BY MARK MORING, Eastern Shore Post —
Lavor Johnson is a big fan of Sonic, just a couple minutes up the road from Arcadia High School, where he’s a senior star on the track and field team and —
Wait, what? Junk food fuels the fastest runner on the Eastern Shore?
“Not that Sonic,” Johnson clarifies. “Sonic the Hedgehog.”
OK, that makes sense. The popular video and cartoon character, known for his supersonic speed, is an apt model for a young man who is always looking to go faster — and jump higher and farther.
Johnson pulled a rare feat recently, winning gold in all six events he entered at the Arcadia All Comers meet on April 12 — the 100, 200, long jump, triple jump, and high jump, as well as running a leg on the winning 4×100 relay team.
It’s not the first time Johnson won six golds in one day. He did the same last year at the Eastern Shore District meet.
“Lavor is a phenomenal athlete,” says Arcadia coach Taylor Major. “He has elite-level speed and athleticism.”
But it’s more than just natural ability. It’s hard work.
“His work ethic is undeniable,” Major says. “He has spent the last few years mixing his pure athleticism with techniques that come with running and jumping. He’s training for this year-round.
“He’s a picture-perfect example of a student-athlete. He takes care of the classroom but also takes care of the mental side of the sport. He’s also a stellar leader and teammate. Our entire team looks to him for guidance. Lavor pumps confidence into them.”
“I’m a very vocal teammate,” Johnson adds. “I motivate others around me as I want them to be better. Motivation can bring a lot of hidden potential out of good athletes.”
Johnson himself is motivated by one goal: to become the fastest runner in Shore history. He’s already the fastest this spring, with a personal best 11.13 seconds in the 100-meter run. He says he will break 11 seconds by the end of the season.
To become the Shore’s speediest ever, Johnson would first have to break the school record of 10.94 seconds. Then he’d have to fly past Onancock High’s Kim Miles, who in 1964 won the state 100-yard dash in 10.0 seconds — back when distances were in yards, not meters. Miles’ mark converts to 10.94 seconds in 100 meters, just 0.19 of a second faster than Johnson’s 11.13. (The Virginia state record in the 100-meter is 10.37.)
And then there’s Wachapreague’s Larry Burton, whom many say was the fastest man ever from the Shore. Burton attended Mary N. Smith High School in the late 1960s, but the school didn’t have a track team, so there are no official records. But Burton once ran the 60-yard dash in 5.9 seconds, matching the world record at the time. He won the NCAA title in the 200 while competing at Purdue and then finished fourth at the 1972 Olympics with a time of 20.37. Burton is now in the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
By comparison, Johnson’s top 200 time is 22.67 seconds, and it’s the only one of his six events for which he hasn’t yet qualified for the state meet. Johnson’s best events are the 100, the long jump, and the triple jump, where his personal bests this year are 22-5 and 45-6, respectively. At last year’s state meet, he finished second in the long jump (21-8.5) and third in the triple jump (44-05).
Johnson, a math whiz whose favorite class is trigonometry, is already angling for this year’s Class 2 state meet, to be held June 6 and 7 at James Madison University. He helped lead Arcadia to an eighth place team finish (out of 37 schools) last year.
After states, he’ll start getting ready for Richard Bland College in Petersburg, where he is headed on a track scholarship. He plans to major in science.
Johnson, who also played football and basketball at Arcadia, doesn’t have much spare time. But when he does, he loves the outdoors, volunteering with Special Olympics, and worshiping at church. “I want to give glory to God,” he says. “Without Him, none of this would be happening.”
And, of course, he’d like to give a special nod to a certain blue cartoon character — the world’s fastest hedgehog, known for leaving his foes far behind.
