Winter Juniors A Finalist Melinda Johnson Commits to Cal State Bakersfield

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Melinda Johnson from Littleton, Colorado has announced her commitment to California State University, Bakersfield for the 2021-22 school year.

“I’m super excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my athletic and academic career at California State University, Bakersfield. I would like to thank all of my family, friends, teammates, and Lori at ACCrecruits that have helped me along the way. I already feel like part of the family. Go Roadrunners!”

Johnson is a senior at Dakota Ridge High School. She placed 6th in the 50 free (24.57) and 11th in the 100 back (58.28) at the 2020 Colorado High School Girls 4A State Championships last February. She also anchored the state-champion 400 free relay (52.89) and the 4th-place 200 medley relay (24.17). Two months earlier, swimming at 2019 Winter Juniors West, she had clocked a 1:58.28 in prelims of the 200 back, dropping a massive 4.5 seconds and leapfrogging into the A final, where she ended up 8th with 1:58.86. She also went a lifetime best in the SCY 200 free and the LCM 200 back (2:18.32) in time trials at the West meet. She had a good showing in the 50 back and 100 free at Paradise Valley Sectionals in the spring of 2019, and finaled in the 200 free (16th), 500 free (21st), and 100 back (21st). A few of her lifetime PBs date from Austin Sectionals in 2018, when she finished top-8 in the 500/1000/1650 freestyles.

Best SCY times:

  • 200 back – 1:58.28
  • 100 back – 56.77
  • 50 back – 26.84
  • 100 free – 53.14
  • 200 free – 1:52.56
  • 500 free – 5:01.06
  • 1000 free – 10:18.82
  • 1650 free – 17:13.70

Johnson will join the Roadrunners’ class of 2025 with Kadin Denner and Danielle Albright. CSUB finished 5th in the women’s meet at 2020 WAC Swimming & Diving Championship. Johnson would have been 3rd in the 200 back and 11th in the 100 back at the timed-finals conference meet. She also would have finished 6th in the mile, 14th in the 500 free, and 16th in the 200 free.

Johnson does her club swimming with Foothills Swim Team.

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Michael Schwartz
3 years ago

That’s a nice pick up for the runners

About Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant is the mother of four daughters, all of whom swam in college. With an undergraduate degree from Princeton (where she was an all-Ivy tennis player) and an MBA from INSEAD, she worked for many years in the financial industry, both in France and the U.S. Anne is currently …

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