This Senior Has Lofty Goals

She is not the best girls’ pole vaulter in the Southland.

Nor is she the region’s top performer in the shotput or discus.

But senior Whitney Johnson of Mission Viejo could achieve a first of sorts if she advances to the Division I final in those three events in the Southern Section track and field championships at Cerritos College on May 22.

Last year, Johnson became the second girl to advance to the section finals in the pole vault and discus since the vault became part of the championship program in 1995. But no girl has advanced to the divisional finals in the pole vault, shotput and discus.

“I think we have an exceptional athlete for one,” Mission Viejo assistant coach Chris Watkins said about Johnson’s versatility. “And I think we have an athlete who is willing to do all of them.”

Johnson, who is seeded second in the pole vault and shotput and ninth in the discus in the Orange County championships at Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills today, devoted most of her athletic attention to gymnastics in the fifth through eighth grades.

Then, after playing volleyball at the freshman level during her first semester of high school, she went out for track because she didn’t want to attend a regular physical education class.

“I started vaulting on a whim,” she said. “It looked like fun so I gave it a shot and loved it. And by the end of the season, I was hooked.”

After clearing 8 feet 6 inches as a freshman, Johnson improved to 12-0 as a sophomore and 12-1 last year, placing eighth and ninth, respectively, in the last two state championships. But unlike some of her rivals, Johnson, who is 5-8 and 155 pounds, has never focused entirely on the pole vault.

She also competed in the shotput, triple jump and long jump as a freshman and tried the discus as a sophomore. She continued to play volleyball during the fall.

“I love the pole vault,” she said. “But I have actually learned to love throwing because it gives me a break from vaulting, which is good.... I’m a really competitive person and for me track is great because you can compete against yourself on an individual level.... But you can also compete against your competitors and try to score points for your team. It’s team-oriented, but it’s also individual-oriented.”

After posting bests of 33-0 in the shotput and 107-0 in the discus as a sophomore, Johnson improved to 35-6 and 120-11 as a junior and placed fourth and third in the South Coast League finals.

She finished second in the pole vault and seventh in the discus in the Division II finals of the section championships last May and began lifting weights in preparation for track season in November, the day after Mission Viejo lost to Temecula Chaparral in the semifinals of the Southern Section Division I-A volleyball playoffs.

“I saw her the day after the season ended and told her, ‘Why don’t you take a week off,’ ” Watkins said. “And she said, ‘Nope. I’m going to start right now.’ ”

The hard work has helped Johnson improve her bests to 12-6 in the pole vault, which ties her for second on the yearly state list behind the 12-7 by Santa Ana Mater Dei’s Elizabeth Woepse, 39-7 1/4 in the shotput and 126-10 in the discus this season. But she is far from satisfied with those performances.

She wants to break the Orange County record of 12-9 in the pole vault set by Kristen McGregor of Huntington Beach Marina in 2002, crack the 13-foot barrier and place among the top three in the state championships.

She also realizes that she needs to become a consistent 40-foot shotputter and 130-foot discus thrower to have a good chance of advancing to the Division I finals in those events.

Johnson’s accomplishments don’t end with athletics. She is a near straight-A student who has been involved in a chapter of the National Charity League for the last six years.

The league is a philanthropic organization in which mothers and daughters volunteer their time together to services such as the Meals on Wheels program that delivers meals to homebound people.

“The biggest thing that I’ve learned is that a simple gesture or just a kind smile can make or break somebody’s day,” Johnson said about the volunteer work. “You always ask yourself what you can do to make a difference and sometimes it can be something as simple as a smile.”

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At a Glance

* What: Orange County track and field championships.

* Where: Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills.

* When: Today, 8:30 a.m.

* Fast Facts: Mission Viejo is favored to win the boys’ team title. Its strongest challenge expected to come from defending champion Anaheim Esperanza and Cypress. Santa Margarita is favored to defend its girls’ title. Dana Point Dana Hills, Santa Ana Mater Dei, La Palma Kennedy and Orange Lutheran are expected to be the Eagles’ biggest challengers.