SportScene 13 Spotlight: Davis Barthen

Menomonie's Davis Barthen was a three sport star for the Mustangs, excelling in football, baseball and basketball. This past season his work in the classroom earned him not only valedictorian honors at Menomonie, but the George H. Chryst Memorial Scholarship.

Though COVID-19 prevented him from being honored at Camp Randall during the Badgers spring game, he is still very appreciative of the award.

"It was pretty special to see all the hard work over the years payoff. It's not the easiest thing in the world to wake-up every day and keep grinding and working your butt off, but it meant a lot to know that other people saw the hard work,"

One of those who saw that hard work both on the field and in the classroom was his head football coach Joe LaBuda.

"He exemplifies what you would want young players to look up to. He is just such a super role model. He is friendly to everybody and a caring young man and just a tremendous athlete."

So what does it take to be a star academically and athletically like Davis?

"Often times you will lift in the morning, you will go through your seven class periods in the day, you'll go to practice and you'll come home and you are tired, but you have to have that self-motivation to know that you have to push a little bit more, make it through the night and do it all again tomorrow."

Those close to him got to see that work ethic first hand and were impressed.

"He wasn't taking the easy classes", says his mother Patsy Barthen.

"It was the AP calculus, physics and chemistry. All those classes that are really hard!"

"He epitomizes what it takes to be a student athlete," added LaBuda.

"4.0 grade point average with a 30 ACT and to do all the things he has done athletically and still maintain that grade point average it's just an amazing feat.

And Davis will take that drive and motivation to Madison this fall, where he will focus on his studies, but he will still get his athletic fix on the intramural fields as well.

“My goal is to have a great time, learn a lot and get a degree in four years and hopefully get a good job after that, while enjoying and soaking up every single moment of the experience that you get in such a great town and great University.”