Cody Barger can look back with pure satisfaction with what he accomplished during his senior season of track at North Hall. Barger, who will leave for the US Military Academy in just 12 days, earned state titles in the 1,600 and 3,200 meter events during the Georgia Olympics last month in Jefferson.

For his efforts, Barger is The Times 2011 Boys Track Athlete of the Year.

"I'm really happy with everything," Barger said. "I really couldn't have asked for anything more."

At the state championships, Barger didn't just win the Class AAA state title in the two-mile (9 minutes, 7.12 seconds), he was also the top performer in any classification in what is the longest of the distance races.

Barger got the state-championship weekend started with a win in the 1,600 when he edged out Eagles Landing's Zack Sims with a time of 4:15.75.

His weekend at state, combined with his state title in the 5K distance cross country championships, left Barger able to claim he was the triple crown winner in distance running with the state title in the 1, 2, and 3-mile races.

While Barger comes across as an easy-going competitor, North Hall coach Joe Bradshaw knows he has the heart of a champion.

"Cody is a fierce competitor," Bradshaw said. "He's able to push himself to the limit and has his goals set in his mind that he wants to achieve."

In fact, Barger is such a fierce competitor that, in his mind, he feels like he needs to lead for a majority of the race for it to feel like a legitimate victory.

His reaction to winning the 1,600 at state was the perfect example of he felt.

Even though he should have been elated with defeating such a stacked field in the one-mile, Barger actually had a bit of a guilty conscience for winning because he didn't take the lead until the final few meters.

But the ability to win despite trailing late just reinforced the fierce competitor Barger truly is.

"We make the analogy with football players that he knows how to turn it on when he gets out there," said Bradshaw, also an assistant football coach for the Trojans. "Cody is so focused during his workouts and is able to push himself to the limits."

After a long season and haul of state championships, Barger got some much-needed rest and relaxation with a trip to Europe to celebrate his high school graduation, as well as some down time from running.

He knows that soon enough he'll be back to the grind again.

At Army, Barger will be required to be a cadet and student by day, then sacrifice his personal time to run for the Black Knights.

It's an opportunity he jumped at, seeing his future opportunities would open up after college.

At Army, Barger will compete in cross country in the fall. Then in the spring, he'll take part in indoor track and field.