Athlete Spotlight: Chris Barnes

Saints\' Barnes has footwork for racing only

Barnes\' footwork fine on the Saints\' track, but it\'s a bit shaky on the dance floor

BY FRED JETER
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Jan 27, 2006

The jury still may be out regarding Chris Barnes\' footwork on the dance floor.

On the track, however, his feet are an open-and-shut case.

The St. Christopher\'s School senior, the lone male in a \"modern dance\" elective at sister school St. Catherine\'s, ranks with Virginia\'s swiftest anywhere from 55 to 400 meters.

\"Chris is so smooth; doesn\'t even look like he\'s running hard,\" Saints coach Marshall Ware said. \"He\'s also very chatty . . . quite a talker.\"

The 6-2, 175-pound Carytown resident is the defending Prep League and Virginia Independent Schools outdoors champion in the 400 (personal record of 50.21 seconds).

This winter, he has been dominant in the 55 and 300 on the school\'s newly-christened 200-meter speedway.

He broke the tape in the...