Johnson competing at Junior Olympics
This week, Brandon Johnson, who is an incoming Highland High School freshman, is competing at the USA Track and Field Hershey National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships in Sacramento.
The championships began Monday and will run through Sunday.
Johnson, who runs for the Lancaster Running Rebels in the regular season, will be competing with his Valley United 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relay teammates in the boys 13-14 events.
The 4x100 team includes Johnson, Saheed Free, Dijon Stanley and Shane Powell. The team is the No. 3 seed in the prelims, which will be run on Thursday, with a time of 45.82 seconds. They finished second in the regional championships.
On Friday, the 4x400 team of Johnson, Julian Molina, Alex Bowens and Bodi Ligons will compete in the prelims. The team has the No. 1 time with 3:35.45. They finished in fifth place in the regional championships.
“These young men have sacrificed their summer training and competing in cities throughout Southern California and in Nevada,” said Dyneisha Austin, Johnson’s mother.
Johnson especially worked hard to get to the Junior Olympics, battling through injuries to his knee and foot throughout the season.
He plans on playing football and running track for the
Bulldogs in the 2019-2020 school year.
Johnson is also a good student, posting a 3.67 grade-point average in his last year at Hillview Middle School. He was named to the honor roll for both semesters of his eighth-grade year.
“Although he loves sports, he understands that academics are very important as well,” Austin said.
Now that Johnson has done his part to reach his goals, he and his family are asking for support from family, friends and the community to help offset financial costs of the weeklong trip to Sacramento. The family has started a GoFundMe page and is close to reaching its goal of $1,800, which will pay for traveling, lodging and food. If you wish to help Johnson and his family in their journey to help him accomplish his dreams, the website to donate is: https:// dm2.gofund.me/brandonsjunior-olympics-week.
“Although this has not been an easy journey, the competitiveness of the USATF Junior Olympics has showed him that his sacrifices, his determination, and his level of commitment has earn him his spot,” Austin said. “As a family we couldn’t be prouder of him. Any donation no matter how small or large is so helpful.”