MCCANDLESS TWP — His ability in one sport led to even more success in another for Conor Barrett.

He was already used to competition by his freshman year thanks to joining Seneca Valley's boys volleyball team in middle school.

"A few of the track and field coaches noticed how well I was jumping for the volleyball team and urged me to give that sport a try," Barrett said. "It was my sophomore year when I actually joined. I had no idea how it would unfold, but I went from the sidelines to the podium pretty quickly."

Conor Barrett

Barrett would go on to clear 6 feet, 9 inches in the high jump several times. He still holds Seneca Valley's school record in the event and is tied with Union's Hayden Smith and Butler's Matt Nowakowski for the best-ever effort among Butler County-area boys.

The 2008 graduate will be one of six people inducted into the SV Sports Hall of Fame next month.

He continued to play volleyball through his senior year.

"Track and volleyball are held in the same season and the fact that I was able to do both, my coaches (Wayne Roccia, Ray Peaco, Dan Sample in track and field and Greg Beavers in volleyball) deserve a lot of credit," Barrett said. "They worked together, though most of the time, I was at volleyball."

Barrett tried the triple jump and long jump, too, scoring a few points in those events during dual meets.

"I think I had a lot of potential in those events, but didn't have the time to develop those skills while competing in two sports," he said.

Dan Sample, SV's longtime jumping coach, agreed.

"I can't say for certain what he would've been able to do had he focused just on track and field," he said. "But I believe 6-10 or 6-11 was within his range. He was a very gifted jumper."

On the volleyball court, Barrett earned All-Section honors his senior year as an outside hitter while excelling in the high jump. His best showing as a sophomore was 6-2, then went on to win the event at the Butler Invitational in 2007 and 2008. But he saved his best for the postseason meets, winning back-to-back WPIAL titles as a junior and senior. He medaled twice at states, including a third-place finish in 2008 when he went 6-9.

Of his WPIAL titles, Barrett said: "They were kind of a surprise. Going into that first one, I didn't realize just how big it was, but I was proud to be able to win two straight."

Barrett was recruited to jump at Penn State and he did so for the Nittany Lion indoor and outdoor teams his freshman year of college before focusing strictly on academics afterward. He graduated in 2012 with a degree in energy business and finance. He is currently employed as an asset manager of operations for a solar company.

He said he is grateful to be recognized by his alma mater with the coming hall of fame induction.

"Sports were so important to me," he added. "I received a lot of support from my parents, Denis and Amy."