Biography
By Jim Hague
The small town of Urbana, Ohio and the hustle and bustle of New Jersey’s largest city are like night and day for Will Barr.
“It’s definitely different,” said Barr, recently appointed as the Assistant to the Athletic Director and assistant throw coach for the Rutgers-Newark track and field program.
“I come from a small agricultural town, so coming here was like a culture shock,” said Barr, who will be a graduate intern at Rutgers-Newark this year, replacing Olivia Rotunna, who has moved on to pursue other opportunities. “But it’s something new and something different. It’s a different kind of experience.”
Barr, a recent graduate of Penn State, where he excelled in track and field, had never even been to New Jersey before coming to R-N and meet with athletic director Mark Griffin about the internship.
“The whole thing flew under the radar,” said Barr, who earned two undergraduate degrees from Penn State in political science and economics, and is pursuing a graduate degree in economics at Rutgers-Newark..
“I’ve always been involved in a lot of different athletics,” Barr said. “It seemed like an interesting kind of job and a great segue out of competitive athletics. I get to see how college administration works.”
Barr will inherit the role of taking care of the R-N athletics social media platform, including the Twitter and Facebook accounts. He will also assist with the promotion of athletic events and oversee special promotions during men’s and women’s basketball games at the Golden Dome.
In addition, Barr will get the chance to work with the R-N throwers on the track team. Barr was an excellent weight thrower at Penn State, once finishing sixth and eighth at the NCAA Nationals during indoor season, earning All-America status twice.
“Once I got into middle school, it was sports all the time for me,” Barr said. “I played football and power lifted in the winter, then went on to track and field in the spring. I was fortunate enough to have some success in all three sports.”
Barr was a tight end, running back and linebacker in high school.
“I played wherever they needed me,” Barr said. “I came from a really small school. I didn’t come off the field.”
Barr came from an area where power lifting is a big-time sport.
“I really got into power lifting and was the state champ in Ohio my junior and senior year of high school,” Barr said.
Barr competed in the 220-pound weight class and was bench pressing 365 pounds, lifting 610 pounds in the squat and 565 pounds in the dead lift.
“I competed in power lifting since seventh grade,” Barr said. “I really got into it. I always loved various kinds of weight lifting. That set me up well for track and field.”
In high school, Barr threw the shot put 55 feet and the discus 182 feet, good to be ranked among the very best in Ohio.
He spurned all offers to go to smaller schools in order to get a chance to walk on to the track team at Penn State, which happened.
After taking a redshirt year as a freshman, Barr qualified for the nationals in the 35-pound weight throw as a red-shirt junior.
“That’s when I started to take it more seriously,” Barr said. “I really got into the hammer throw and the weight throw. I never did it before I went to Penn State.”
Barr eventually became so proficient in the throws that he eventually earned All-America status twice, setting a new Penn State record of 70-feet, five inches in the 35-pound weight throw. Barr was also an Honorable Mention All-American in the discus, where his throw of 183-6 ranks sixth all-time in Penn State history.
Barr is excited to be able to work with Griffin, an assistant track coach, as well as head coach Juan Edney, with the R-N track and field athletes.
“Mark has been great in helping me out, getting me acclimated to everything,” Barr said. “Juan is a really great guy, a fun guy. So far, everyone has been nice and been very helpful to me. I’m really looking forward to working here.”
Barr said that he has taken computer courses in the past, so he will be able to keep up with the fast pace of the Scarlet Raiders’ social media schedule.
“I’ve also taken Photoshop classes, so I think I know what I’m doing,” Barr said. “I’m pretty familiar with social media. I think I can hit the ground running.”
It’s just in a little different setting than Urbana, Ohio, but Barr will quickly learn how to fit in with everyone at Rutgers-Newark.
“I’m really looking forward to the challenge,” Barr said.
