Ventura County's top miler began as a fifth-grader who barely logged an inch from his Pentium I computer and its array of video games.

Finally, Michael Barnes' mother, Leslie, forced her son to find a sport.

"It's kind of embarrassing," said Barnes. "I was the nerdy kid who sat around at home.

"She just wanted me out of the house."

Seven years later, Barnes will bring this season's top mark in the 1,600 meters into Friday's county championships at Moorpark High. The 6-foot senior ran a 4-minute, 15.8-second mile earlier this month at Asuza Pacific.

"He's got the biggest upside of any runner I've had," said Ventura distance coach Tyree Cruz. "He's really coming into his own. You can see that he's just going to keep improving."

What was once a joke rooted in fantasy in the Barnes household became a reality earlier this year when Barnes earned a Division I scholarship to run at the University of San Francisco.

"I've always been decent as a distance runner," said Barnes, "but my time just started to drop (this year)."

With the six potential meets that could shape his high school career quickly approaching, Barnes is taking everything in stride.

"I'm just excited to see how things turn out," said Barnes.

Barnes' coming of age might be rooted in the competition provided by his teammates. Ventura High's deep stable of distance runners includes four other seniors who have already decided to attend four-year schools — Alex Bryant (Yale), John Hooke (BYU-Hawaii), Andrew Zitek (NYU) and Greg Woodburn (USC). And the talent isn't only in the upper class, as Ethan Tackett's 4:36.89 mile broke the school's record for freshmen.

"This is the deepest distance squad I've ever had," said Cruz. "When you've got good, quality runners, the younger ones rise to that level."

The Cougars broke the school record for the distance medley relay (17:50) earlier this month at Arcadia without Barnes resting.

"We have a large team component," said Barnes. "Everyone's been running to their abilities."

And that's just on the track. Head coach Kory Anderson said that this year's team has broken 14 school records, with another couple marks to fall this weekend.

"This is the best team Ventura High's put together in a long time," said Anderson.

Which goes back to why Barnes got off the desk chair and put on a pair of spikes in the first place.

"It's fun to get out there and win, occasionally," said Barnes.

Which the lanky senior achieves in his own style, lurking around the leaders until he finds the right moment to strike.

"I like to be right there in the action," said Barnes.

Yet he can maintain a competitive drive without taking things too seriously.

"I don't want it to become a job that I have to come out here and grind out every day," said Barnes. "You've got to keep it fun."

Whether its on the track, on the cross country course or back in front of the computer late at night.

"I can still squeeze in a few video games," said Barnes, who has been playing "Assassin's Creed" on the X-Box 360 lately.

"No way I'm giving it up," adds the future business major with a smile. "It's obviously not hindering me."