The 5-foot-5 senior won the NCISAA Class 3A state this past season with a meet-record time of 17:33.8, breaking the tape 87 seconds ahead of her next-closest competitor. Barton earned First Team All-Region honors by taking second at the Foot Locker South Regional Championships, clocking a personal-best 16:59.49. She also finished 18th at Foot Locker nationals in 18:23.0.
Barton has maintained a weighted 4.86 GPA in the classroom. She will attend Princeton University this fall, where she will run cross country and track .
Passionate about social justice and DEI initiatives, Barton has served on the advisory board of You Belong, an on-campus club geared toward developing themes and creating school-wide activities promoting equity. She has volunteered locally as an acolyte and server at Trinity Episcopal Church. She also founded StriveTogetherNC, an on-campus advocacy group raising awareness about high dropout rates among girls student-athletes.
