Different but equal; runners build bond

As freshmen, Matt Barns and Dan Quarfoot entered Barrington High School separately.

Now as seniors, they wind down cross country careers with their names forever connected in the school's record books.

The Broncos' co-captains are going to the state meet for a second time with their team, something no other Barrington runner has done in over 25 years.

A key to the Broncos' success the past four years has been the mixture of two very different personalities.

"Dan has been a leader since day one," coach Ty Gorman said. "When he was a freshman, he was calling out seniors who were slacking in practice.

"Barns was a little more of a happy-go-lucky, take-it-easy kind of guy. I've seen them rub off on each other where Dan is not so intense and serious, and Barns is much more of a leader than he used to be. So I think they took the best qualities of each and learned from each other in that way."

Quarfoot made his presence immediately known when he ran on varsity as a freshman. His vocal displays alienated some upperclassmen but impressed others.

"It certainly didn't make me popular with those seniors," he said, "but I think the juniors and the sophomores and the freshmen gave me a little bit of respect. But in essence I was just doing what (the coaches) had told me to do."

Quarfoot had his strong debut season validated when his teammates voted him Outstanding Freshman.

Meanwhile, Barns spent his first year simply trying to find his way. He had just moved from Belgium and was a little overwhelmed by the transition.

"We knew no one here and we hadn't been back in the U.S. for five years," he said. "Although it was our native country, it felt like we were moving to a new country."

Making the transition harder, Barns went from a small, private school to a high school with more than 2,400 students.

Seeking normalcy, he turned to running.

"Cross country was were I met most of my friends," he said. "I wrote one of my college essays on it and I called it 'my point of refuge.' It was so crazy in (school) and then you come out here and everyone is your friend from day one."

Barns' fastest three-mile race as a freshman was 18:10. As a sophomore, he was running in the mid-15's and accordingly named the team's Most Improved Runner.

That year, Barns and Quarfoot ran behind seniors Nick Farina, Mike Laugal and Josh Tomek as Barrington placed seventh at the state meet, the third-best finish in school history.

"(2005) really taught me a lot about running and how a successful team functions," Quarfoot said. "As a sophomore, I remember what my captain was doing to calm me down to get me in the right mindset. I remember how he motivated me to race well."

As a co-captain and the most experienced runner on the team, Quarfoot accepts his leadership role and tries to help guide the younger runners.

"I think people look to me to see what to do," Quarfoot said. "Most people follow me in running."

While Quarfoot's job is to get everyone focused and prepared, Barns does his best to keep the Broncos loose and relaxed.

On bus rides before meets, Barns thoroughly enjoys leading the team in a sing-along of 1990s pop songs by artists such as Nick Lachey, Backstreet Boys, Faith Hill, and Savage Garden.

"I'm probably a tenor, but not a very good one," he admitted.

"(He's a) tenor in progress," Quarfoot offered. "It's brutal for the rest of us but it's fun."

With four fun-filled years in the mirror, the pair will line up and run their final prep cross country race Saturday.

However, regardless of the outcome in Peoria, one thing is assured. Matt Barns and Dan Quarfoot will always have a place together in Barrington history.

"Since 1979-80, they're the only two guys to repeat a trip to the state meet. So that's obviously something that doesn't happen very often at Barrington," Gorman said.

"That would be the start of their legacy, that they were two guys who were consistent and highly competitive over a long time."