Drake Johnston on Track for Junior Olympics

Drake Johnston has logged a lot of frequent-flyer miles this summer. He's also covering plenty of ground courtesy of the shoe-leather express.

The 16-year-old Santa Monica resident still has one more trip to take, and it's the one he's been training for since the middle of June.

He completed a breakthrough track season at Palisades High in style, fighting off the flu to set a new City Section finals sophomore record in the 3,200 meters with a time of 9:39.39. Johnston then competed in eight races in two states over 10 days with his club team, the South Orange Wildcats of Aliso Viejo. 

At the Regional Junior Olympics in late June in Escondido, he won all three of his Intermediate Boys (ages 15-16) events. He took first place in the 2,000-meter steeplechase in 6:58.78, first in the 1,500 meters in 4:22.15 and first in the 3,000 meters in 9:38.37. He qualified in each for next week's National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships in Wichita, Kansas.

"My time goals [for the Junior Olympics] are to break 4:05 or maybe four flat in the 1,500 and under nine minutes in the 3,000," Johnston said. "The national [sophomore] record in the steeplechase is 6:02, so I'd like to get close to that, although it's supposed to be very hot and that'll make it harder."    

With little time to digest his results at the Regional Junior Olympics, Johnston was boarding a plane for Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to compete in the USATF Youth Outdoor National Championships held June 28-July 3. There, he earned his first individual national championship by winning the Intermediate Boys 2,000-meter steeplechase by over nine seconds in 6:29.08, shaving six seconds off his previous best clocking despite sweltering conditions.

Johnston also placed third in the 3,000 meters in 9:13.63, a personal-best by 10 seconds, and took fourth in the 1,500 meters in 4:09.08—also a 10-second PR. Finally, Johnston ran the anchor leg on the Wildcats' 4x800 relay, which placed third behind Jenks America Track Club from Oklahoma and NiteHawks Sports Club in Massachusetts.

Johnston's results paced South Orange to third place in the overall team standings despite the team having only five boys compete.

"It was over 90 degrees and very humid and I'm not used to that, being from California, where it's dry," Johnston said of the weather in South Carolina. "There's more moisture in the air, so you don't get as dehydrated, but you expend more energy because you sweat more."

Johnston has been training three days a week with the Palihi team and will drive to Wichita on Saturday for the Junior Olympics. They start Tuesday and run through July 31 at Cessna Stadium on the campus of Wichita State University.

"I like the metric distances more—the 800, 1,600 and 3,200—because they're what we race in high school," said Johnston, who attended Marquez Elementary from grades 2-5 before continuing on to Paul Revere Middle School, where he set school records in the mile (4:51) and the mile and a half (7:44) as an eighth grader. "For nationals, it's hard to pick between the steeplechase and the 3,000. I've had pretty good success in both."

Back in April, Johnston and Palihi teammates Grant Stromberg, Matt Hammer and Danny Escalante ran the 4x1600 relay at the Arcadia Invitational, placing 21st in 18:48.27. 

Johnston has high expectations for his junior year—in cross country this fall and in track next spring. That goes for not only himself, but his team as well.

"In cross country I'd like to break 15 minutes for three miles, which will be tough at Pierce [College] because that course has a lot of hills," Johnston said. "I also think Grant, Matt and I can go 1-2-3 at City finals."

Though he may run the 800 meters in some league competitions to build speed, Johnston prefers the longer distances on the track and wants to qualify for the state meet in his strongest event, the 3,200, where he finished fifth as a 10th-grader in May. He needs to improve two spots to qualify for the CIF finals in Sacramento.

"I definitely think I can make it because the winner [Omar Cortes of Santee] and the third-place guy [Angel Alcantar of Van Nuys] were both seniors. Matt was fourth and I was like a second behind him. So I think we [Palisades] have a shot to sweep the top three in the 3,200 at City finals."

To earn money for their trip to Kansas, Johnston and his South Orange Track Club teammates are having a car wash fundraiser from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the southwest corner of 16th and Pearl Streets in Santa Monica. The charge is $10 per vehicle.