Katie Barto didn’t get Heisman, but she’s a winner

Tim Graham

Tuesday, Dec. 17, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Katie Barto didn't win the award she was nominated for, but she didn't leave New York a loser.

As one of just six national nominees for the Wendy's High School Heisman Award, the Green Valley High senior spent this past weekend taking part in the festivities surrounding the Heisman Trophy presentation at the Downtown Athletic Club.

Barto saw the fe male award go to Erin Dromgoole from Millbury, Mass., and the male award go to Chris Kirchhoff from Columbus, Ohio. But that didn't stop her from having a good time.

Saying long before she left for New York that winning wasn't an issue, Barto enjoyed the overall experience, which included tours of the city and introductions to Mayor Rudy Guliani, Wendy's founder Dave Thomas and two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.

"Dave Thomas said he is going to see me the next time he golfed at Lake Las Vegas, and he is the exact same as he is in the commercials," Barto said. "He's a real nice guy."

She also sat in on the presentation of the actual Heisman Trophy, awarded annually to the nation's top college football player. This year it was Florida's Danny Wuerffel.

But of most importance to Barto were the new friendships.

"I met some incredible peer role models and I could follow in their footsteps," she said. "There are people out there who are going to make a difference and make the world better.

"We're planning on (staying touch). We exchanged e-mail addresses and phone numbers. Everyone is invited out to Las Vegas."

The 12 candidates for the award -- six male and six female -- will be featured in a special half-hour show on ESPN (Prime Cable Channel 19) Christmas Eve. A preview was shown during Friday's High School Heisman banquet.

"There was a video presentation, and a lot of people were crying," Barto said. "It was incredible what everyone had accomplished. Everyone was touched."

Barto was nominated for both her athletic and academic achievements.

The cross country, track and soccer star has a perfect 4.7 grade-point average and is a member of the National Honor Society and the Spanish National Honor Society. She has taken part in the Hugh O'Brian Leadership Conference and the Nevada Association of of Student Councils Conference.

Away from school, Barto donates her services to the St. Vincent's Homeless Shelter soup kitchen, the Special Olympics and the Green Valley and Lake Mead Beautification projects.

Durango hoops ranked

The Durango boys' basketball team is ranked ninth in the West by USA Today's weekly poll, which was released Monday. The Trailblazers are 4-0 after defeating Valley Friday.

Durango faces another stiff Sunrise Division foe tonight when it hosts Las Vegas (4-1) at 6:30 p.m.

In another key inter-division matchup, Bishop Gorman (5-0) hosts Valley (3-1) at 7 p.m.

The rest of tonight's boys AAAA schedule consists of four games with 6:30 p.m. starts: Basic (0-4) at Clark (2-3), Eldorado (0-4) at Bonanza (1-2), Rancho (2-2) at Cimarron-Memorial (2-1), and Green Valley (3-1) at Western (2-2). Silverado (3-2) visits Boulder City at 6 p.m., and Chaparral (2-5) heads to Cheyenne (3-2) at 7:30 p.m.

In girls AAAA play, Canadian school Vanier attempts a strange double header, visiting Basic (3-1) at 4 p.m. before heading off to Silverado (4-0) at 7:30 p.m.

Five more games tip off at 6:30 p.m., with Cheyenne (1-1) at Chaparral (2-2), Durango (1-3) at Las Vegas (2-0), Bonanza (3-1) at Eldorado (3-2), Cimarron (1-4) at Rancho (1-4), and Western (1-3) at Green Valley (3-0). Bishop Gorman (4-1) visits Valley (0-4) at 6 p.m.