Get Out of My Way (please):
Dedication and Focus Pay Off for Rayiana Johnson
To what lengths would you go to win a state championship? Most of us would say that we would do anything, Rayianna Johnson actually did. The history behind this dedication goes back through 10 years of gradual training development, quality coaching, and patience.
Rayiana started with the sport of track and field as a 7-year-old, training with her hometown age-group program, the Chester Track Club, under the tutelage of coaches Craig Rainey, A.J. Thompkins and Mike Daniel. At the age of 10 Rayiana joined A.J.'s Elite, and has trained with that team ever since. Her main coach for the last 7 years has been A.J. Thompkins. A.J. takes a progressive stance on training and has used a gradual approach to training Rayiana up to her current level. A.J. has an air of confidence in the ability of the athletes that he coaches. Of Rayiana he says, "I knew she had those performances inside of her. It was just a matter of time before they came out". A.J. and his squad utilize the indoor season as preparation for the outdoor season which makes Rayiana's accomplishments even more amazing.
It is all too easy to misconstrue confidence for cockiness, but when you speak with Rayiana you get the impression of a humble champion who recognizes that her athletic accomplishments have come from years of hard work and sacrifice. Rayiana echoes her coaches assessment when she reflects that "I think it was in me the whole time, but I just let it out in my junior year". As you read on you will find out just how focused an athlete can be when they make up their mind that a goal can and will be achieved no matter the obstacles that must be overcome.
As Rayiana made her final preparations for the state meet an unexpected biological visitor came calling. Rayiana came down with the flu, a deal breaker for most athletes going into a state meet for which they must be at the top of their game. But Rayiana's years of experience have taught her to focus on the things that she can control and that is exactly what she did.
On the morning of the PTFCA State Championships Rayiana entered the multi-sport facility with the flu in her body but determination on her mind. She wound up leaving the facility with two gold medals, one meet record in the 60, and a scintillatingly close record attempt in the 200. In her own words, "I was just worried about my race and worried about winning". And win she did. In the 60 meter dash final Rayiana summoned her inner strength and smoked the competition, winning by 3-tenths of a second. Her time of 7.45 seconds broke Breehana Jacobs 2006 meet record of 7.46 seconds, and also tied for the US #1 time this indoor season.
But that is only half of the story. Rayiana breezed through her rounds in the 60, and looked fantastic while doing it. But in between races was the evidence that things weren't going so smoothly. Rayiana walked slower when leaving the track and her face was ashen with fatigue. To get herself through these moments Rayiana told herself that her semi and trial times were fast and that she felt good running them. "I knew I had a good chance of winning and breaking the meet record". Doesn't sound like Rayiana was letting the flu effect her, does it? Her 60 dash championship and record run was an impressive accomplishment. But Rayiana wasn't done writing her personal history on the state meet slate.
Up next, the 200 meter dash. Rayiana did what all champions learn to do at some point, which is to mentally block out the events of the past so that they can give their complete focus to the task at hand. That meant forgetting a state championship, forgetting a meet record, and forgetting yet again that her body was drained of energy from the flu.
Not an easy feat, but Rayiana doesn't overthink it. "I just went out there and did my best, like it was my first race again."
Rayiana sure made it look like she was fresh, taking off from the gun and winding up with a separation of .72 seconds by the time she crossed the finish line. Her winning time of 24.04 seconds was a US #2 mark indoors this year. The time fell just short(.02 seconds) of breaking Juanita Broaddus' 2002 record of 24.02 seconds. (Broaddus was inducted into the PTFCA Hall of Fame during this year's meet).
And yet again we were left mystified as to how she had done it. With her face again ashen, and her gait again visibly slower than normal, her mother had to assist her in walking around the arena. Rayiana admitted that she was surprised by the fact that she had gotten her fastest times ever in both events. A.J. added that "it will be scary to see what this young lady can do when she is healthy". It will indeed be scary, and we can't wait to watch.
In order to celebrate the days' accomplishments, Rayianna was planning to "eat some soup, take some medicine, and go to sleep... get ready for nationals". While the primary goal is to regain her health and strength, Rayiana was still keeping her sights on the meets ahead of her. Rayiana plans to be healthy by March 15th for the Nike Indoor National Championships in Boston. She will run the 60 meter dash, but not the 200 due to a conflict with the SAT's.
A.J. added that after nationals Rayiana will be focusing on doubling in the 100 and 200 at the District and State meets outdoors. A.J. also mentioned that the team will be competing for the girls' team championship come May.
According to her coach, Rayiana's training has been going great and she is poised to run some very fast times this outdoor season. These goals shall remain between athlete and coach, as it is up to them to make such information public. Rayiana has come a long way already from last year's outdoor state meet where she was 6th in the 100 meter dash final with a time of 12.34 seconds and 9th in the semi-final of the 200 meter dash with a time of 25.62 seconds. It seems like the sky is the limit with the talent, determination, and focus that Rayiana is able to harness within herself.
A class-act champion by definition, Rayianna Johnson was every bit deserving of the honor of Girls' Athlete of the Meet as well as her two state championships and meet record. Rayiana succinctly sums up years of training, patience, and focus by saying, "I didn't let anything get in the way of what I was coming here to accomplish".
A championship caliber athlete never does.