Olympian and TUKS wrestler Heinrich Barnes qualifies for NCAA Division 1 in USA!
Heinrich qualified to compete in the top NCAA Div 1 tournament from 17-21 March 09
Two-time All-American wrestler Heinrich Barnes studies on a full scholarship in the USA at Oregon State. Barnes started wrestling at TUKS Wrestling many years ago as a little boy. His drive and commitment to become an Olympian is an inspiration to all wrestlers of TUKS.
Barnes at home in Corvallis
By Cliff Kirkpatrick
Gazette-Times Reporter
Junior has gotten comfortable at Oregon State
Heinrich Barnes was in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho two years ago, attending North Idaho College.
While it was a beautiful setting with various outdoor activities to keep him entertained, there were times when he was by himself that he felt very alone.
He was on his own and so far from home it wasn’t easy to visit his family, since it was usually a $1,500 round trip plane ticket.
The South African began a journey of personal fulfillment. He wanted to see where wrestling would take him, and that was the first stop along the way.
After success there, he moved on to Oregon State, and the junior has become one of the top wrestlers for the Beavers this season.
“I’ve been wrestling since I was 6 years old,” Barnes said. “And like every kid, you have a dream to achieve something big. As I got older I had an image in my mind of coming to the States and wrestling here. And while I’m here, I might as well get my education.”
He has a 15-2 record with a pin, and a 7-0 mark in dual meets in the 141-pound division with the Beavers. He’s on a six-match win streak after three victories last weekend in the Virginia Duals.
“He infused new life into the team,” coach Jim Zalesky said. “He competes and practices hard. He puts in the extra time. And when he competes, he expects to win. A guy beat him, and he took it the right way — he took it hard. It has to mean something to you.”
Barnes started wrestling at the club level and then for Centurion High in Pretoria. He was dominant with a 125-7 record for Centurion, was a South African national champion and finished eighth in the Junior World Championships.
However, Barnes and his mentors felt he wasn’t going to reach his potential if he stayed in his homeland. The level of competition and training weren’t there to push him.
“I wanted to make something out of my sport,” Barnes said. “If I stayed in Africa, I wouldn’t have gotten better.”
Barnes became serious about his dream the last two years of high school. He had the support of his family, so his parents saved their money to pay for this experience.
It also took a fellow South African to show him the way. Shaun Williams had already accomplished what Barnes planned, so he followed the path already blazed.
Williams wrestled at North Idaho and stayed there to coach. Understanding the challenges of the New World, he helped Barnes get into the program.
“Things came together,” Barnes said. “I had the opportunity to come, and I took it. He was my contact and he helped me get in there. It was kind of scary when everything started to finalize. Just the idea of being away from everyone, it was scary.”
Williams advised Barnes about how wrestling and life were different in the United States. He had to adapt to the collegiate style and rules after working freestyle all his life.
Stories about how the training was more intense and of the excitement at the meets enticed him even more.
“I never got discouraged there or anything,” Barnes said. “I knew it was going to be tough in a different country, away from everyone I knew. But you have to make sacrifices for the things you want.”
He lived off of $500 a month his father sent him. After paying for tuition the first term, Barnes earned a scholarship.
The hardest part was the first few weeks. He spoke with such a deep accent everyone had trouble understanding him. Soon people could make out what he was saying without much trouble, and he picked up on American slang.
Communication troubles didn’t slow him down on the mat. He went 69-11 with 12 pins in his two years at North Idaho, earning the 141-pound National Junior College Athletic Association Championship his sophomore season.
Barnes uses his never-stop attitude to guide him and doesn’t worry about who he wrestles. It’s about what he can accomplish each time out.
That’s what led Zalesky to recruit him.
Zalesky uses Barnes as an example of how dedicated he wants his wrestlers to be, pointing out how far he has come for this opportunity.
“He’s wrestling like I want guys to wrestle, and we feel he can progress collegiately because he’s only wrestled in college for two years,” Zalesky said. “He’s aggressive. He’s wrestling seven minutes hard. Sometimes you need that example in the (workout) room of look at this guy, so wrestle like, and work like, this guy. I want the rest of the guys to get to that point.”
Barnes is now looking to the future, and hopes to make a name for himself at the national level the next two seasons.
He is trying to improve his ability in that time to return home to chase a new dream — the Olympics.
“I don’t have any regrets coming here,” Barnes said. “It’s the best choice I’ve made. Everything has gone great, even better than I thought. I feel like I’ve made a big improvement since I got here. I feel like I’m improving every time I step on the mat.”
HEINRICH BARNES
• WHO: Junior 141-pounder for the Oregon State wrestling team
• SIZE: 5-foot-6
• HOMETOWN: Pretoria, South Africa
• EDUCATION: Graduated from Centurion High, majoring in business administration
• FAMILY: Son of David and Marinda Barnes, and has two brothers, David and Dwayne
• STATS: Has a 15-2 record this season with one pin
• ECT.: Won the South African national championship and finished eighth in the Junior World Championships before coming to the U.S. ... Started wrestling in the U.S. at North Idaho College, and was the school’s athlete of the year in 2007 by winning the NJCAA 141-pound championship and went 40-3 as a sophomore.
