Onalaska State Champ Carmen Cleveland-Barrera Verbally Commits to WWU

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Onalaska senior Carmen Cleveland-Barrera turned out for track and field in seventh grade, only because her friends were doing it. She stayed with it because she wanted to play a sport each spring. She never imagined it would one day earn her a free college education.

Cleveland-Barrera verbally committed to Western Washington University’s track and field team on April 20, accepting a scholarship that will pay her full in-state tuition.

“I didn’t know it could possibly get my college paid for,” Cleveland-Barrera said. “This is a really great experience. I’m really happy I stuck with it.”

She burst on the scene last year during the 2019-20 season, winning nine of 13 shot put events, culminating in capturing the 2B girls state title on May 25, 2019, in Cheney, Washington. Her winning throw of 41 feet, 4.5 inches was over two feet further than the next closest competitor, Willapa Valley’s Hallee Layman. Had Cleveland-Barrera competed in the 4A state track meet, she would have placed third. It was the 16th furthest throw in the state last year and she was the 13th-ranked returning shot-putter across all classifications heading into this season. 

It was made even more impressive due to the fact that she has spent the last two years without a throwing coach. Onalaska’s previous coach had to step back due to health issues. She’s had to go through every practice, every meet, nearly 30 in all, without a throwing coach — and still won a state title.

It dawned on her after winning state that maybe she could parlay that success into a scholarship. So she began pushing herself in the weight room, where Onalaska P.E. teacher and boys basketball coach Wayne Nelson has helped her reach new heights.

“I told him I want to get stronger, so sometimes he puts me on these ridiculous cycles that no one else does,” Cleveland-Barrera said. “But I do it because I know I’ll get stronger in the end.”

Unfortunately, she won’t get the chance to defend her state title this spring, but she still garnered attention from multiple universities.

She had first committed to Concordia University in Portland, Oregon, on a full-ride scholarship and had plans set to move there at the end of summer 2020. But in February 2020, she received a call from the track coach during school saying Concordia was closing its doors after spring quarter. The university was riddled with financial problems due to falling enrollment and construction debt.



“I was really unmotivated after that,” Cleveland-Barrera said. “I didn’t know what to do.”

Luckily, Onalaska football coach Mazen Saade, who is also a state champion after leading the Loggers to the 2B state title this past fall, helped her find a new spot. So she re-opened her recruitment, and Saade asked her for a list of colleges she would consider and he contacted each one.

She eventually narrowed it down to two schools that were interested: Western Washington University in Bellingham and Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. Ultimately, she went with Western due to its affordability.

“I really like their campus. It’s beautiful,” Cleveland-Barrera said. “It’s a little out of my comfort zone, being larger than what I’m used to, but I think it will be a good fit.”

Cleveland-Barrera is going from Onalaska, a town of about 800 people, to Bellingham, a city of 90,000 perched 25 minutes south of Canada and a little over an hour south of Vancouver, British Columbia.

She’ll be joining a Western track team that placed fifth out of 10 teams at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships last May. Cleveland-Barrera’s state-winning throw would have tied her for fourth place at the 2019 GNAC tourney.

“I’m just excited to get better,” Cleveland-Barrera said. “I’ll actually have a throwing coach. I think, hopefully, I’ll learn a lot from him.”

For now, she’s just looking forward to new beginnings and continuing her academic and athletic career in Whatcom County.