Coaching Staff Outstanding Athletes Coached Shana Cox * 11-Time NCAA All-American * 2008 NCAA Champion (400 Meters, 4x400) * 15-Time Big Ten Champion * Eight-Time Penn State Record Holder * American Record Holder (500m) * Currently runs professionally for Adidas. Brady Gehret * 2011NCAA Indoor Bronze Medalist (400 Meters) * Two-Time NCAA All-American * Three-Time Penn State Record Holder Aleesha Barber * NCAA Champion * 11-Time NCAA All-American * 2008 Olympian (Trinidad and Tobago) * 2009 IAAF World Championships Qualifier (Trinidad and Tobago) * Eight-Time Big Ten Champion * Seven-Time Penn State Record Holder
NCAA East Regional Championships, clinching Penn State’s second-straight victory in the event. On the men’s side, Johnson coached Mike Cadau to a breakout season in the sprints, lead-
Fawn Dorr * Seven-Time NCAA All-American * Eight-Time Big Ten Champion * 2010 USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Track Athlete of the Year
ing the junior to a bronze-medal finish in the 400 at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, and a fourth-place effort at the outdoor conference meet. Cadau was also a member of the Nittany Lions’ school-record and NCAA-qualifying distance medley relay during the indoor season.
Gayle Hunter * NCAA Champion * Nine-Time NCAA All-American * Four-Time Penn State Record Holder * Five Time Mid-Atlantic Region Field Athlete of the Year
Johnson's athletes fired on all cylinders in 2008, including national championship finishes from Shana Cox in the 400-meters, and Dominique Blake, Barber, Hunter, and Cox in the 4x400-meter relay. Johnson led Cox, arguably the greatest athlete to ever wear the Blue and White, to an astounding total of 11 All-America honors over her Nittany Lion career. In 2008, Cox's 50.84 400 meters not only broke her own Penn State record, but was also the fastest
Shavon Greaves * 14-Time Big Ten Champion * Nine-Time NCAA All-American * 2010 Big Ten Indoor Athlete of the Year
time by a collegian in 2008, and the fifth fastest by an American. Johnson had Cox in top shape in 2008, as she closed out her Penn State career going undefeated in the 400 during the outdoor collegiate season, while collecting six Big Ten titles, three NCAA East Region victories, and Mid-Atlantic Region, Big Ten, and Penn State Athlete of the Year citations. Under
Dominique Blake * NCAA Champion * Four-Time NCAA All-American * Seven-Time NCAA Qualifier * Six-Time Big Ten Champion
Johnson's watch, Cox captured 15 Big Ten victories and now owns a grand total of eight Penn State records. Johnson's 4x400 was just as outstanding in 2008, picking up the Lions' first Penn Relays victory during the women's NCAA era, as well as conference, regional, and national titles. Johnson's relay collected its fifth-straight 4x400 victory at the Big Ten Indoor Championships
Gigi Johnson * Two-Time IAAF World Championship Qualifier * 2006 USATF National Champion (Heptathlon) * 2005 USATF Runner Up
(Blake, Simmons, Barber, Cox), before claiming fifth-place honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships (Blake, Barber, Cox, Dorr) earning an All-American finish for the second-consecutive year. Johnson's charges posted a total of nine All-America finishes in 2008, including fifth-place finishes from Hunter in the heptathlon and long jump, and a tenth-place effort from Blake in
Individually, Johnson coached Barber, Greaves, Dorr, and Hunter to NCAA berths during both the indoor and outdoor seasons, headlined by a runner-up finish from Hunter in the
the 400. Dorr - an All-American on the 4x400 indoors - finished 11th in the 400 hurdles, coming up just shy of another All-America finish.
pentathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Under Johnson’s watch, Hunter would set
Indoors, Johnson led Cox and Barber to individual All-America finishes at the NCAA Cham-
school records in the pentathlon (4342), and heptathlon (5797) over the course of 2009, and
pionships with Cox finishing fourth in the 400, and Barber taking eighth in the 60 hurdles.
cap her NCAA career with a fifth-place finish in the heptathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Cham-
Johnson's athletes came away from the 2008 Indoor Championships with seven All-America
pionships. One of the most decorated athletes in recent history, Hunter concluded her Lion
finishes, including a fifth-place effort from Hunter in the pentathlon. The Penn State sprint stable was also solid on the men's side in 2008, as Ron Jules - an
career with an outstanding nine All-America finishes. Indoors, Johnson led Greaves to her first All-America citation, thanks to a 10th-place finish in the 200-meters, while Barber also grabbed All-America honors with a fourth-place
NCAA regional qualifier - captured runner-up honors in the 110-meter hurdles at the outdoor conference championships.
effort in the 60-meter hurdles. Greaves also hit her stride at the conference level in 2009,
Before moving to Penn State, Johnson played a two-year stint at sprint powerhouse
winning a total of four Big Ten titles, including the 60- and 200-meters indoors, and the 100-
Arkansas, assisting legendary Associate Head Women's Coach, Rolando Greene. While at
and 200-meters outdoors. The Nittany Lion 4x400 – which has won gold-medal honors in
Arkansas, Johnson worked with a bevy of talented sprinters, including Veronica Campbell
seven of the last eight Big Ten Championships - also claimed a conference win during the
and LaShaunte'a Moore. An outstanding athlete in his own right, Johnson graduated from Lamar University (Beaumont, Texas) in 1999. Johnson earned his degree in kinesiology and
indoor championships. Outdoors, Johnson guided Dorr to a sixth-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles at NCAAs,
was a Sun Belt Conference champion in the 400 meters.
as well as runner-up finishes in the 400 and 400 hurdles at the Big Ten Championships. Dorr
Johnson married the former Gigi Miller in October 2005. Gigi Johnson. Gigi Johnson - a for-
would also capture the Penn State record in the quarter hurdles during the 2009 campaign,
mer U.S. Champion in the heptathlon is also a volunteer assistant for the Nittany Lions. The
running an impressive 56.91. The junior would also anchor the Lions’ winning 4x400 at the
Johnsons reside in State College.
TRACK AND FIELD/CROSS COUNTRy
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