Plano (Texas) West sprinter Sharoné Johnson reaping benefits of hard work with track and field scholarship to Louisiana Tech
Andre Johnson 
Having spent a majority of my track career as a fixture in the 200 and 400-meter dash, Johnson ultimately set a personal best and a new school record in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 42.23, a feat she accomplished a short time after having made the switch to that event. Her initial time in that event was 46.45.
DALLAS — All things considered, Sharoné Johnson is a glass-half-full kind of person.
Take, for instance, how last summer during a Junior Olympics track and field meet in Sacramento, California, when Johnson, a Plano (Texas) West High sprinter came away somewhat harboring mixed feelings after having placed place 15th overall out of 58 participants in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:04:14.
“Although disappointed with my ending rank, I am pleased with the overall progress that I made over the course of only a few months,” a seemingly upbeat Johnson told Making Headline News during a recent interview. “Going from school track to summer track, I was told that the move from the 300 (meter hurdles) to the 400 (meter hurdles) would be a difficult adjustment.”
Her initial time in that event was 46.45.
While making the switch to different events in such a brief time frame brought about a few challenges for Johnson, it is her solid body of work as a sprinter in recent years that has benefited her mightily.
That’s because approximately one week before Thanksgiving, the West Plano senior standout was left to count her blessings after she signed a National Letter of Intent to join the track and field program at Louisiana Tech, ending a rather intriguing recruiting process that also included schools such as Wichita State, the University of South Florida, the University of New Orleans, Baylor having shown interest in the Lady Wolves’ featured sprinter.
A native of the historic Oak Cliff district of the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the 17-year-old Johnson said she was thoroughly sold on Louisiana Tech, in large part because Lady Bulldogs coach LaMonte Vaughn was determined to convince her to commit before any other school could lure her to its campus.
“I felt that was the best decision for me. I loved that he didn’t discredit any other colleges or put them down,” said Johnson, explaining her decision to sign with Louisiana Tech. “Instead, his main focus was to tell me what he could do for me on and off the track. My ultimate goal was to go to a college that would not only help me develop as an athlete, but as a better person so that I’m prepared for life after college.”
As Johnson acknowledged, it was Vaughn — a former University of Kentucky track and field standout whose two decades of college coaching experience includes eight years in the Pac-12 Conference with stints at Washington and UCLA — who discovered qualities and mechanics through her immense skills as a gifted sprinter that no other coached had noticed.
“He said, ‘She’s one race away from having the race of her life and I want to get her before anyone else does,’” Johnson said. “That immediately drew me toward his program. I believe with him in my corner, I will do big things in college and after.”
Much like she has done for a majority of her career at Plano West.
Having spent a majority of my prep tenure as a fixture in the 200 and 400-meter dash, Johnson ultimately set a personal best and a new school record in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 42.23, a feat she accomplished a short time after having made the switch to that event.
Her previous recorded time in that event was 46.45.
In addition, she was a member of the Plano West’s 4 x100 and the 4×400 meter relay squads that advanced to the regional competition.
Arguably Johnson’s best achievements in this, her final prep season, is when she registered a time of 43.69 in the 300-meter hurdle, a mark that gave way to her having secured a No. 2 ranking in Texas in that event. Also, she added the 100-meter hurdles to her sprinting repertoire and, although she has officially committed to a college, she destined to her finish Plano West career on a strong, memorable note.
“As I finish out my senior year, I’m going to make it my mission to win state in the 300 (meter) hurdles,” Johnson said. “I want to also make it as far as I can in the 100 (meter) hurdles. I have to take it one race at a time and one hurdle at a time, because every step contributes to a bigger move.”
Well said by a talented, college bound sprinter who appears to be one race away from having the race of her life.
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Andre Johnson is the founder and publisher of Making Headline News. A 2000 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Journalism and a former sportswriter for the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, Johnson covers the NBA Southwest Division from Dallas, Texas. To reach Johnson, send an email to [email protected]. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist.
