North Buncombe – As a high school athlete, nothing feels better than winning unless it is being recognized by a college that you have what it takes to make it to the next level. To do that, you must have determination, persistence, and focus, and Eden Barnwell has them.
She gave up basketball when she found track as a freshman at North Buncombe High School, and so far, it’s paid off. Senior Eden Barnwell signed up with a college that saw she had what it takes to make it to the next level. Barnwell signed with Catawba College Indians as her family stood by her on Wednesday, March 6th.
Barnwell was joined by coaches, family, team members, and friends as she signed her name for the deal and was excited about her future. “I’m real excited,” said Barnwell, going on to explain, “I was a basketball player, so I started running track to kinda get in better shape for basketball. Then I just kinda loved running…focusing more and more on it over the past years.”
While she played basketball last year, she focused on track her senior year. Her focus on track has paid off with her winning three state championships and two runner-ups, and now being signed to run for Catawba, a 1,200-plus-student college in Salisbury, NC, and one of the top Divison II schools for track.
It was only natural that Barnwell plans on studying exercise science at Catawba to equip her for doing something in physical therapy or athletics.
“We are very excited. She’s worked very hard, especially over the last two years,” said Brandy, Barnwell’s mom. “She played basketball all her life and started track to try and get in shape for basketball season and stuff, and it just turned out she’s a pretty good runner. She really enjoyed it and had success. Her freshman year was that COVID year, so it was kinda hard to know what it was like, but then she had a lot of success. She worked really hard year-round for the last couple of years. So, we’re really excited for her.” Brandy added that she was happy her daughter could continue doing what she loves and get her college paid for, too.
North Buncombe Coach Jeff Capps told Barnwell that, “for the coaches, we’re proud of you…today’s your day! Thank you for letting us coach you.”
“We’re excited for her! She has worked really hard and made a lot of sacrifices. You want to see your kids succeed, but it’s always even better when you see them really putting the work [in] to succeed,” said Vollie, Barnwell’s dad. “And she has done that. She has dedicated herself to wanting to run at the next level at the college level. She’s gone through the recruiting process, and she handle that really well. You know, finding the best fit for her and she feels like she’s done that. So, I’m very proud of her and excited for her to live out her next steps. When God gives you the opportunities and when He gives you the abilities, you want your kids to really take advantage of that.”