ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, July 15, 1996 TAG: 9607150103
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KEITH POMPEY STAFF WRITER
THE PATRICK HENRY high school graduate has found success on the track and field and many other places since moving to Roanoke two years ago.
Forget Florida. Raheem Barnwell had a better time Sunday at the Commonwealth Games track and field competition.
``I just came here and had fun,'' said Barnwell. ``There is a lot of things to get into in Florida. But I'm having a great time.''
The recent Patrick Henry High School graduate put on a show at Salem High School.
Barnwell, 18, won the Scholastic division (15- to 18-year-old) long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 5 inches, took the 300-meter hurdles in 40.43 seconds and took second in the 110 hurdles (14.7 seconds).
He also teamed up with Dwayne Terry, Kevin Austin and Jamie Price in winning the Collegiate division (19-29) 400-meter relay (43.61).
But ...
``If this would have been in Florida, I would have probably been in the streets all day fighting,'' Barnwell said. ``I would just be in the streets hanging.''
Barnwell, who moved to Roanoke two years ago, once belonged to a gang in Florida called the Oak Ridge Posse. At Gainesville High School, he was suspended 13 times. Drop a hat, drop an insult, drop a look and Raheem was ready to jump in your face
One fight at school 10th grade in Florida still stands in his mind. ``One guy tried to talk stuff to one of my boys,'' Barnwell recalled. ``So when class let out, we met in the hallway and went at it.''
That brought a suspension. Then, on his first day back to school, he punched a girl for playing a prank on him.
``I told her not to throw my bag on the floor,'' he said.
Another suspension.
``Raheem has changed a lot,'' said former PH teammate Louis Booker.
The conversion from fighter to athlete came two years ago. Barnwell moved to Roanoke to stay with his aunt, Rena Berry. He found a father figure in PH assistant track coach James Earl Jones.
Since then, Barnwell has developed into one of the best high school track athletes anywhere.
Last season, he sparkled at the Group AAA meet in Newport News, winning the 110 hurdles, placing third in long jump and taking fourth in the 200. For his efforts, he was named Timesland's Male Track Athlete of the Year.
That's not as important, however, as Barnwell's improvement in the classroom. He graduated with a 2.5 grade-point average and is headed to Norfolk State University in the fall. Barnwell had a 1.4 average in Florida.
``I wasn't dumb,'' he said. ``I just didn't want to do my work. I would just try to get by.
``When I got here I knew what I had to do. I had to pull my grades up. Ever since I was little, I wanted to go to college and be an engineer. So I knew what I had to do.''
Price, 19, also provided a highlight in The Commonwealth Games, winning the 100 and 200 dashes.
In another event, the foursome of Adrianne Morgan, Tawanna Taylor, Delania Lee and Sharieff Hodge won the Sub-Masters 400 relay with a time of 62 seconds.
LENGTH: Medium: 67 linesby CNB