JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Alyson Johnson isn’t slowing down. That’s good news for Creekside and bad news for distance runners in the state.
The time to have caught up to Johnson, now a back-to-back All-News4JAX girls track and field athlete of the year, has passed.
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She’s the fastest distance runner in Florida and has cracked the top 50 barrier nationally, an impressive feat for a 16-year-old sophomore whose best stretch is ahead of her. Johnson has posted her two best times (4:46.24 in the 1600 and 10:19 in the 3200) at the RunningLane Track Championships after her high school season.
“I just kept working hard and kept just consistently training,” Johnson said. “And I feel like I just gained more progress this year and gained more knowledge about racing and it’s helped me grow and perform better.”
Johnson is quickly carving her name into the best-of list in area history. Through her first two seasons, Johnson has swept the distance events and become the runner everyone else in the state is chasing.
For added measure this year, Johnson helped Creekside win its first girls team state championship in program history. Johnson, along with fellow distance runner and 800 state champ Sarah Rose, was also on the state runner-up 4x800 relay team.
“I think I’ve become more confident. And I’ve been racing and I’ve been having stronger races,” Johnson said. “And mostly I’m just going in each race with the mindset that I want to win and do as well as I can possibly do.”
If she continues at her blistering pace, Johnson will join the FHSAA history books as one of the best to ever do it. Locally, only three girls runners have won individual championships in the 1600 and 3200 three or more times.
Bradford’s Annice Williams won the 1600 (1994-96) and Episcopal’s Donna Combs won the 3200 (1982-84). Bolles phenom Caitlin Collier remains the gold standard among area runners, winning five state championships in the 800 and four in the 1600 during a 2014-18 stretch.
Johnson isn’t focused on making history. She’s concentrating on putting one shoe in front of the other and being the best that she can for the program.
“It’s awesome. There’s been a lot of great athletes that have come from Creekside,” Johnson said. “It’s really cool to be a part of it and just be one of the people who can say they run at the school and done really great things.”
Johnson has been strong and tactical enough in the 1600 to know when to turn up the intensity and pull away from the field. But in the 3200, it’s been a different story. She’s been so dominant at that event that runners haven’t been able to stay close. Johnson was blistering from the start and won that race by a staggering 31 seconds.
Knights co-head coach Ricky Fields said that athletes like Johnson are wired differently where they desire to be great and welcome that competition.
“Extremely hard worker. Very, very track smart. Knows the sport. Knows a lot about the competition, but she also wants to be really good,” he said. “She wants to be really good. She’s not afraid of that. That’s a good thing.”
All-News4JAX track and field first team
Event: Athlete, School, Class
100: Janay Moorer, Creekside, Sr.
University of Miami signee had low of 11.83 to win district. Added region title and state runner-up finish in Class 4A.
200: Janay Moorer, Creekside, Sr.
PR of 24.02 came in Bob Hayes prelims. District and region champ. Runner-up at Bob Hayes and in 4A state meet.
400: Janay Moorer, Creekside, Sr.
State champ. If not for distance teammate Alyson Johnson, Moorer would have been an easy top athlete pick. Season best of 53.62 came in winning region. Third at district and fifth at Florida Relays.
800: Brooke McCoy, Episcopal, So.
Ran just three meets, but won two of them, including 2A state title in low time of 2:11.53. District champ and region runner-up.
1600: Alyson Johnson, Creekside, So.
Two-time All-News4JAX girls track and field athlete of the year. Won the event four times, including 4A state title again (4:53.34). District, FSU Relays and region champ.
3200: Alyson Johnson, Creekside, So.
Competed in four meets and won all four, the headliner another 4A state title with an in-season low of 10:30.08. On pace to become one of the best distance runners in area history.
100 hurdles: Brittney Jennings, Creekside, Sr.
Ran PR of 13.68 in 4A state finals to finish state runner-up. District, region and River City Relays champ, too. Never finished lower than second in any of her seven meets.
400 hurdles: Amelia Thomas, Bartram Trail, Sr.
Had three meet wins this year, including at district. Low of 1:03.39 came in sixth-place effort at 4A state meet.
High jump: Gabrielle Flores, Fleming Island, Sr.
Best leap of 5-7 came in winning 3A state meet. Won four meets this season, including district and region.
Long jump: Tristen Evatt, Yulee, Sr.
Class 2A state champ had her best jump (19-11.25) in title-winning effort. Had six total meet wins, including at district.
Triple jump: Mikayla Shavers, Fleming Island, So.
Had a 39-10.25 in first-place jump at district. Region champ, too. Second in 3A state meet.
Pole vault: Presley Wolfe, Bolles, Sr.
Class 2A state champ. Season-best clearance (12-5.5) came in winning district. Had six wins this year.
Discus: Madison Underwood, Middleburg, Jr.
Had a throw of 140-8.25 as her best of the season to win district. Eight wins this year, including a region championship. Fourth at 3A state meet.
Javelin: Isabella Madaffari, Ponte Vedra, Sr.
Top throw of season (115-5) came in seventh-place finish in 3A state meet. District champ. Four total wins this year.
Shot put: Mychaela Parker, Orange Park, Sr.
Toss of 42-2.25 was her best of the season to win district. Eight meet wins this year. Took seventh in 3A state meet.
4x100 relay: Paxon
Team of Jaida Callahan, Ta’Nia Foster, Har’Mani Leak-Harbour and Kyndal Turner clocked a 47.05 to finish 2A state runner-up.
4x400 relay: Episcopal
Jadyn Bow, Lauren Mack, Brooke McCoy and Skyler Watts teamed up for a 3:51.63 to finish as 2A state runner-up.
4x800 relay: Bishop Kenny
Quartet of Davis Johnson, Alexis Holmes, Taylor Lawhon and Emily Wheldon won 2A state meet with a 9:13.84.
Second team
Event: Athlete, School, Class
100: Kyndal Turner, Paxon, Sr.
Low of 11.9 came in the North Florida/South Florida Challenge. Won Gateway, district and region meets. Class 2A state runner-up.
200: Skyler Watts, Episcopal, Sr.
Had season-best time (24.22) in winning Thursday Night Spikes event. District and region champ finished fourth in 2A state meet.
400: Zyaire Thomas, Fletcher, So.
Won three meets, including Gateway and district. Season best (53.95) came in conference. Took third in 4A state meet.
800: Sarah Rose, Creekside, So.
Class 4A state champ with PR of 2:11.67, helping propel Knights to team title. Won district and region. Finished third in prestigious Florida Relays.
1600: Sarah Rose, Creekside, So.
Ran PR of 5:00.29 in fourth-place finish in 4A state meet. Runner-up at district and fourth at region.
3200: Lindy White, Ponte Vedra, Sr.
Season-best of 10:41.11 came in winning FSU Relays. District and region champ. Class 3A state runner-up.
110 hurdles: Keira Smalls, Oakleaf, Sr.
Had best time of the year (14.65) during seventh-place finish in 4A state meet. Region and district runner-up. Had five total wins this season.
400 hurdles: Jadyn Bow, Episcopal, 8th
Region runner-up with season-low time (1:04.01). Ninth at 2A state meet. Had two meet wins and three runner-up finishes.
High jump: Danielle Pal, Mandarin, Jr.
Went 5-5.75 in best jump of the year for runner-up finish at Florida Relays. District champ. Region runner-up. Sixth at 4A state meet.
Long jump: Kaila Bing, Bishop Snyder, Fr.
Breakout first year, with state championship in 1A with a 19-6.75. District and region champ during a season that included six wins.
Triple jump: Presley Wolfe, Bolles, Sr.
Class 2A state runner-up with a 39-2.5. Season included five wins, with district and region titles.
Pole vault: Katherine Kelly, Ponte Vedra, Jr.
3A state runner-up with an 11-9.75. Had district and region titles as part of a six-win year.
Discus: Zee Curtis, Bolles, Sr.
Throw of 138-7 was her best to win the Coach Hunt Classic. District, region champ. Class 2A state runner-up.
Javelin: Madison Linscomb, Oakleaf, Jr.
Had a 113-8.5 as her best throw to win district. Had three total meet wins this season. Took 10th in 4A state meet.
Shot put: Terrell McCoy, Bolles, So.
Had a 41-10.25 as a season-best to win region. Had six wins in seven meets. Took state runner-up in 2A.
4x100 relay: Episcopal
Jadyn Bow, Lauren Mack, Chloe Selmer and had a 47.39 to take fourth in 2A state meet.
4x400 relay: Jackson
Jayla Daise, Kennedy Hill, Jazmine Kelly and Kaitlynn Webbe ran a 3:52.08 for third in 2A state meet.
4x800 relay: Creekside
Brie Andrews, Alyson Johnson, Emily Kate and Sarah Rose had a season-low 9:16.47 for a third-place showing at the Florida Relays.