Ian Barnes receives NCAA Elite 90 award
Photo credit UCM Athletics
LHS alumni Ian Barnes receives the NCAA Elite 90 award from an NCAA representative for his combined academic and athletic achievements.
By Shari Harris, Publisher
University of Central Missouri (UCM) men’s golfer Ian Barnes was awarded the NCAA Elite 90 award in May. The NCAA founded the Elite 90 award to recognize “the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 90 championships.”
Barnes is a red shirt senior at UCM and competed at the National Championships, tying for 35th during stroke play, shooting +21, 237. He shot a career-best 72.59 and finished in the top three at the MIAA Championship and the Central Region Championship. The Mules, seeded seventh, finished their season in the quarterfinal round of NCAA Medal Match Play, falling to second seed Arkansas Tech.
Barnes’ academic achievements include a 4.0 GPA while earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Design and Drafting Technology. He was named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and received the MIAA Academic Excellence Award five years. In 2020, Barnes was a second team CoSIDA Academic All-American. He was enrolled at UCM in a Sport Management program at the time of the award.
Barnes is a 2015 graduate of Licking High School where he earned four consecutive All-State honors in golf and was on the high honor roll. He completed kindergarten through his undergraduate degree without making less than an “A” in any class. Barnes is the son of Kent Barnes and Tanna Roberts, and the grandson of Dave and Wanda Barnes and Billie Max and the late Shirley Lentz.
