By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

By any practical measure, Amaya Johnson has had a successful career on the track at William & Mary. That could have been said even before a 16-day span last month in which she broke one school record by herself and two more as part of relay teams.

On March 31, the second day of the Colonial Relays at Zable Stadium, Johnson ran the 100 meters in a record-breaking time of 11.96 seconds. The next day, as the first leg of the Tribe's 4x100 relay team (followed by Lizzy Gregory, Anna Kessler and Melissa Cunningham), she sparked a first-place finish and a new mark of 46.18.

Then, in the 4x400 with Gregory, Carly Swierbut and Emily Ervin, Johnson got W&M off to a fast start and another record of 3:38.53. It was, without a doubt, a productive weekend.

"It felt like everything came together," said Johnson, a senior from Sterling, Va. "I'm so grateful for how the year has gone, both the season and the school year.

"It's been a great close-out for college in general. That's made it all special, especially to do this at a home meet. A fun experience, honestly."

Oh, and that 4x100 record? It lasted two weeks. At the Meet of Champions in High Point, N.C., Johnson and her crew finished at 45.97 seconds. That's an improvement of more than two-tenths of a second.

Heading into the CAA Championships, which start Friday morning and conclude Saturday afternoon at Zable, Johnson has clinched her spot among the program's elite.

In W&M's record book, she's among the top 16 performers in six individual events (indoor 60, indoor 200, indoor 400, outdoor 100, outdoor 200 and outdoor 400). She's also listed in three relays (indoor and outdoor 4x4 and outdoor 4x1).

Her personal-best times in the 100 and 200 (24.11) outdoors and 60 (7.84) indoors were all set this season. And, at Wednesday's Griffy Awards, she was named one of three finalists for W&M's Senior Athlete of the Year.

"She's always been serious about her business and very determined to do well," said Alex Heacock, director of W&M's track and field program. "But this year, we've really seen her grow.

"She still goes about her business in a serious and determined manner, but I think she does an outstanding job of leading by example for the rest of our team. We're really proud of the steps she's taken from a leadership perspective."

Johnson is set to graduate on May 19 with a B.S. in psychology. She hopes to study pharmacy in graduate school (Howard and VCU are possibilities) and is considering using her final season of eligibility.

Although she is choosing the pharmaceutical path, Johnson wants no part of Big Pharma.

"I've always been a STEM person," said Johnson, referring to the acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. "Throughout college, I've gradually made way to pharmacy because I'm very interested in wellness in general.

"From a personal standpoint, I value health maintenance both in a healthy medicinal way but also a holistic way. Even though I'm going into a medicinal field, I actually want to make people aware of the approaches they can take on a more holistic manner. That's something I want to promote."

Which doesn't mean she'll entirely leave track and sports in general behind.

"I wouldn't be surprised if I somehow make my way back to athletics and training," she said. "It's funny, because a lot of my teammates make fun of me because they say I'm an athlete-coach. I can definitely see myself somehow making my way back to coaching or training.

"I've been able to appreciate athletics on so many levels. And it'll be nice to be able to appreciate it in ways that help other competitors, be it on a training side or sports psychology. I'm excited to have the time to try so many new things after I graduate."

Before that, there will be the CAA Championships. In addition to the team title, Johnson's goal is to qualify for the NCAA regionals in the 200 and with the 4x400 relay team.

"The 200, that's a possible goal but not an easy one," Johnson said. "It would be a huge achievement for me. Our 4x4 is still ranked to qualify, but we're trying to get that time down further."

It would be a fitting way to wrap up a successful year.

CAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships
May 5-6, Zable Stadium
Teams: Charleston, Delaware, Elon, Hampton, Hofstra, Monmouth, North Carolina A&T, Northeastern, Stony Brook, Towson, UNC Wilmington, William & Mary.
To view the full schedule, click here. 
To follow along with all the action via live results, click here.