Westmoreland County campus clippings: Jeannette's Marcus Barnes earns preseason honor

HeroSports.com came out with its top 30 FCS safeties for 2024 and a local player made the list.

Marcus Barnes, a redshirt senior at William & Mary, checked in at No. 29 after an impressive ‘23 season.

Barnes, a Jeannette graduate, is on pace to be a future NFL Draft entry. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound ballhawk was an All-Coastal Athletic Association honorable mention selection after he started 10 games last season for the Tribe (6-5). He was fourth on the team with 54 tackles and had an interception and a forced fumble.

Barnes won WPIAL and PIAA championships with Jeannette in 2017 as an all-state performer.

Barnes’ father, Johnnie Barnes, played in the NFL, including one season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Men’s track and field

Seton Hill: Recent graduate Sam Hartman qualified for the Olympic Team Trials in the 400-meter run.

The two-time NCAA Division II champion finished 23rd in the first round in Eugene, Ore., with a time of 50.98 seconds to advance to the second day of qualifying, but ended up 14th with a 50.50 in the semifinals and did not continue on.

The top 10 advanced.