Walking around campus in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, freshman Jackie Johnson appears to be an average student, a 19-year-old that likes to go out dancing and whose favorite movie is "The Lion King 1 1/2." However, put Johnson on the track field -- and next season the basketball court -- and you have a completely different person.
If Johnson plays her cards right, a trip to represent the United States in Athens, Greece for the Olympics this summer in the heptathlon is not just a pipe dream, but also a legitimate option.
"I like my chances," Johnson said.
Despite being in her first year in one of the toughest track and field conferences in the nation, Johnson has carried her success from high school to the college level.
Already this year, Johnson has recorded wins in three different track disciplines -- the 55m hurdles at the Double Dual and the 60m hurdles at the NAU Invitational -- and was in contention to win the heptathlon at the Mike Maynard Combined Meet in Tucson before a hamstring injury forced her to pull out of the competition.
"So far in my performances I have been surprised with what I have done, and what I can do," Johnson said. However, winning has never been a surprise for the 5-foot-8 Johnson before.
At Yuma High School, Johnson became one of the most decorated prep athletes in Arizona history, winning 14 state titles in track and field. For four years, Johnson dominated all comers, winning gold in the high jump and long jump. In the hurdles, Johnson set a state record during her sophomore year and proceeded to break her own mark in her junior and senior campaigns.
Outside of some mild competition in the triple jump during her junior year, Johnson remained unscathed throughout her illustrious high school career.
"It never got boring, because I loved the sport," Johnson said. "As long as I'm out there jumping or doing whatever I'm doing, I liked it."
Couple those accomplishments with three wins in the 100m hurdles and triple jump, and Johnson had an impressive resume to enter college with. Johnson was named the 2003 Athlete of the Year by the Yuma Daily Sun, and was also selected as Arizona's Gatorade Athlete of the Year.
"That state meet that she had last year was phenomenal," ASU track coach Greg Kraft said. "That's the best state meet by a high school kid in possibly state history."
While Johnson has always had dreams of coming to ASU, other suitors were eager to knock on her door. Johnson said that Stanford, UCLA and Tennessee were on her final list, but the proximity to her family, and the fact her older sister, Jessica, was already in Tempe helped make a typically difficult decision easier.
"I knew I wanted to come here," said Johnson, who didn't even take recruiting visits to other universities.
After controlling the ranks at multiple positions, Johnson is now trying to excel at the heptathlon, a combination of seven events.
"She's a huge talent," Kraft said. "For me, personally, she's the most talented athlete that I have had. She's such a presence."
However, success at the Division I track level is not enough for Johnson. Next season, the she is expected to play for the ASU women's basketball team -- a move eerily similar to other all-world track athletes such as Marion Jones, who led North Carolina to the 1994 NCAA basketball championships, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who originally attended UCLA to play basketball.
Because of the team's returned depth next season, basketball head coach Charli Turner Thorne believes that her team is the perfect fit for Johnson, who Turner Thorne describes as a "very explosive scorer" and "awesome defender."
"I don't care if she hasn't picked up a basketball in three years, she's a winner," Turner Thorne said. "She's going to bring that to the floor every time she steps on the floor."
In addition to her achievements in track at the high school level, Johnson was Yuma's basketball team captain from 2000 through 2003. In her senior year, Johnson was an honorable mention selection for the all-Arizona basketball team, and has been playing basketball since junior high.
Johnson is expected to create immediate matchup problems, and give Turner Thorne a multitude of options at the guard position. While she does not know what her vertical leap is, Johnson has high jumped 6 feet before, roughly the average size of last season's basketball team.
"As soon as she steps on the floor, you're going to have to honor that, a lot," Turner Thorne said. "To have a kid with that type of work ethic and that type of championship-winning mentality is really exciting to us and our coaching staff."
Even more excited than the coaching staff and the players on the basketball team is Johnson herself, who has never played basketball year-round because of her track obligations throughout high school.
Kraft said Johnson playing basketball was part of the agreement the two made during the recruiting process.
"We don't know where it's going to go," Kraft said. "In a few years, she might say she doesn't want to do track. But there is no question she is a talent (in both sports)."
Johnson still thinks she has a way to go to get into basketball shape, and has focused on track this year. But once the season is over, she plans on getting into the gym to continue to get ready for next season.
"I bring defense and speed, obviously," Johnson said. "I just need to work on my shooting and working with the girls. I need to see how they play and how I play just so we can work together."
If Johnson brings half the talent she has on the track to the hardwood, the basketball team has the potential to be blessed with one of the most gifted athletes that ASU has ever produced.
Reporter Matt Reinick contributed to this story. Reach the reporter at jeffrey.hoodzow@asu.edu.
