James and Jaren Johnson entered the weekend as brothers, and finished it as state champions.
“For Jaren, I hold him at the same standard as me, even though he’s younger,” James Johnson said. “I think we both hold something high up in Dulce.”
“I just have to keep up with James in almost everything I said,” said junior Jaren Johnson.
The Dulce pair combined for six medals at the state track and field championships on May 10-11, and both won a first-place medal.
The brothers, who are half-Navajo and half-black, moved to Dulce four years ago when their mother found a good job in a small town, working for the Indian Health Service.
On day two, after a slow start on day one, James Johnson dominated the javelin.
The senior entered with the best mark at 160 feet and as the defending champion. His first throw was nearly that far. The next four all progressively got further. All six of his throws would have won state, stunning consistency.
His fifth throw, 183 feet, 10 inches, broke the 2A state record that he had set about 10 minutes earlier. It would also have been a record in 3A.
James Johnson could not even say anything different that he did or figured out. Just a good day.
But he said it almost would have made him happier to not have the record. Now, he feels the pressure is on to do even better against tougher competition. And he wants to compete at a national level, and hopes to make the track and field team at University of New Mexico.
“I had to uphold my reputation as a state champion,” James Johnson said.
Jaren Johnson struggled in the preliminary of the 110-meter hurdles. He got a bad start, literally “off on the wrong foot,” pulled his hamstring, and finished nearly five seconds behind his season best, in last place in the heat.
But he caught a break when, in the second heat, two runners false started, and ultimately all eight who finished their heat made the final.
The issue, he thought, was starting from blocks. So, for the final, he was the only runner with a standing start.
It worked.
Jaren Johnson blazed to the finish in 16.54 seconds, a personal best, and fast enough from the outside lane to take the crown.
James Johnson struggled, surprisingly, in the high jump. He entered as the second-best seed, with a mark of 6 feet, 2 inches.
But, a week earlier, he lost his shoes at a track meet, and had the wrong shoes to jump in.
At state, he cleared 5 feet, 6 inches, but made it no further, finishing in 10th place.
James also won fourth in the 200 at 23.45 seconds, and was third in the 400 at 52.17 despite lightning delays. Jaren finished fifth in the triple jump at 39 feet, 3.75 inches.
Dulce senior Aljae Dixon placed fourth in the 100 meters with a time of 11.95 seconds.
Dulce’s sprint medley team, with Antonio Herrera, Dixon and the two Johnson’s finished second. After recording the best time in the preliminaries, they finished a half second behind Pecos after losing an early lead. Jaren Johnson fought through his hamstring injury, but it gave up on him in the final 100 meters.