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Johnson runs down top finish at state
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@acnpapers.com
Plano Senior senior Rachel Johnson has raced in a big meet or two in her day.
The Lady Wildcats’ long-distance stalwart has taken to the terrain and crossed the finish lines of some of the nation’s most heralded cross country courses, competing on the state and even national level.
But amid her four years running under the Plano banner, a state championship has eluded Johnson by a hairline each step of the way, advancing to the state meet during her sophomore and junior campaigns, and netting a second-place finish in the latter.
“[Winning a state title] is something Rachel has been talking about since I met her over the summer,” said Gene Cahill, Plano head coach. “It was something that was definitely on her list of things to accomplish before she graduated and she knew she only had one race left to do it.”
Johnson can safely check off that bullet point, at long last capturing first place at the Class 5A Cross Country State Championships with a time of 10:55.41.
The victory didn’t come without its hardships, though.
“She actually got out to a pretty rough start,” Cahill said.
Roughly 100 meters into the contest, Johnson found herself entrenched in the middle of a hoard of runners. Cahill said Johnson’s recourse was to back up and get to the far outside to regain her footing.
Admittedly nervous to the extent where he couldn’t see his lone state representative, Cahill said Johnson re-emerged from the pack near 400-meter mark.
“[Johnson] doesn’t know how it happened,” Cahill said. “It’s just something that happened, but true to how Rachel has been all season, she took care of it really fast.
“Nothing was going to keep her from her goal.”
Taking the lead a quarter-mile in, Johnson didn’t look back in treading the same landscape she’s capped her high school cross country season with since she was a sophomore.
A course dry in its outlook, a noticeable wind was the only element in play from Old Settlers Park. That, coupled with the slow start, hampered any hopes Johnson may have had in setting a state record, but the result remained the same when all was said and done.
“[Johnson] was pretty tired at first,” Cahill said, “but after that she was all smiles for the rest of the day, but who wouldn’t be? She’s a great kid and worked very, very hard for this.”
Not far behind in crossing the finish line was Plano West junior Natalie Baker, who finished second and registered a time of 11:08.08. Baker headlined a Lady Wolves’ squad represented in full force on Saturday, by virtue of qualifying as one of the top three teams at the Region I Championships one week earlier.
Amid the Lady Wolves who also placed on Saturday was senior Rexi Parcells at 11:34.16 for 24th, followed by Gena Hurst (12:06.78, 66th), Casie Ramsier (12:07.90, 67th), Savannah Borgsmiller (12:13.71, 76th) and Zoie Wilson (12:43.86, 90th).
As a team, the Lady Wolves pooled an eighth-place finish overall, finishing with 164 points; 71 behind meet winner Humble Kingwood.
With the varsity high school cross country season at an end, teams now turn their attention toward prepping for track and field in the spring.
Except for Johnson, whose high-profile string of races is just taking form.
The Lady Wildcat will be on hand Saturday to compete in the Nike Cross Country South Regionals from the Bear Branch Soccer Fields at The Woodlands, followed by a Nov. 27 stint at the Foot Locker South Regionals in Charlotte, N.C. with an eye on advancing to the national meets for each respective competition.
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