RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) track & field freshman Sam Johnson II is a prime example of the student-athlete development head coach Shareese Hicks centers the program around. 
 
Johnson came to UTRGV after a decorated career at Klein High School. He was a regional champion and bronze medalist at the 2022 UIL Class 6A state meet in the 4x400-meter relay and a standout in the 400-meter dash. He set school records on all three relays. 
 
His personal record in the 400 dash was 48.35 coming to college. Now, Johnson boasts an impressive PR of 46.25 – the UTRGV outdoor program history. He owns four of the top 10 times in the record books. 
 
He clocked the program record to win the bronze medal at the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Outdoor Championship and secure his spot at the NCAA West Preliminary. He'll compete in the first round of the men's 400 dash Wednesday at 9:25 p.m. (CT) at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium. A top-24 finish will advance Johnson to the quarterfinals on Friday. The top 12 finishers in the quarterfinals will qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
 
"It feels great to have this opportunity and to see my hard work bring me this far," Johnson said. "I felt prepared going into conference and just needed to go out and perform and show everybody else what I knew I could do. I'm very blessed that I was able to represent the Valley and the team. To be able to see everything fall into place with the right timing, I'm just very excited to be where I am right now." 


 
Johnson's path to the postseason wasn't easy. He ran well during the indoor season but was disappointed when he didn't make finals in the 400 at the WAC Indoor Championship. His first outdoor meet was in bad weather and resulted in a high time. He found a groove and notched three sub-48 times in a row, then had a rough race in his last outing before the outdoor conference meet. 
 
But a big part of Johnson's growth this year has been in the mental side of the sport. He learned the importance of a short memory and perspective – and those lessons have him confident and locked in as he sets his focus on the preliminary meet. 
 
"This year has been about putting my all into track and changing my mindset in the way I look at things," Johnson said. "I'm not perfect, I'm going to have bad races, so instead of being down on myself, I use that as a learning experience. Like, my final was good at conference, but my first 30 meters weren't as good as I wanted them to be. So going into regionals I'm focused on making sure I get my race model down perfectly. If I set myself up the right way, I can get a time to hopefully make it to nationals. That's the goal." 
 
The recipe for Johnson's success is simple: he's never satisfied. He consistently asks the right questions and strives for perfection. He takes care of business on and off the track, quickly becoming "an outstanding leader," praised Hicks. His attention to detail to get his race model down pat has been admirable, and Hicks is proud of the development his dedication has produced. 
 
"Sam put a lot of hay in the barn early. He's done everything right and been extremely bought in from Day 1. I'm really proud of him. He's a real example of hard work paying off," Hicks said. "For him, we've been focusing on race efficiency. It's all about how he distributes his energy throughout the entire lap. We've been focusing on that first 70 meters, making sure we're getting out controlled and managing that speed on the backstretch and finishing with heart. It's not quite perfect yet, but I know if anyone's capable of getting it close to perfect, it's going to be Sam." 
 
Johnson heads to the West preliminary as the 44^th seed in a competitive field loaded with big names. But he's not nervous about the high-caliber athletes he'll be lining up with. He's going to Sacramento ready to keep learning, to keep developing, and to leave his all on the track for everyone who has helped him get where he is now. 
 
"The competition doesn't bother me because I'm going to be that someday. I don't have the experience yet, but I'm building to that and setting myself up for the future," Johnson said. "I'm living my dream right now. I'm beyond blessed and I give all the glory to God and I thank my family for helping me get to this point. 
 
"We're trying to build a dynasty here at UTRGV, so this will help set up the track program for future years. It's definitely special." 

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