Abbey Johnson '26 Recruiting Profile

My love for running first began when I was 8 running a mile race. At the time I thought nothing of it but as I got older, I realized I love running. Running to me is much more than just a sport in which you compete to see who is the fastest. Running allows me to be myself and do something that I love. Off season I have worked hard to achieve all of my goals which lead to me being on varsity as a freshman in high school. I have faced many obstacles throughout my running career such as breaking my toe during my Sophomore Cross Country season. Instead of just sitting down the whole time I was out, I did aqua-jogging every single day for an hour no matter what the weather was. I was out from September 2023 and was able to come back in October and got to run districts, regional, and states in times that were what I used to get before my injury. I have many goals in life but my biggest one is being able to continue to express my love for running by running in college, as well as majoring in Architectural Engineering. To me, running is much more than just a sport. It allows me to be myself and makes me who I am today. From cross country regionals in 2023, I ran 21:57 and was 51st. Cross country regionals in 2024, I ran 19:23 and was 15th. A lot of people believe I put too much pressure on myself, but setting expectations has helped me improve a lot. The sweat and tears I have given for this sport has paid off with my results and will continue to in my Senior season.