Kyree Johnson Sets Sights on
Being the Best
Kyree Johnson compiled very impressive winter and spring track and field seasons as a Huntington High School freshman last year. But, Blue Devil head coach Ron Wilson thinks the best is yet to come.
“One can only hope that it gets better,” Wilson said. “Especially since he is the younger sibling of the sensational hurdle great Tyriek Johnson, who graduated in 2012 and who won countless league, divisional and county titles in both the hurdles and long jump. So we knew the pedigree of pure athleticism was there.”
A short sprinter during the indoor season, Johnson garnered All-League honors in the long jump and high jump. His winter campaign ended with a personal best of 7.1 seconds in the 55m dash, 5’10 in the high jump, and 20’2 in the long jump. “So with that type of marks, we knew our overall spring team was going to be decent,” Wilson said. “What I didn’t know was that he was going to be one of the driving forces on our 4x400m championship relay team.”
Wilson and assistant coach Eli Acosta knew that Johnson had “short speed” but neither realized his strength until Huntington’s second dual meet of the spring against Harborfields when the teenager covered his leg of the 4x400 sophomore relay in 56 seconds on a damp and cold day, propelling the Blue Devils to victory.
“Coach Acosta and I looked at one another when he opened up a huge lead on Harborfields as our first runner and, of course, the rest is history,” Wilson said. Johnson became Huntington’s regular lead leg runner on the varsity 4x400m relay.
In the beginning of the spring season, Johnson’s 400m split time typically ranged between 54 and 56 seconds. He continued to train as a short sprinter, pulling in times of 11.7 in the 100m dash, 24.0 in the 200m dash and 55.0 in the open 400m dash.
Johnson’s long jump and high jump marks remained consistent until the end of the season. Then he leaped 6’2 against Islip to finish second behind teammate and eventual county high jump champion Sondy Jean-Baptiste, who cleared 6’4.
“In April, we took a small group of our athletes to Penn Relays for the first time,” Wilson said. “We entered a 4x100m relay team and a 4x400m relay team. Johnson could have done both, but was willing to let senior Nick Sherman run the lead leg of the 4x400m relay team since our distance medley relay team just barely missed qualifying. They only allow the top 16 teams and we were number 17.”
Sherman led off by covering the first leg in 55.0 seconds that day in Philadelphia, pacing Huntington’s 4x400m relay to victory in 3:24. Johnson led off the 4x100m relay with a split of 11.6 seconds, similar to his brother Tyriek Johnson, who was the lead leg on a 4x100m relay team back in 2009 as freshmen.
“Kyree would eventually win that spot as our lead leg in the 4x400m relay team, posting split times of 51.0,” Wilson said. “His best time ever came at the national championship down in North Carolina when he ran 50.8.”
Johnson is the first to admit he made some bad decisions as a freshman, but the games and immaturity are fading into the past. “Johnson is full of talent as we all know,” Wilson said. “He’s like his older sibling in many ways. They both like to entertain, making other people laugh. They are really comedians at heart. However, Kyree recognizes he must mature and focus more, both in the classroom and on the track.”
The incoming sophomore seems poised to do some really special things this coming year. “I think Kyree’s starting to realize that he is gifted young man,” Wilson said. “He acknowledges the fact that he made some poor choices last year as a freshman. He’s grateful for the opportunities that were made available for him to participate in sports and show improvement in the building. As a coach, I’m excited about him. He’s full of talent and has the potential to be as great as or even better than his brother. It is my hope that he continues to mature and focus more in the classroom.”
Johnson has been working out over the summer and he appears to be in fine shape and is both taller and stronger. “He knows exactly what he has to do to achieve greatness,” Wilson said.