Coach Woody Barnett was a nationally acclaimed championship track & field coach and athletic director at Pearl High. Coach Barnett is a Jackson native who graduated from Provine High and Mississippi College where he served as an athletic trainer & manager. His 31-year coaching career at Pearl is one of the most distinguished in the MAC. He led the Pirate track squads to an amazing 37 state championships including 25 boys titles and 12 girls crowns in cross country & track. His Pearl thincladders have captured 98 district/division/region titles, 4 Little Dixie Conference crowns and 16 North/South state titles with 28 state runner-up finishes. He has coached five cross country & track All-Americans including George Kersh, a national record holder, plus 200 All-State and 102 individual high school champions at Pearl. He was named coach of the year an incredible 24 times by the MAC, the National Federation of High Schools, the MHSAA, the Jackson Daily News and the Clarion Ledger plus several other coaching associations. He is a nationally acclaimed track administrator who is a certified USA track & field official and has served the NCAA, the SEC, Conference USA, the MAC and the MHSAA in numerous capacities related to track & cross country. Woody served as State Games commissioner, organized the MS Track & Field Meet of Champions, and has been a clinic speaker & director across the state, region and nation. As athletic director, he oversees a junior high and high school program that features 29 coaches and nearly 2,000 student. Coach Barnett guided Pearl athletics to 3 Clarion Ledger Class 4A All Sports Awards including 32 state titles during his tenure plus facility upgrades in softball, track, tennis, football, and baseball.