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Barker: Senior captures title
at Pac-10 tourney this year
Continued from page 7
even lived in Germany for a year.
Mitchell Barker now works for the
CIA, but Barker doesn’t know what
his job entails.
“You could ask me questions
about him,” Barker said with a
laugh. “But I have no answers.”
Moving from city to city caused
Barker to become independent,
relying solely on himself for encour
agement on and off the mat.
“I have always been a self-moti
vator,” Barker said. “Wrestling is
as much a team sport as it is an in
dividual sport and picking myself
up let me grow self-confidence
and determination.”
Barker feels that his ability to moti
vate himself is one of the key reasons
he has been so successful in his career.
“In every match you really have
only two options,” Barker said.
“You can easily give up at times and
take a loss, or you can push yourself
and keep fighting. Winning and los
ing comes down to whether or not
you are willing to do your best.”
After growing up in front of nu
merous backdrops, Barker and his
family eventually landed in St.
Louis, which he now calls his
hometown. Barker attended
Oakville High School and had no
problem earning mat time under
coach Rocky Streb. Barker reached
the Missouri state finals in three
consecutive years taking home titles
in 1999 and 2000. He left Oakville
with a plethora of Big 12 recruiters
knocking on his door and holding
wrestling scholarships. He passed
on wrestling powerhouses like
Nebraska and Oklahoma State to
become a Tiger at Missouri just like
his old coach Streb.
“(Missouri) seemed okay, since it
was close to home, and I knew I
wouldn’t have trouble starting on the
team,” said Barker.
Barker’s wrestling resume at Mis
souri would have satisfied most
wrestlers, but it was not enough for
Barker. After taking a year off to
recover from a knee injury follow
ing the 2003 season, Barker trans
ferred to Oregon where he felt com
fortable wrestling for head coach
Chuck Kearney.
“Oregon is a lot more laid back, and
I like that,” Barker said. “There is less
pressure here and doing my best is
good enough for my coaches. ”
Kearney was thrilled to have
Barker on his 2004-05 roster, on
which seniors were scarce. Kearney
knew that Barker’s work ethic and
accomplishments would make him
a worthy tutor for the team’s
younger wrestlers. Barker’s team
mates have come to expect success
from him.
“He does what he is suppose to
do, and that is win matches,” team
mate Cody Parker said. “When we
need him to get points, he does it.”
Kearney’s expectations of Barker
have also been met. This season,
Barker has posted a team-best
31 wins and 15 pins. Last week at
the Pacific-10 Conference Champi
onships in San Luis Obispo, Calif.,
Barker took home a Pac-10 title after
defeating reigning two-time confer
ence champion Ryan Bader.
“He is a national level competitor,”
Kearney said. “He provided an exam
ple of what a top wrestler in the nation
looks like and how hard he works.”
Going into the season, Kearney
felt that Barker could do more for
the program than the program could
do for Barker.
“With an athlete like Scott, your
job as coach is not to change him,
but to mold him,” Kearney said.
“He has been a leader on this team
and a calming influence.”
At the NCAA Championships
next weekend, Barker will be joined
by Parker and teammates Joey Bra
camonte and Shane Webster, who
received bids for the tournament
following the Pac-10 Champi
onships. Although Barker is excited
to compete, his game plan remains
the same.
“I’m just going to do my best,”
Barker said. “More importantly, I’m
going to have fun and leave it all on
the mat.”
After college, Barker plans on at
tending a fire fighting academy,
preferably in Oregon. He has no
wish to coach wrestling.
“There is much more I wish to do
with my life outside of wrestling,”
Barker said. “I don’t want to ever limit
myself or look back on my life and see
it spent doing just one thing.”
For Barker, a man who has lived
life beyond limits, this outlook is both
his legacy and a fitting tribute to his
potential success.
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a n a □ a n □ n m □ m
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