Dariel Johnson (2008)
Little Rock Central (1975) and Arkansas State University (1980).
In 1974 as a junior Johnson turned in the fastest times in the state in the high (13.9) and low (19.1) hurdles, winning both races in the Meet of Champions. In 1975 Johnson was one of the nation’s premier hurdlers and named the Most Outstanding Performer in the Class AAAA state track meet. On March 22, 1975, as a senior Johnson ran the fastest hurdle times in the nation in the high (13.6) and low (18.7) hurdles. In the 1975 state meet Johnson ran ten races in one day --including four prelims, three finals and three relays -- winning high-point honors with 18 ½ points as he led Central to a tie with Pine Bluff for the state championship. His winning hurdle times equaled the state records (13.8 highs and 18.8 lows). A member of all three Tiger relay teams, he also ranked number one in the state in the 220-yard dash (21.6) and among the best in the state in the 100-yard dash (9.7). Johnson was a Central High Sports Hall of Fame inductee. He was named All State his junior and senior years and posted twin victories in the Meet of Champions both his junior and senior seasons. He concluded his high school track career by again posting the best time (13.6) ever run by an Arkansas high school high hurdler while competing in the prestigious Golden West Invitational in Sacramento, California. Johnson’s 1976 Arkansas State University team won its first ever Southland Conference track championship and followed with a repeat in 1977. He ran on two school record relays, 1600 meter (3:08.4) and 240-shuttle hurdles and was ASU’s school record holder in the 400-meter hurdles (51.7). Additionally, he was named All American in his freshman year and was a four-year letterman at ASU. |