Jenny Barringer is arguably the best runner from 1500 meters to 5000 meters in the country right now. And it all started here in Florida with a flury of state championships, lots of dedication and mileage, and a whole lot of pure love of the sport.
Here's Jenny's story in our latest in the series highlighting our All-Decade Team.
JENNY BARRINGER
Many distance runners have their specialty in track and that's about all they can do. They are a superstar at 3200, but are just good at 1600 or vice versa. Jenny Barringer can do it all though! Her high school bests: 2:15, 4:47, 10:18, 16:55 (XC).
My first encounter with Jenny Barringer was her freshman year at Oviedo High School. It was the first year in cross country at the brand new state meet course in Ed Radice at the Pre-State meet. She wasn't in the elite race that day and though she won the open division convincingly, her time of 19:06.85 for three miles (this was before the move to 5K) wasn't overly impressive or at least it certainly did not make you think that you were looking at a future Olympian. But there was something about that brace-filled smile that I saw that stuck with me and I knew from that point she would be a star. Flat out... there may be no one in the country who ENJOYS racing as much as Jennifer Barringer. She lives for it. Running and especially racing brings out uncontrolable joy in her. And it's that enthusiasm, passion, and excitement that has lead her to great heights throughout her career.
She finished 7th at the 4A State Meet that year in cross country with a time of 19:24 to Footlocker Nationals qualifier Jessica Hellender's 18:18. She continued to progress and improve and by the end of track season she found herself finishing third in the 3200 with a time of 11:08--just 12 seconds behind Hellender.
By the next fall cross country season, it was her time to shine and hers alone. The state moved the distance up to 5K that year, and the sophomore won her first state championship with a time of 18:26. She headed to Footlocker South later that month and finished in 12th place in 18:16, by today's standards that would be just two slots out of qualifying for nationals (10 qualify now, but only 8 back then). That performance, however, made her officially the top girls distance runner in the state--easily beating out greats such as Elly Kabboord and Laura Bowerman, the 2A and 3A state champs.
In track season, she earned a state title in the 1600 with a time of 5:00.38, but was only able to come up with second place in the 3200--being beaten by freshman Kerry Allen 10:51 to 10:59. That was the last time she'd be beaten by a Floridian at 1600 or above. ** correct me if I'm wrong, folks!!! **
Then came her junior season, which in a word was amazing. She started the regular season off with a big 17:54 victory at the Edgewater Invitational. And then highlighted by a 17:23 then meet record win at the flrunners.com Invitational 4 at Ed Radice (not under the lights) against the best runners in the state. Nicole Schappert was in second place with a 17:56 and Kerry Allen (who defeated her in the 3200 the previous spring) was third in 18:06.
She carried that momentum to the state meet, where rolled to a 16:55 state record victory under the lights of Ed Radice... over a minute ahead of second place. The most amazing thing about that race though? Not the time. After running to such a huge state record time, she crossed the line and proceeded to throw her hands in the air and jump and scream in pure joy. She just loved so much to compete that it flowed out of her. The thing that stunned all of us watching though was how she could possibly have the energy to jump and run and celebrate and holler after running a state record. Only Jenny! Talk about having something left!
Two weeks later, as a tune up to Footlocker South, she raced at the Florida Milers Club All-Comers meet in the 3200 and finished 33rd out of 47... against the boys. Her time of 10:18.84 clearly gave her confidence going into the rest of her post-season.
The next week she easily won Footlocker South with a 15 second victory in 17:27. That meant she and seventh place finisher Laura Bowerman would represent Florida at Footlocker Nationals in San Diego. Barringer did not disappoint. She charged up and down those hills at the challenging Balboa Park course to take third in the nation, 17:35.
Her junior track season was impressive as well. She was able to cruise most of the season and yet every single performance that year was under 5:00 for 1600 and under 11:00 for 3200. She just doesn't let up. She earned both the 1600 and 3200 titles easily that year with winning times of 4:48.90 and 10:35.36. A few weeks after the state meet, she turned in a stellar mile victory over Jackie Areson 4:49.01 to 4:49.53 for the full mile (equivalent of her all-time HS PR) in what was perhaps the hottest Florida girls mile battle ever.
Over the summer, she underwent major jaw surgery that meant she would lose the entire summer of base training. Her jaw was wired shut for weeks and it was looking like it would be a miracle for her to repeat. After missing the preseason kickoff at Lake Mary and the first regular season meets, she made her senior debut at the flrunners.com Invitational 5. Many doubted Barringer had a shot at defending her title at the prestigous meet. Those people clearly though didn't yet know the intense talent and grit that Barringer had.
That race. That amazing race. Those who saw it will never forget it. From the gun the two seniors battled: Jenny Barringer and Nicole Schappert. Cross country, not known for being a contact sport, turned into being 5000 meters of war. They just went at it, step for step, shoulder to shoulder, elbows vying for the lead. And it came down to the final straight and who could dig deeper. It was Barringer. She pusher her way to the lead and gained separation in the last steps toward the finish: 17:54.81 to 17:55.13... that's .32 of a second for those slow with the math.
By the state meet, Jenny had rounded back into decent form. Though slower than her time the previous year, she earned a 57 second victory of 17:08 to take home her third straight 4A XC Championship. The post-season saw her win the All-Star meet in 17:32, again take first at Footlocker South in 17:27, but falter slightly at Footlocker Nationals with an 18:16 10th place performance. She redeemed herself though in February she she qualified to represent the USA at the World XC Youth Championships in France. She also competed in the prestigious Boston Indoor Games mile in January.
With her cross country season extending into March for Worlds, her track season and training got a late start. She still managed to add two more state championship trophies to her case though with wins of 4:54 and 10:36 to conclude her high school career.
And then it was off to the University of Colorado to run with the Buffaloes...
Since this feature is meant to highlight her high school career, we won't get into all of the amazing details of her college career. But she found her NCAA niche in the Steeplechase. It is an event that earned her fame, NCAA titles, an American Record, and as the top American in the event at the Beijing Olympics. Since the Olympics, she has seem even higher heights and become THE dominant American from events ranging from the 1500 (recently became the third American ever to go sub 4) to the 5000 and including of course her beloved 3000 Steeple. She will be competing in the coming weeks at Worlds in Europe in the Steeple (as well as several other European meets in various events). Then this fall she will return to Boulder for her final season of elligibility in cross country. Next stop after that? Likely a six-figure Nike contract and the London Games in 2012.
And you know what? She's still smiling.
A bit of news: She's actually smiling a bit bigger these last few weeks... sorry, boys, but Jenny recently got engaged to her long time boyfriend.
Interview
Jenny was kind enough to grant this interview with only hours before boarding a plane yesterday morning headed to Europe to compete. Look for a future, more extensive feature with Jenny.
When you reflect back on your high school career what are you most proud of?
I'm most proud of the way I improved every year. I was a little slower returning my senior year after some surgery but I think it's fair to say I made major steps each and every year.
Who or what things made the biggest impacts on your success?
My coach, Jay Getty, along with my parents and friends at Track Shack helped keep racing fun. It was never a high-stress activity for me. I enjoyed each of my races, and I think it showed :).
Who were some of the athletes you remember that you loved competing against?
Jessica Zabel, better known as a soccer player in high school, was the woman to beat my freshman year and I'll never forget how good I thought she was! Later in my high school years Kelly Parrish, Nicole Shappert, Jacy Kruzel, and Laura Bowerman, were very formidable opponents in Florida. Unfortunately, we didn't race often because we were spread out between the school classifications but we were always good match-ups at invitationals.
What are some of your fondest memories from high school athletics?
I enjoyed traveling to Gainesville with Coach Getty for the national track meet, it was a fun (and often funny) drive. I also enjoyed training on all of the trails in Oviedo. I still train on them when I'm in town.
What are you up to these days? (as if most of us don't already know)
Well, I'm on my way to Stockholm, Sweden in the morning where I'll race a 5k on Friday (31st) as a tune-up for the World Championships in in Berlin, Germany in Aug. where I'll be competing in the steeplechase. I'll be rushing back right after the final to join my Colorado team at XC camp to kick off my last collegiate cross country season. After that I hope to sign a professional contract. My parents are right now in the process of moving to Stillwater, Ok where my dad is going to be a professor at Oklahoma State (go big 12!). Finally, I just got engaged to my boyfriend, Jason. He's my best friend and a really good training partner! Big races, big move, last season, graduating, going pro, and getting married... a lot of big changes coming!
What else do you want to add or say to the flrunners.com community?
I love what I do and Florida got to see it first. The Central Florida running community was such a fun atmosphere to be introduced to the sport and I feel like so many people have been so loyal to me over the years, especially when I decided to move to Boulder. I made the best decision possible when I committed to the University of Colorado. I love my team out here and they accept me as a person and always welcome me home from my summer races like I was just another teammate. I couldn't be more blessed, being plugged into two of the most amazing running scenes in America.
Coming Tuesday: Kayla Hale
