ShawneeDispatch.com

Two local teens had their proverbial 15 minutes -- make that about 3 minutes -- of fame Friday night on national television.

Marcus Journey, a senior at Basehor-Linwood High School, and David Bowman, a junior at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, appeared on "The Tonight Show" to demonstrate their unusual talents with wheelbarrows on the show's regular segment, "Teenage Wasteland."

Their performance lasted just under a minute, followed by a short chat with the host, Jay Leno. Their synchronized "freestyle wheelbarrow" performance had them spinning and dancing with the implements that are typically used for hauling dirt and bricks.

Journey said he thought the national exposure might just lead to an increased interest in the sport, of which they are the most visible pioneers in this country. The sport has enjoyed more popularity in the United Kingdom, where the Web site wheelbarrowfreestyle.com originated.

Bowman has his own blog site devoted to their offbeat hobby, at http://freestylewheelbarrow.blogspot.com, where he wrote, "we did the tonight show and managed not to screw anything up. Will wheelbarrowing sweep the nation? Probably not, but one way or another I had a wicked sweet weekend."

Bowman and Journey's brush with celebrity hasn't fazed them. Bowman said Jay Leno was a "pretty normal guy," and Journey reported the host did his best to make them feel at ease. Both boys said they didn't feel nervous during their performance.

"The crowd, you couldn't even see it with the lights in the way," Journey said.

The two also got to meet former professional baseball player, Miller Lite spokesman and movie actor Bob Uecker.

"He was nice," Bowman said. "A pretty funny guy."

Journey said they'd first talked to Uecker in the show's "green room," where guests wait before and after their appearances. They didn't know who he was until seeing him in the hall after their performance and he was wearing a microphone.

Journey said he also got to shake hands with Dennis Miller.

While their parents and siblings who accompanied them got to see Universal Studios, Bowman and Journey said they hung around their hotel in Universal City in order to practice their routine. Each said that was the part that made them the most nervous.

Bowman said, "We were kind of worried because we screwed up" in the first practices, but they managed to work the kinks out before going on the show.

As to his local celebrity status, he said "a lot of people have talked to me about it" Monday at school.

"Everybody I know's said, 'I saw you on TV.' So yeah, I kind of feel like a celebrity."

Journey said that he also got a lot of attention Monday in school, but said "I don't want to feel like a celebrity."