USAR
NCO wins second Pentathlon National Championship Story by 1LT Marshall Hudson Photos by Stacey Knobler USA
Track and Field Masters National Championships Orono,
Maine August
8, 2002 The U.S. Army Reserves SFC James Barr wins his second
National Pentathlon Title at the 2002 USA Track and Field Masters National
Championships. SFC Barr, an
Acting First Sergeant with the 11th Psychological Operation
Battalion out of Washington, D.C. successfully defended the title he
won last year in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The Pentathlon in track and field is contested over one day and
consists of the Long Jump, Javelin, 200 meter sprint, Discus, and the
1500 meter run. Each event is scored by points and totaled
at the end of each event to determine the leader and further at the
end of the competition day after the 1500m to determine an overall winner. After a close Long Jump competition, SFC Barr led
by only a few points over two other athletes. In the next event, the Javelin, Barr launched the winning throw
on his first attempt nearly 13 feet farther than anyone else. This would prove to be his highest event
point total of the meet taking a commanding lead over his opponents.
“If you win the first two
events you have a tremendous psychological advantage over the competition,” commented an elated Barr.
The discus proved a nail
biter. SFC Barr got off a decent
throw at the onset but not enough to secure a win. Throw number two was a “shank” out of the hand as they call it.
But with the pressure on, Barr delivered the winning throw by
over 20 feet on his third attempt. “I knew that was it. I just relaxed and hit the power position
perfectly and let it go.” |
Going into the 1500 meters the second place
competitor would have to run a 4:30, quite a challenging task. It was a tough race, but Barr came through
pacing himself to finish with time to spare, 65 points ahead of the
All-American Standard. The results were tallied and SFC Barr won by
over 300 points. Barr later went on to successfully defend his open
Javelin title from 2001 and also brought home a silver medal in the
High Jump, and bronze medals in the Shot Put, Discus, and Long Jump.
SFC Barr competes for Potomac Valley Track Club as
a Masters All-American in Arlington, VA where he has been Athlete of
the Year in 2000, 2001, and 2002. He also coaches local youth and senior
athletes. As an Army Reservist for over 11 years he has been deployed
to Bosnia and recently won the NCO of the Year for the 2nd Psychological
Operations Group under the U.S. Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations
Command. SFC Barr was a prior active duty airborne infantry soldier
and also served with the U.S. Presidential Honor Guard in Washington,
D.C. He will be attending the World Masters Games in Melbourne,
Australia in October. “I believe this is the most important event
of which I will ever be a part. Considering all the country has been
through this year, I feel it’s the best time to represent the U.S. and
the U.S. Army Reserve on the world stage.” At these Games, the largest
ever held, there will be competitors from over 95 countries. The games are held every 4 years. A fund has been set up to assist U.S. athletes
like SFC Barr in going to the Games. If you are interested in helping please send contributions to
PVTC c/o Going to the Games Fund 3161 S. Stafford St. Arlington, VA 22206.
RESULTS: ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Barr, SFC James E #45
USAR/PVTC 6.04m 54.35m 25.11 38.21m 5:31.54
Points: 2865 (595) (653) (597) (628) (392)
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2 Sanfilippo, David C #820
Unattached 5.49m 50.67m 24.44 25.25m 5:18.84
Points: 2560 (479) (599) (654) (372) (456)
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3 Krause, Jeff S #515
Unattached 5.18m 38.27m 25.00 31.99m 4:53.34
Points: 2543 (417) (417) (606) (504) (599)
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4 Melton, James #628
Camden City PD 6.03m 31.97m 23.75 26.60m 5:25.96
Points: 2453 (593) (327) (716) (398) (419)
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5 Jones, John I #477
PVTC 5.80m 43.27m 23.97 29.37m 6:12.46
Points: 2398 (544) (490) (696) (452) (216)
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6 Roux, Michael #810
Syracuse Chargers 6.01m 46.35m DNF 28.10m 5:26.78
Points: 1966 (589) (535) (0) (427) (415)
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PHOTOS INCLUDED WITH STORY: Barr Long Jumping to a 1st
place at 2002 USA Track and Field Masters Nationals in Orono, Maine. |