Mackenzie Barnett played volleyball and basketball and was a cheerleader at White Creek Lutheran School, but when it came time to enter Columbus North High School, she chose a different sport — cross-country.
While originally joining the team in hopes of meeting a few friends at a new school, Barnett ended up becoming one of the best distance runners in school history.
“I’m just really glad that I decided to join the cross-country team my freshman year. It was great. I went to White Creek Lutheran School, so I just wanted to come in and meet people, and I figured cross-country would be a good way to do that. I ended up really liking it. It just became something that I really focused on.”
Four years later, Barnett is one of the most decorated athletes ever to come through North. She had stellar careers in both cross-country and track, and her success as a senior this year led to her selection as The Republic Bartholomew County Female Athlete of the Year.
“Overall, it was a great senior year,” Barnett said. “I was blessed to have great teammates and coaches and a great season. I was happy with how it all went.”
Last fall, Barnett won individual titles at the Brown County Sectional, Columbus North Regional and Brown County Semistate. She then placed seventh at the state finals, earning All-State honors and leading the Bull Dogs to a third-place team finish.
“Being one of those athletes that wins three of the four rounds of the tournament, her putting up a single point, you literally can’t do better,” North girls cross-country and track coach Rick Sluder said. “She was the one bringing other girls with her. Her seventh-place finish (at state), that’s why we were third place. It was her leading us there. It was an amazing performance. Anytime you’re single digits at the state meet, that’s incredible. She’s the reason we were in the position we were all the way around.”
This spring, Barnett won Conference Indiana, Franklin Sectional and Franklin Regional titles in both the 1,600 and 3,200 meters, while also being a part of the winning 4×800 relay teams. She focused on the 4×800 and 3,200 at state, finishing third in the 4×800 and 12th in the 3,200.
“Her presence was amazing,” Sluder said. “When we needed points, we could count on her. Dual meets, if we needed five points, conference meets, when we needed 10 points. She would run three events in the big meets and score well in all of them.”
Twice this season, Barnett ran on school record-setting 4×800 relay teams. She teamed with sophomores Julie Klaus, Brianna Newell and Lily Baker to run 9 minutes, 18.77 seconds in the Pike Invitational and 9:16.73 at state.
“The 4×800 was really fun this year,” Barnett said. “Breaking the record, it was fun to have a group of four to be able to do that.”
Barnett was thankful to be able to compete this season after spring sports in 2020 were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Definitely without getting my junior track season, I was able to keep training hard and just get ready for senior cross-country and track season,” Barnett said. “It was really great to have a track season and especially cross-country season, which we were kind of worried about. I’m really grateful that we got the opportunity to compete as much as we did.”
Barnett’s best cross-country time of 18:04 for 5,000 meters (3.1 miles) ranks second on North’s all-time list behind 2014 graduate Mackenzie Caldwell.
“Just looking back and thinking of her career, (Barnett) leaves North as probably the No. 2 female distance runner of all time,” Sluder said. “That’s impressive when you’re talking about North cross-country and track.”
Sluder said Barnett was one of the Bull Dogs’ main leaders though last year’s quarantine, when coaches could not meet with their teams and runners were left to train on their own. That continued into cross-country and track seasons.
“Not just this year, but really the last two years, she’s been our leader in just about every way, on the course, off the course, leading girls over the summer,” Sluder said. “She’s been that go-to for the coaching staff. We will miss her, and it won’t just be in meets. It will be every day, with her work ethic. We’ll miss her on the course and in the locker room. The great thing about her is, she left those younger girls ready to lead with her example. They have already this summer in the first couple weeks, it was like, ‘What would Mackenzie have done?’ It’s great to see as a coach.”
The week of the state cross-country meet, Barnett committed to continue her cross-country and track careers at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. She plans to major in mathematics education and was just there for orientation on Friday.
“I’m excited for Lipscomb,” Barnett said. “It was a really good four years at North, but I’m excited to continue running in college.”
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The Republic Bartholomew County Female Athletes of the Year (open only to seniors):
2016-17: Cortney VanLiew, Columbus East
2017-18: Adi Minor, Columbus East
2018-19: Megna Chari, Columbus East
2019-20: Olivia Morlok, Columbus North
2020-21: Mackenzie Barnett, Columbus North
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