Johnson saves best for last, earns NCAA Division I All-American honors in process

QUINCY — University of Minnesota thrower Kaleb Siekmeier’s reaction to Jordan Johnson’s throw made the Quincy native do a double take.

Following his final throw in the discus at the NCAA Division I outdoor track and field championships last Friday in Eugene, Ore., Johnson watched the scoreboard for his distance and was admittedly slightly disappointed it didn’t flash a mark that would have been a personal best.

“It felt good, but when it landed, I couldn’t really tell how far it was,” the University of Iowa sophomore said.

Siekmeier’s reaction should have told him it was plenty far.

“He gave me a fist bump and said, ‘That’s a new PR for you,’” Johnson said.

Quizzically, Johnson looked at the digital board again. At first glance, he had read it as 58.52 meters, shorter than his third-round throw and personal-best distance of 58.92 meters.

“I had to reread it,” Johnson said.

On second glance, he saw the correct number — 59.52 meters or 195 feet, 3 inches — which was a new PR and the sixth best throw in Hawkeyes history.

“I looked at (Siekmeier) and was like, ‘Thanks for pointing that out,’” Johnson said with a chuckle.

It cemented a banner weekend for Johnson, the two-time state champion in the discus at Quincy High School. His initial personal-best throw came on his final attempt in the preliminaries, moved him 12 spots up the leaderboard and earned him first-team All-American honors.

When he woke the next morning, the reality of accomplishing that goal still felt surreal.

“It really hadn’t set in yet,” Johnson said. “To be honest, it really hasn’t quite set in yet. I probably need a few more days for it to completely set in. It was a feeling of excitement, joy and relief.”

Seeded 12th in the 24-thrower field after a toss of 57.09 meters at the NCAA West Regional, Johnson and Hawkeyes throws coach Ray Robinson felt he was primed for a bigger throw on the biggest stage at Hayward Field.

“I was talking with my coach before the event and he saidI think your goal should be to try to throw a new PR,” Johnson said. “I was on the same page as him. I knew if I could do what I was capable of, I could be a first-team All-American. He agreed with me and gave me all the confidence in the world.”

That didn’t alleviate the drama.

In the preliminaries, Johnson’s first throw went 54.84 meters, and he faulted on his second attempt. So he sat in 19th place — only the top eight advance to the finals — heading into his final attempt. Similar circumstances existed at the Big Ten Championships, and he came up clutch.

Johnson did so again, throwing 58.92 meters to vault himself to seventh place.

“I knew pretty much out of my hand it was going to be a PR, but I wasn’t sure it was going to be enough since the competition this year was the deepest it had ever been,” Johnson said. “I threw it and I was happy. I looked over at my coach and he was happy. He was celebrating in the stands.”

When the distance popped on the scoreboard, Johnson knew he’d accomplished his goals.

“I was pretty pumped,” he said.

Rightfully so.

“It’s something that I feel every collegiate athlete is working toward, being an All-American,” Johnson said. “It was a relief. I’ve been wanting this for a while now. I was hoping to make a run at it last year, and it didn’t work out. So it’s a nice relief to be an All-American, especially in a year like this when the discus competition is so deep.

“I don’t know if you’ll ever see a discus field this good again. To succeed against that field, it’s amazing and it’s kind of surreal still.”