Marietta High’s Johnson to swim for Youngstown St.
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Marietta High swim standout Nathan Johnson described how it feels to have the opportunity to compete athletically at the Division I college level.
"I'm more than honored," he said.
"I'm thrilled. I'm very humbled about it, that's for sure. I'm excited. It means a lot to me. All my hard work and all the hours I've put into swim are really starting to pay off."
Monday at MHS, Johnson signed a National Letter of Intent to continue swimming at Youngstown State University. The Penguins, coached by Brad Smith, compete in the Horizon League.
"It's definitely something a lot of kids dream of," Johnson said. "I wanted to swim D1, and I've been saying that since I was little, but it gets very difficult the closer you get to it. You've got to decide if you really want it that bad. If you want it and you stick with it, I think anyone can really go get it."
For Johnson, a four-time district qualifier for the Tigers, swimming at the Division I level became a reality over the past year.
"I did a lot of reaching out to them," he explained. "They're a bigger school and Marietta's much smaller. I kept in touch with the coach, got to know him well and he got to know me. From there, we just kind of built a bond and he gave me an opportunity. I'm more than thrilled to take it."
With the Tigers, Johnson specialized as a sprint swimmer.
He broke the school record in the 100 backstroke as a sophomore, a record that had stood for 40-plus years.
He's since broke his own record two more times. His personal bests are 56 seconds in the 100 backstroke, 51 seconds in the 100 freestyle and 23 seconds in the 50 freestyle.
Johnson also regularly competed in relay events for Marietta.
"We have a pretty good relay team," Johnson said. "When it comes to districts and sectionals, we tend to show up there and do pretty well. I give a lot of credit to them. We push each other to win, to keep going. If it wasn't for the four of us, I wouldn't be exactly where I am today."
Johnson said he's going to major in exercise science at YSU, with hopes of being a trainer one day.
"I don't know where swim will take me, but if that's with training for a college team or even pros, something in regards to that, that's what I'd like to do," he said.
Jordan Holland can be reached at jholland@mariettatimes.com.