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Prep championships go to the mat
Lake Stevens' Barnes, 30-0 this season, seeks third state title in three years
Wednesday, February 14, 2001
By CLARE FARNSWORTH
LAKE STEVENS -- Burke Barnes drops an arm and before his opponent can comprehend -- let alone defend -- what's coming, Barnes shoots for his legs, drops him to the mat and rolls him into position for a point-producing near fall.
The move Barnes used to capture the 3A state wrestling championship at 125 pounds last year? Well, yes. But it's also a move he has thrown umpteen times in countless practices, where championships are won long before any wrestler takes the mat in a tournament final.
Barnes hasn't just learned this lesson. He was born into this philosophy as a third-generation "mat rat." His father, Brent, a former state high school champion, has been the wrestling coach at Lake Stevens since Burke was 4. Brent's father, Ray, was the wrestling coach at Puyallup High School from 1955-70.
"Success breeds success. That's true here," Brent Barnes said. "It seems like our program has improved each year. You never want to go backwards, and you're always working to move ahead and trying to improve. We've done a good job of that."
Last year, the Vikings scored 108.5 points to win the 3A state championship with only five wrestlers, and three of them are back -- Barnes; 112-pounder Ty Human, who was second at 103 last year; and 130-pounder Eric Curnett, who was third at 119.
With nine wrestlers advancing to state from the Region I tournament last weekend, the Vikings are favored again at Mat Classic XIII, which begins its two-day run Friday in the Tacoma Dome.
Human, Barnes and Curnett won Region I titles Saturday and will be joined at state by two more regional champions -- 140-pounder Hopper Pearson, state runner-up last year while wrestling for Ferndale; and 189-pounder Allen Gullette. Also representing the Region I champion Vikings will be Christian Anderson, a regional runner-up at 160; and three third-place finishers -- Cole VanLeuven (152), Mitch Canham (171) and Ryan Anderson (189).
The Vikings' primary competition should come from Anacortes and Sedro-Woolley, who finished second and third in Region I; and White River and Cheney.
Burke Barnes, 30-0 this season and 96-4 in his career, was the state champion at 115 pounds as a freshman and remains on course to join R.A. Long's Pat Connors (1991-94) as the only wrestlers to win four state titles.
But Brent Barnes doesn't put any wrestler above his program, not even his son. It is a program fed by two middle schools, where wrestlers get their first taste of grappling the Lake Stevens way. The coaches at Lake Stevens and North Lake middle schools are Andy Knutson and Dean Width, who also are Barnes' assistants at the high school.
Bring it on, says the look of respect but also determination on Burke Barnes' face. It just means more hard work, a given at Lake Stevens.
Brent Barnes works the wrestling room on any given afternoon like a caged animal -- pacing, circling, eyes darting and dissecting. When he sees something that needs correcting, he pounces with moves so fluid and quick that it is obvious, even at 39, he remains the best wrestler in the room.
Barnes was a state champion at 158 pounds for Rogers of Puyallup in 1980. Two years later, he was a national champion at Northern Idaho Junior College. The next year, he was a midseason All-America selection at Oklahoma State.
"I'm kind of a fanatic about structuring practice," he said. "It's always written down to a 'T,' and I have every practice plan that I've ever had since I started coaching here. Practice is one of my favorite things about coaching."
His secret? "I just try to keep things moving," he said. "Kids have just been through six hours of school when they come to us, so they don't want to sit and listen a whole lot."
Barnes doesn't do much sitting, either. Accompanying the slap of skin on skin and the squeak of rubber soles on rubber mats is Barnes' voice, which serves as a metronome for the constant activity as it coaxes, caresses and chastises:
"When you're tired is when you need good technique."
"I know you don't feel like doing it; that's why we're doing it."
"Hard work makes champions."
"Suck the life out of each day, because you can't go back."
"Every practice is like gold."
"To be there Feb. 16, you have to put the work in today."
And yesterday, and tomorrow. And last week, and next week.
"I think our team is real successful because we outwork everyone," Burke Barnes said. "I don't know a high school team that works harder than us."
Hearing that, his father can only smile.
"You hope everybody believes that," Brent Barnes said. "I think it's more important that they believe it than that they do it.
"But if you can go in there with the belief that you've worked harder, then there's definitely an advantage," he added. "But we do work hard."
Reach Clare Farnsworth at 206-448-8016 or clarefarnsworth@seattle-pi.com
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
"A lot of the success you have during the season is what you're doing before the season even starts, and how hard you work between matches during the season," said Barnes, a junior at Lake Stevens High School and two-time state champion. 
Lake Stevens junior Burke Barnes gets a grip on teammate Josh Bergman during practice. Barnes is one of three returnees from the Vikings team that won the Class 3A title last year. Paul Kitagaki Jr. / Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Click for larger photo
Lake Stevens moves to 4A next year, renewing its rivalry with Moses Lake, which has won a record 15 state championships, including the 4A title last year; and has 11 second-place finishes. 
Brent Barnes, whose hallmark is hard work, has coached Lake Stevens' wrestling team since his son Burke was 4. Paul Kitagaki Jr. / Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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