Colorado Daily File Photo

University of Colorado junior Jenny Barringer is seen here. Barringer will be defending her title in the Big 12 steeplechase this weekend when the Buffs host the Big 12 Championships at Potts Field.

T uesday morning, three days before the next major milestone in her young, burgeoning career, Jenny Barringer woke up early and ran. It did not matter that it was raining, that the mud she trampled over slowly engulfed her entire body, or that she simply had a million other things to do that day.

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None of it mattered because Jenny Barringer is on a mission.

For the past year, ever since the University of Colorado junior began to make a name for herself on the international running scene, she has been waiting for this summer. It is a summer in which Barringer can not only help CU play host to the Big 12 Championships this coming weekend, but she will also have the opportunity to participate in the NCAA Regionals, the NCAA Championships, the Olympic Trials, and possibly, the Beijing Games.

For many, it would be a recipe for disaster. Too much for any one person to handle. But for Barringer, a self-described "workaholic and commitment addict," a busy schedule with lots of pressure is the only way she knows how to live.

"The strategy is, if you look at the possibilities of the summer, that I could be racing into late summer again," said Barringer. "You have to look at every training session realistically while trying to hit the high points of the college season and still be fresh in August. I like to think I am handling it well. I try to keep it in perspective that I am a collegiate runner, but for (Brent) Vaughn, myself , (Stephen) Pifer, to accomplish that while a college athlete, to go home and sleep at night thinking I am an Olympic hopeful and a college student, it's big."

The Olympic dreams that dance in Barringer's, Vaughn's and Pifer's head at night are the culmination of college careers that have left indelible marks on the CU record books. Barringer herself owns the CU record, and the third-fastest time in U.S. history, in the steeplechase with a time of 9:33.95. She has already won the NCAA title in the steeplechase as a freshman, won the Big 12 title last season, traveled to Paris for the DecaNation Championships and Osaka, Japan for the World Championships.

"Going to Japan last summer prepared me in a way that I did not expect. It taught me good things come when you are good at everyday stuff," said Barringer. "I work hard, practice hard, do school and community service and this happens -when it comes to the big day I don't freak out because the hard work is done."

When the Big 12 Championships commence, beginning Friday at Potts Field, Barringer plans on running the steeplechase and possibly the 1,500-meters and 5,000-meters. She hopes to use the Big 12 Championships as a kick-off to her campaign that will lead up to the Olympic Trials, held June 27-July 6 in Eugene, Ore.

The Oveido, Fla. native came to Boulder in 2006 as one of CU track & field coach Mark Wetmore's prized recruits but says she did not envision that just a few years later she would be vying for conference championships and Olympic berths.

"I came here when I was a recruit and my dad asked Mark (Wetmore) 'What do you see in Jenny, how far can you take her'" said Barringer. "And Mark said 'I can take her as far as she can work.' So I came here wanting to work hard, and that I have to attribute to my dad."

Hard work is what Barringer does best. Besides her running accolades, the political science major is an accomplished student with a GPA of around 3.7, works with her church and does community service for a program that helps assimilate refugees into American life.

She over-commits, as she says, but does so not just for herself, but for her family and teammates as well.

"Pressure is self imposed, but even when you don't try to, when people dream for you, there is a sense of expectancy for you," said Barringer.

She has lots of people rooting for her, like her parents who she says "already have me in Beijing," or her roommates, Rachel Jioscia and Cari Clark, who she says have been known to act as second-moms, even running back to the house when she forgets something.

Then there is her coach.

Mark Wetmore has been coaching championship runners in cross country and track & field at CU for 16 years, 13 as head coach, and this is the first time that he will help host a Big 12 Championship. Barringer says Wetmore is the ever-calm anchor of the team, and that while putting on such an event is a distraction, she says he is focused on his athletes' performance always.

"Mark is a business man, you will never meet anyone like Mark in your life," Barringer said with a smile. "He has his own way of showing his athletes he cares for them. Everyday at practice there is a document waiting for each and everyone with their name on it - it shows he thinks of everyone. He doesn't put his arm around you and tell you it's going to be ok, but anyone who knows him knows he cares."

With such a network of support around her, and such a strong individual work ethic, it is easy to see how Barringer has gotten to the point she is now at. There have been roadblocks, however, such as the infamous shoe clipping incident at last year's NCAA Championships when Barringer lost a shoe midrace and cost herself a shot at defending her steeplechase title.

In a move that perfectly illustrated her will to win, Barringer hurriedly put her shoe back on and was able to finish in seventh place and still earn All-American honors.

Competing with honor and a strong will-to-win, she is one of the rare people out there who understands the magnitude of her actions, and yet still appreciates all of the details along the way. Barringer is the consummate student-athlete, and this weekend when an estimated 8,000 fans descend upon CU's Potts Field to take in the action, they will see where her hard work has taken her.

"One of the reasons I want to remember that I am a college athlete is that while I am wearing a CU uniform I am an ambassador of the University of Colorado," said Barringer. "To think kids want to come and be the 'next Jenny', that warms my heart. I hope before I leave to inspire other athletes, and future women runners especially, to come here and work hard."

Contact Eliot Dempsey about this story at (303) 443-6272 ext. 112 or sports@coloradodaily.com

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