'A WHOLE DIFFERENT LEVEL' SKY'S THE LIMIT FOR DESERT'S JOHNSTON.Byline: Sean Martin Sean Martin may refer to:
Sky Johnston, the 2002 Southern Section Div. V cross-country champion for Desert Christian High of Lancaster, enjoys competing at a higher level. In high school, he requested to run in the Div. I/II sweepstakes sweepstakes, contest or race, usually a horse race, on which a lottery is run. Prizes are awarded to the holders of winning tickets. In the case of a horse race, the draw is made from the names of all the horses entered in the race and vast numbers of blanks. race at Mt. SAC Sac: see Sac and Fox. SAC - 1. An early system on the Datatron 200 series. [Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959)]. , even though Desert Christian competed at the Southern Section's lowest level. Now Johnston is preparing to compete at an even higher level - NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I - as his first cross-country season with UC Irvine approaches. He redshirted last season, but competed unattached in several races. This year, he wants to crack the starting lineup For the line of action figures, see . A starting lineup in sports refers to the set of players actively participating in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes . ``We have a lot of talented guys who have the same goal, but I feel pretty good coming in,'' Johnston said. ``This is my best summer training ever. I hope it pays off.'' Johnston said he sends UC Irvine coach Vince O'Boyle e-mails each week to update O'Boyle on his training. Based on those e-mails, O'Boyle said he thinks Johnston could contribute this year. O'Boyle redshirted Johnston to ease the transition from high school to college racing. Collegiate col·le·giate adj. 1. Of, relating to, or held to resemble a college. 2. Of, for, or typical of college students. 3. Of or relating to a collegiate church. races are about three kilometers longer, which requires different training, and the competition is stronger. ``(Sky) has got a lot, a lot of ability, but he's still raw to the sport,'' O'Boyle added. ``Last year was a learning experience.'' O'Boyle said redshirting helped Johnston run personal-record times in the 800 and 1,500 meters during track season. Johnston qualified for the Big West Conference Championships in both events, finishing 10th in the 1,500 at 3 minutes, 56.83 seconds. That success should carry to cross country, O'Boyle said. Johnston takes his game to a higher level in the classroom as well. He has already achieved senior standing academically even though this will only be his second year at UC Irvine. Johnston should complete his bachelor's degree in comparative literature this year and then plans on working toward a master's in history, he said. Right now his focus is on the team's first race, when it hosts the UC Irvine Invitational in·vi·ta·tion·al adj. Restricted to invited participants: an invitational golf tournament. n. An event, especially a sports tournament, restricted to invited participants. Adj. 1. on Sept. 10. ``The competition will be a lot harder, but I'm also more prepared,'' Johnston said. ``Practicing with these guys is really good experience because they push me to a whole different level.'' Sean Martin, (818) 713-3608 sean.martin(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Sky Johnston, a redshirt red·shirt tr.v. red·shirt·ed, red·shirt·ing, red·shirts To keep (a college or school athlete) out of varsity competition for one year in order to extend the athlete's period of eligibility. freshman at UC Irvine, hopes to make an impact on the Anteaters' cross-country team this season. (2) Sky Johnston learned a lot during his redshirt season. Courtesy of UC Irvine |
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