Lauren Johnson has a simple credo in life.
“Wherever there’s a challenge, I like to be there,” she says.
Johnson, a senior at Woodrow Wilson High School, recently climaxed four years of high school swimming with her last district meet.
After coming back from knee surgery, Johnson was one of the key players in the battle against rival Bryan Adams for the first-place team trophy.
In a meet in which every point was precious, Johnson placed sixth in the 200 freestyle and third in the 100 backstroke, then swam a leg in the 400 freestyle relay team that finished second in the final event.
The result was the Woodrow girls’ fourth consecutive district crown, one for each year that Johnson swam on the team.
“All we could think about all day was if we were going to beat Bryan Adams again,” Johnson says. “It’s fun to have a rivalry like that. It makes competing better.
“And for me, to swim what I considered to be my last race, and swim the fastest I’ve ever swam in my whole life, and beat Bryan Adams again, that was so great.
“I don’t think I would have known what to do if we had lost. It would have been so hard to face. But good people rise to the occasion, and everybody pitched in.”
She also plays jazz bass guitar and is a member of the All-City band.
“I’ve applied at Rice and Trinity,” Johnson says, who scored 1270 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test.
“I hope to go to one of those two. I want to be a pediatrician or do something in sports medicine. I would like to swim in college, too, especially if I go to Trinity; they have a new team there.”
Wildcats Premier in Pool
Underclassmen were the top point scorers as Woodrow swimmers won both boys’ and girls’ team championships in the District 10 meet. It was the fourth in a row for the girls, the second straight for the boys, both coached by Sally Moore, who is assisted by Gail Runyon.
The girls were led by sophomore Raegan Payne, who won the 50 freestyle and was third in the 200 free; and junior Tana White, who was first in the 100 free and second in the 50 free
Both girls swam on the winning 200 freestyle relay team along with sophomore Kelly Theriot and freshman Jenny Martin. Junior Kelly Ewert added a first place in the 100 breaststroke. The girls nosed out Bryan Adams 108-104.
On the boys’ side, junior Champ Hensley won four gold medals, in the 50 and 100 freestyle individual races and the 200 freestyle and 200 medley relays. Junior Jonathan Binford contributed first places in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke, and joined Hensley on the 200 medley relay team.
Junior Blake Jackson was second in the 500 free and third in the 200 free. Junior Zach Redington was first in the backstroke, third in the IM, and swam on the 200 medley relay team.
The Woodrow boys totaled 125 points to Bryan Adams’ 104.
Double Success in Soccer
Woodrow’s boys and girls soccer teams made the playoffs.
The boys finished the regular season with a 12-4 record and were 6-2 in district play, finishing second behind W.T. White.
Senior forward Oscar Chavez led the boys in scoring with seven goals.
Coach Ramona Powers’ girls team earned the third playoff spot, with a 6-4 district record, sparked by a pair of freshmen. Forward Katy Offutt scored 18 goals, and Jennifer Gibbs, who played several positions, led the team in assists with 16.
