by Brandon Call
Daily Lobo
UNM distance runner Jeremy Johnson couldn't have had a better ending to his collegiate track and field career.
The senior earned All-American honors in the 10,000 meters after finishing seventh at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 7 in Sacramento, Calif.
Head coach Matt Henry said the award is the product of hours of hard work and
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training.
"He had an awesome season," Henry said during a phone interview June 9. "Jeremy always put in the extra effort all season long, and it paid off for him."
Johnson, the No. 12 seed in the race, clocked a time of 29:09.01 to finish five spots above his pre-race rank.
Henry said Johnson ran a smart race.
"Jeremy ran the race that he needed to," Henry said. "He stayed right in there with the other runners and stayed in contention. In the longer races, that's exactly what you have
to do."
And after spending the past couple seasons coming up short, Johnson finally took down an old foe. He beat NCAA cross country champion and Mountain West Conference rival Josh Rohatinsky of Brigham Young by three seconds. Rohatinsky finished eighth.
Johnson also topped Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott, a former UNM cross country All-American and La Cueva graduate who now runs
for Oregon.
Johnson said he didn't go into the race focused on either runner.
"I really wasn't thinking about who I was racing against," he said. "I was just focusing on my running and staying on pace - just doing my personal best."
Johnson becomes the third Lobo in school history to earn All-American honors in the 10,000 meters, joining Matt Gonzales and Ibrahim Kivina.
Johnson is the second UNM athlete to earn outdoor All-American accolades in Henry's tenure as head coach - Gonzales being the other.
Johnson said he is thrilled to be among the best runners in school history.
"It's cool to think that I am now a permanent part of UNM distance running," he said. "The award gives meaning to my four years as a Lobo. I'm just really excited."
The race also marked the end of Matt Henry and associate head coach Mark Henry's coaching careers at UNM.
The brothers - who announced their retirement last year - leave UNM after seven years at
the helm.
Johnson said earning All-American honors in his last race under the Henrys is
bittersweet.
"I'm so happy to have ended not only my career on a high note, but also Matt and Mark's career," he said. "We're all going to miss them. They have done so much for UNM track and field and cross country. I'm glad that I could send them out on top."
