Simi's Barr backs down to no one
Senior grappler proves looks can be deceiving
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers POWER PACKED- Simi Valley High senior wrestler Chris Barr won the 130-pound championship during last Saturday's CIF Inland Division finals at Los Osos High in Rancho Cucamonga.

It was when Chris Barr looked his worst that Simi Valley High head wrestling coach Guy Greene knew the grappler would eventually be one of his best.

Before the start of Barr's freshman year at Simi Valley, he fell off his bike in a motocross race and was hit by another racer.

The injury left Barr with an unsightly black eye. When Greene saw the black eye, he told Barr to take a picture of himself. The coach said he knew at that moment Barr would eventually have success on the mat.

"You figure you have to like a wrestler that also competes in motocross racing," Greene said. "If you quit and let go of your bike when racing, you're going to get run over by another bike. So there's a great deal of courage in motocross racing that you also need in wrestling."

Greene's original assessment of Barr has finally come to fruition.

Barr, a senior, won the Marmonte League championship in the 130-pound division earlier in the month by defeating Blake Ginsburg of Royal High.

"When I defeated (Ginsburg) at the league finals, it was very relieving, but at the same time unreal," Barr said. "It definitely took awhile for it to set in."

The league championship was the first in Barr's career at SVHS. He said the reason for his success has been a change in attitude.

"This year I prepared myself better mentally for each match," Barr said. "I realized that if I go about my own plan and don't go into unfamiliar territory when wrestling, then I'll be just fine."

Last weekend, Barr registered a 28second pin to win the 130pound class at the CIF Inland Division Individual finals at Los Osos High in Rancho Cucamonga.

"I tried to do the same thing I did at the Marmonte League finals," Barr said. "I had to keep the pressure on my opponent and not let up for a second. Thankfully, it worked."

Barr's Pioneer teammate, Jon Hamm, said a Temecula Valley High coach gave Barr the ultimate compliment after his win.

"The coach came up to me earlier in the day to ask me if Barr was my little brother," Hamm said, with a laugh. "Later he came up to me and said, 'You know, Barr's got this baby-face look to him, but then he just goes in and wrecks people.'"

Barr will be competing today and Saturday at the CIF Masters Meet in Rialto. Barr's first-round matchup is against Joe Roudebush of St. John Bosco High.

"I know a lot about Roudebush," Barr said. "He's pretty tough. Once again, I know I need to be the aggressor, and I can't go out of my realm."

After he graduates from SVHS, Barr's unsure of whether he'll continue to compete on the mat.

"I have no plans right now for wrestling in college," Barr said. "Wrestling is tough in high school, but it's at least four times more difficult in college. They say it takes you an extra year to graduate college if you wrestle."

Still, Barr's leaving his options open.

"Then again, it would be a good experience to wrestle on a college varsity team," Barr said. "So it's something I have to think about."

Whatever Barr decides to do, Greene knows that he'll miss him next year.

"He's a good kid," Greene said. "He's very humble when he wins and very gracious when he loses. I'm glad things have worked out so well for him in his senior year."