Barnes to run for RMC
That familiar long hair flowing in the wind as he runs may serve a brand new purpose for Zillah Cross Country standout Johnny Barnes – staying warm. Barnes has signed a letter of intent to run for Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana beginning next fall. “RMC was my first choice,” says Barnes, “it was the only school I even applied to.” When he went for a visitation on February 19th, he had been told they had no scholarship money. But after a tour of the campus and facilities he was surprised by the head coach of cross country Alan King. Barnes was already receiving $11,000 per year in a renewable merit scholarship based on his GPA and ACT scores, but King upped the ante a bit if Johnny will run for the Battlin’ Bears. King offered Barnes an additional $3000 per year in a renewable scholarship.
“I want to become a pilot,” Barnes says, “and i really liked the setup that they have. They have 10 planes and a hangar at the airport. the head aviation instructor used to fly Air Force 2 which carries the Vice President. But RMC isn’t like most colleges, they don’t just want you to learn one thing. They want you to know a lot about one thing and a little about everything by the time you graduate.”
Johnny is the son of Kevin and Shawna Barnes, both Zillah graduates in the mid 80′s. “I’m proud of Johnny,” says Kevin, “and if someone wants to help out with the cost of college in this economy, that’s great with me!”
“Their Cross-Country season starts August 10th, and I won’t even be 18 by that time.” explained Johnny. Barnes
finished 14th in the WIAA State Cross Country meet this past November. He was also a member of the boys District Championship team in 2008. Johnny had placed 61st as a Sophomore and 28th as a Junior in the State Meet. He has been coached by Ken Johnson his entire career at ZHS.
Johnny is a great kid and a great student we wish him well as he moves on to bigger things!
