Jarann Johnson didn't come to Jamestown College to run track. In fact, when he left Northern California for North Dakota four years ago, he had no intention of participating in sports at all.
Back home in Redding, California, about an hour south of the Oregon border, Johnson played basketball in high school, but that was about it.
When it was time to pick a college, he knew he wanted to attend a smaller school and after looking around and hearing from a few friends that played football at various NAIA schools, he decided on Jamestown College.
"I knew it would be something different," Johnson said. "Coming from California to Jamestown is pretty different."
His first roommate was J.J. Koerber, the former standout distance runner for the Jimmies. Koerber and a few of his buddies took notice of Johnson's athleticism and pestered him to join them on the Jimmie track and field team.
He considered it, but resisted until Ed Crawford arrived on campus as the program's new coach in 2009.
"When I was younger, people would try to get me to be in track, but I just never did," Johnson said. "I always knew I had a little bit of speed. ... Things just clicked with Coach Crawford. He's a good coach and he always said, 'If you work hard, good things will happen.'
"From there, things have went pretty well."
Johnson really emerged during the indoor season for the Jimmies, especially in the 400 meters. He consistently ran career-best times in the event, topping out at 50.7 seconds and fell just short of nationals.
In a way, Johnson's rapid rise almost was an accident, but don't be fooled, Crawford said.
"When kids leave for the summer you give them day-by-day workout plans. You know most kids aren't going to do them all, some might not even do any, but with Jarann he did every one. I mean, he worked really hard," Crawford said. "He really put the time in and he's ran just phenomenal for us."
While five of his teammates are off to the national indoor meet in Ohio this weekend, Johnson and several of his fellow Jimmies are getting ready for the outdoor season, albeit inside of the Larson Center.
But track is only a portion of what chews up Johnson's time.
He's also become Mr. Media on campus. Just a brief glimpse of the college's student newspaper, The Collegian, will show you that. He's the sports content manager and also does work for the campus TV station.
"He's an awesome young man. He puts in all kinds of hours in the student media center and really works hard at it," Crawford said. "He's stretched pretty thin with everything he does, but he's a true success story.
"He's the epitome of dedication to whatever he does and you like to see kids like that succeed."
Johnson, who will also graduate with a minor in religion, would like to work in journalism in the future, but is keeping his options open.
"I'd like to get into that, but it's kind of scary with deadlines and making sure everything is always right. And on the sports side of things, you realize you have no life on the weekends," showing his true grasp of the profession. "I've learned you have to love it to do it."
He's also enjoyed the differences between his native California and his adopted home. Whether he stays around beyond college is up for debate, but he's enjoyed his time here.
"One of the coolest things is the sense of community, not just on campus, but in town. In my neighborhood in California, there'd maybe be one get-together a year. Here, neighbors hang out together all the time," he said. "Back home, you'd never see a guy cutting another guy's grass like you do here.
"That's cool and I've really enjoyed that part of living and going to school here."
Courtesy of David Selvig, Jamestown Sun
