ADELINE JOHNSON
BRANSON GIRLS X-COUNTRY
Adeline Johnson learned a lot about her mental approach to racing in the fall which directly resulted in first-place finishes at the MCAL and NCS girls cross country championships.
This past summer, Johnson fractured her hip in two places while wakeboarding on Lake Tahoe. To recover, she went a month without using her legs and then trained on a stationary bike to help maintain her cardio fitness.
In her first race back, Johnson won the MCAL championship with a time of 17minutes, 39seconds on the 3-mile course at the College of Marin Indian Valley campus. “My physical side has always been better than my mental game,” said Johnson. “But this season I had to make my mental approach stronger because I didn't have a physical base. I tried to go into each race as relaxed as possible, and make sure I didn't go too hard at the start. My happiness of being back running really carried me through the finish.”
After placing fifth in the MCAL finals as a junior, Johnson shocked everyone when she crossed the finish line 5seconds ahead of defending champ Audrey MacLean of Redwood.
“We entered MCALs just happy Addie was able to get a race in this year after her injury,” said Branson coach Will Kennedy. “To see her leading was a pretty big surprise, and then watching her hold on to win was a total thrill.”
Johnson said her surprising win at MCALs gave her confidence heading into NCS, where she won the Division V race in 17:58.5 for the ninth fastest time across all divisions on the 3-mile course at Hayward High. She was Marin's top finisher in the 5K race at state, taking third at Woodward Park in Fresno with a time of 18:19.0.
“Addie is such a determined competitor,” said Kennedy. “It's a real testament to her resilience and patience that she was able to push through a season of mostly rehab and get a storybook finish to her senior year.”
Johnson will run cross country and track for Cal after graduation.