Barnett will run the 3200 at the 1A state championships on Friday morning and the 1600 on Saturday afternoon at Middleton High School.

1A District 1-2 championships

Clark Fork results

100 — 12, Wyatt Mintken, 12.31 (prelims). 22, Joe Bopp, 13.05 (prelims) 32, Carson Yetter, 13.50 (prelims).

200 — 12, Wyatt Mintken, 25.60 (prelims). 17, Joe Bopp, 25.94 (prelims). 35, Carson Yetter, 28.07 (prelims). 40, Nathan Shelton, 28.59 (prelims). 42, Hank Barnett, 28.77 (prelims).

400 — 9, Wyatt Mintken, 58.05 (prelims). 13, Joe Bopp, 1:00.08 (prelims). 18, Carson Yetter, 1:04.02 (prelims). 21, Hank Barnett, 1:05.28 (prelims). 22, Ryan Matteson, 1:09.75 (prelims).

800 — 6, Sam Barnett, 2:12.61. 11, Nathan Shelton, 2:24.73.

1600 — 5, Sam Barnett, 5:01.43. 19, Ryan Matteson, 5:54.60.

3200 — 4, Sam Barnett, 11:04.55.

Shot put — 16, Nathan Shelton, 29-3.5. 29, Lukas Birdsell, 11-6.

Discus — 21, Nathan Shelton, 82-1. 37, Lukas Birdsell, 29-7.

High jump — T8, Hank Barnett and Sam Barnett, 5-4.

Long jump — 18, Joe Bopp, 15-6. 21, Carson Yetter, 13-9. 28, Ryan Matteson, 10-10.