Palisades High freshman Drake Johnston kept right on running after the high school cross country season ended in the fall and if recent results are any indication he figures to net the Dolphins quite a few points in track and field in the spring. First, Johnston won the CA Region 15 race (comprised of runners from Southern California, Nevada and Hawaii) to qualify for the prestigious 2009 USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships. The 15-year-old completed the 4K course at Kit Carson Park in Escondido in 14:00.11 to take first place out of 54 runners. Then, the 15-year-old placed 25th out of 242 runners in the national championship youth boys’ 4K race at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park in Reno, Nevada. The start was delayed for over an hour while the course was cleared of two feet of snow. Once the gun sounded, however, Johnston turned up the heat, finishing in 14:24 to earn All-American honors. Ben Saarel of Provo, Utah, won in 13:36. “At the start of the race it was 20 degrees and the snow kept falling,” Johnston said. “Running in the snow was so much fun, but it took a lot out of me too. I was hoping to place better, but since I was sick I didn’t have anything left in the tank. I got All-American, so I’m happy.” Johnston played an integral role on Palisades’ varsity squad, which qualified for the City Section cross country finals at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. There, he was 44th overall and second on the team, covering the three-mile distance in 16:46–the ninth fastest time ever recorded by a freshman in the history of that race. “I ran injured all season but worked hard with LA Sports Therapy to overcome my hip injury and started altitude training over the summer at TriFit LA to be ready for a long season,” Johnston said. “When my high school season ended I was feeling great and Coach [Ron] Brumel had me in peak shape.” Johnson was the top sixth grader at Paul Revere in 2007, winning the mile-and-a-half race in 8:57. In July, he represented the South Orange County Wildcats Track Club at the USA Track & Field Championships in Ypisilanti, Michigan, leading his 4 x 800 relay team to victory in 9:03, taking third in the 3,000 meters (9:32) and fourth in the pole vault (8′ 4′). “I’ve taken a long break and am excited to start training next week for the track season at Pali,” Johnston said. “We’re going to have a great team.”
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