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Johnson shatters personal record

The Tampa Baptist graduate places third at the Adidas Outdoor Championships in Raleigh, N.C.

By EMILY NIPPS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published June 18, 2002

TAMPA -- Garrett Johnson's 66-foot shot put throw would have bugged eyes and boggled minds at the state meet.

In fact, it would have set a state record.

At Friday's Adidas Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Raleigh, N.C., though, Johnson's throw -- 65 feet, 113/4 inches -- was good for third place.

Not bad for the level of competition at the meet, the throw was a personal best for the Tampa Baptist graduate, whose longest was 63-11.

At the Class A state final, Johnson threw the shot put 62-3. He'd been hoping to break the state record of 65-4, set by Fort Pierce Central's Dock Luckie in 1977.

Just as Johnson was preparing to give track a rest for the summer, the elite level at the Outdoor Championships brought out his best, according to his father, Nate Johnson.

"One of the things people were saying out there was how that was some of the best competition in that track meet's history," Nate Johnson said. "They used to say that 60 feet was the cutoff for qualifying, and this year 61-8 was the cutoff. Kids are just bigger and stronger."

Kevin Bookout of Oklahoma won the shot put with a 69-41/4 throw, and Glenn DiGiorgio of New Jersey threw 67-6.

Garrett Johnson also placed 37th in the discus after reaching 121-01.

Johnson, a three-time state champion, is spending the summer completing his freshman year at Florida State. He will begin his first fall semester as a sophomore, and will not compete again until indoor season begins.

Berkeley Prep graduate and five-time state champion Rolf Steier also competed in Raleigh, finishing ninth in the 2-mile in 9 minutes, 12.79 seconds. He also ran the mile in 4:16.85 to finish 13th.

"I'm always looking to set a personal record, so I was hoping to do better," Steier said. "I'm still happy with my results, though. It's been a long season, so I'm looking forward to some time off."

Steier, who will attend Stanford in August, has a personal record of 9:09 for the outdoor two-mile. He has run 9:06 in indoor meets.

Bloomingdale's Jonathan Miller competed in the pole vault but failed to clear his first three attempts. Miller, who won the Class 4A state title, cleared 16 feet last month at the Golden South meet in Orlando.

The Outdoor Championships pole vault winner, Ray Scotten of Indiana, cleared 16-1/3.

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