Hall-of-Fame worthy: Uniontown grad Johnson had record-breaking swimming career
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Uniontown graduate Kaitlyn Johnson was a 28-time All-American while swimming for Clarion University.
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Kaitlyn Johnson won eight WPIAL medals and two PIAA medals during her swimming career at Uniontown.
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Uniontown graduate Kaitlyn Johnson is shown during the 2016 Olympic Trials.
Kaitlyn Johnson, the former Uniontown High School and Clarion University swimming star, was thrilled with the news that she will be part of the 2022 class of the Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame.
无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 exciting news,无毛视频� Johnson stated.
She was thrilled to be the first swimmer inducted as an individual, the Connellsville High School swim teams from the late 1930s were inducted as a group. They captured seven consecutive WPIAL team swimming titles.
无毛视频淏eing the first swimmer inducted is really cool,无毛视频� Johnson said.
Johnson began swimming at an early age.
无毛视频淢y mom tells me that I could swim before I could walk,无毛视频� Johnson offered. 无毛视频淢y older brother was on the swim team at the YMCA and I obviously wanted to be just like my older brother, so I started in swim classes and I advanced and was on the swim team when I was four years old.无毛视频�
Johnson dabbled in some other sports when she was younger.
无毛视频淎s a kid you kind of do all the sports,无毛视频� Johnson said. 无毛视频淚 was doing swimming and also gymnastics at the YMCA and I played basketball, but that got dropped pretty quickly. It came to a point where it was either one or the other. I ended up sticking with swimming. Later on as I got a little older in junior high and high school I started horseback riding for a little bit and that got dropped as well. In high school I ran some track. I did cross country in junior high and in high school I ran the 800 and the 400 in track and then did the high jump.
无毛视频淚 only did track my freshman and sophomore years in high school and then I started swimming in Morgantown, West Virginia. Right after school I was driving down to Morgantown for swim practice.无毛视频�
In high school swimming circles Johnson made a big splash for Uniontown.
Johnson was a four-year WPIAL qualifier and won eight medals. She was a four-year PIAA qualifier and won two medals.
无毛视频淢y prime events in high school were the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly,无毛视频� Johnson said. 无毛视频淭he 50 free was the last event before the break and the 100 butterfly was the first event after. In the bigger events like WPIAL and PIAA it was back to back so it wasn无毛视频檛 ideal.无毛视频�
Johnson talked about the coaching she received along the way.
无毛视频淚n high school my coach was Rian Davis and he was also the swim coach at the YMCA when I started swimming,无毛视频� Johnson said. 无毛视频淚 started swim club down in Morgantown and was exposed to some other coaches and that was a turning point my junior and senior year. It was good training in Morgantown and good training with other people. I needed to push myself and it helped me develop.无毛视频�
Johnson still holds several Uniontown High School records in the 200 freestyle, 200 IM and 50 freestyle. She also still holds the record in the 100 butterfly and the 100 freestyle.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 proud of what I accomplished at Uniontown,无毛视频� Johnson stated. 无毛视频淟ooking back, that无毛视频檚 cool.无毛视频�
When Johnson graduated from Uniontown in 2007 she sifted through several college scholarship offers.
无毛视频淭here were several schools,无毛视频� Johnson explained. 无毛视频淚 knew at the time that I didn无毛视频檛 want to go to a huge school. I think I committed to Clarion in the fall and the West Virginia coach called and tried to recruit me, but I had already committed to Clarion. I didn无毛视频檛 want to go to a real big school. I had a recruit trip planned to Pitt, but I canceled because I knew I didn无毛视频檛 want to go somewhere big like that. Looking back I无毛视频檓 glad I did what I did.无毛视频�
Johnson flourished at Clarion.
无毛视频淚t was still a work in progress,无毛视频� Johnson said. 无毛视频淓ven at the 2016 Olympic Trials I feel like I was just hitting my peak.无毛视频�
At Clarion, Johnson was a dominant force.
Johnson, who swam under the tutelage of head coach Mark VanDyke from 2008 to 2011, was a 28-time NCAA Division II All-American, a 13-time PSAC Individual Champion and held nine Clarion team records, including the 50, 100 and 200-yard freestyle, 100 butterfly and all five relays.
Her signature season came in 2011. She led the Eagles to a second-place team finish when she won all seven events at the PSAC无毛视频檚, including the 50 and 100-yard freestyle, 100 fly and four relay events. She was named the PSAC 无毛视频淪wimmer of the Meet.无毛视频� She went on to the NCAA无毛视频檚 and was a seven-time All-American, placing second in the 100 freestyle, third in the 100 butterfly and fifth in the 50 free, along with four relay top-eight finishes. Clarion finished a strong fourth at nationals.
无毛视频淐larion had a really great swimming history and a great program,无毛视频� Johnson offered. 无毛视频淚 am still to this day very good friends with the assistant coach who recruited me, Christina Tillotson, there. I was a 28-time All-American. In swimming it无毛视频檚 for each event, so the maximum number of events you can qualify for at nationals is seven. So I qualified for nationals in seven events four years in a row and was All-American 28 times. My assistant coach Tillotson is the only other woman in Clarion swimming history who has been a 28-time All-American. We share that accolade together.无毛视频�
Johnson was inducted into the Clarion Hall of Fame in 2020.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 fun to look back,无毛视频� Johnson said. 无毛视频淯ntil I was inducted into my college Hall of Fame it really hadn无毛视频檛 hit me. Now it seems like a different lifetime which is kind of cool because when I was in it I never wanted to talk about it and seem conceited. Now I can look back on it and I can appreciate it more and talk about it and feel proud.无毛视频�
Johnson continued her swimming after graduation and qualified for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials in the 50 and 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly events. Her performance at the Trials was outstanding.
无毛视频淭hat was super cool,无毛视频� Johnson gushed. 无毛视频淚 had tried to qualify for the 50 freestyle in 2012 and just missed. To comeback four years later and qualify in three events was just great it was really worth it. In the individual events they take the top two. In the 50 I finished 27th. In the 100 fly and 100 free I didn无毛视频檛 finish with the best times, but it was a fantastic experience. I gave up swimming after that, my goal was to reach the Olympic Trials. It seemed like the time to step away. I kind of regret it, but I stepped away.无毛视频�
Johnson is single and is currently employed by McDonald Land Services while residing in Morgantown. She is looking forward to being inducted into the 2022 class of the Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame at a golf outing and luncheon on June 17 at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Connellsville.
George Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频淢emory Lane无毛视频� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 无毛视频-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.