At the Jesuit-Sheaner Relays last Friday, junior Jake Johnson broke the Allen record in the 3200m race. Finishing with a time of 9:40.51, Johnson was able to break the record by three and a half seconds and set the new mark in Allen history.

“I felt elated and on top of the world because I’d been training so hard to break this mark,” Johnson said.

Johnson broke the 3200m record previously held by himself, which he had broken last year. But before that Johnson broke the record of 9:57 previously held by Craig Lutz.

“My goal for the whole season was to break the record, both the one mile and the two mile,” Johnson said.

So far this season, Johnson has broken the two mile record, and strives to break it even more if possible, but his next target will be the one mile in his upcoming races.

“I had to use my adrenaline because sometimes it gets hard and you really have to push to keep going, especially because it was windy.” Johnson said.

One factor usually not mentioned in track races is the wind, but it helps determine the outcome of the race, and Johnson had to fight through the tough conditions in his record breaking race.  

“When you go against the wind you have to keep pushing yourself even when it’s hard, and when you go with the wind you have to go even faster because you know the other side (of the track) will be harder,” Johnson said.

While running the fastest 3200m in Allen history, Johnson finished 10th in the race overall running next to some of the fastest runners in the state of Texas. Johnson still has ambitions of breaking his own record by a larger margin.  

“I want to break the record again, I learned that you can achieve goals when you work hard and that it’s possible, when I first started I didn’t think I could break it,” Johnson said.

But now Johnson sits on top of the 3200m record and will sit there until another teammate challenges the time.

“One of my goals was to leave my legacy at Allen,” Johnson said, “it feels good to have this (the record) and it’s motivation to push yourself.”   

Update: Jake Johnson finished third overall in the district race, breaking an Allen record once again. The new one mile record was broken last Friday, with a time of 4.22 in the 1600m race. Johnson had previously mentioned that breaking the one mile record was one of his goals for the season, and now he is the holder of the best one and two mile times in Allen history. Johnson with the help of his teammates, were able to capture the 2016 Track District Championship and move on to the area round. The next races will take place this Thursday and Friday at Keller High School.