LOCAL COLLEGES: Dr. Surprise

Johnson had the right mix in winning impressive honor

By Tom Shanahan - For the North County Times | Sunday, June 1, 2008 5:08 PM PDT ∞

UCSD's Whitney Johnson. Courtesy photo

SAN DIEGO ---- Whitney Johnson's quiet arrival on UC San Diego's campus four years ago required a new classification once she was ultimately persuaded to join the Tritons' track and field team.

She wasn't a recruited athlete. She wasn't even a walk-on athlete, one of those candidates that knocks on the coach's door for an opportunity.

UCSD women's coach Darcy Ahner calls her a "drag-on athlete."

They both laugh at the label, but Johnson admits it's true: If it wasn't for Ahner's persistence, Johnson wouldn't have finished her career as the 2008 NCAA Division II National Field Athlete of the Year, as voted by the USA Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

"I'm really embarrassed she had to work so hard, but at the time I thought I was done with sports" Johnson said. "I could have made it a lot easier on her."

Johnson, an aspiring surgeon who graduates next week with a Bachelor's degree in human biology, recently won the NCAA Division II triple jump title and was fourth in the long jump. She also finished the year with the nation's top Division II mark in the triple jump at 42 feet, 4 ¼ inches.

The reason she nearly passed on a college athletic career is her ambition to become an emergency-room surgeon. At first, she feared there wasn't enough time in the day for med school studies and sports.

"She was reluctant because she wanted to concentrate on her academics and getting into to medical school," Ahner said. "I really had to convince her that competing in track would be an asset to her in the end."

Johnson wasn't an unknown talent in high school, having jumped 39-0 at South High in Bakersfield. But she only competed in the triple jump as a senior, and when she failed to place at the state meet, she was lightly recruited.

She turned down college coaches trying to recruit her and enrolled at UCSD. A phone call from a junior college coach tipped off Ahner that a talented athlete was on her campus.

Ahner contacted Johnson, and a few weeks into Johnson's freshman year, she gave in to Ahner's recruiting pitch. Fall tryouts had concluded, but that didn't matter in Johnson's case.

"I was bored and realized how much a part of my life sports is," said Johnson, a three-sport athlete in high school. "I had a good vibe from the team. I decided I wanted to test the waters and see what I could do."

Ahner soon learned she was working with more than just a gifted athlete.

"She's a very special young lady with as much determination as I've ever coached," Ahner said. "She had so much to learn when she got here, but she was like a sponge at learning techniques."

Johnson's desire to learn wasn't limited to the classroom or the track.

In addition to school and practice in the day, she works nights, commuting to Oceanside to work at Tri-City Hospital's emergency room as a medical assistant.

"I'm trying to get as much experience as I can," Johnson said. "It's been a great opportunity for me to work with the doctors. They've been responsive and helped me with anything I want to learn."

Back on the track, Johnson is the mentor sharing knowledge with younger teammates. UCSD freshman Erin Langford, of Carlsbad High, said Johnson helped her overcome early season injuries to place fourth in the long jump at the California Collegiate Athletic Association finals.

"She always had advice for you and made you feel you could jump better," Langford said. "She really is an amazing person. She gets good grades at a school like UCSD, she's a great athlete and she works crazy hours. I don't know how she does it."

Johnson might have more meets in her, too. She hoped to earn an Olympic trials qualifying mark of 43-0 at the NCAA Division II finals, but it was as cold and windy day when she settled for a winning mark of 40-9 3/4.

"My coach is looking around for a meet I can enter before the trials begin (June 27)," Johnson said. "But then that's it for sports. I'll go back to doing what normal people do."