Rachael Johns Heading to University of Scranton; Overcoming Recent Knee Injury

Something she’s done her entire life was something that’s made her senior summer a challenge. Former two-sport athlete at North Allegheny High School, Rachael Johns, has played soccer from an early age. In one of her last organized games during club season, the University of Scranton Royals incoming track and field athlete suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

It’s an injury that is expected to keep her sidelined until the spring track and field season. But if you’ve talked to Johns recently, she remains in good spirits. Perhaps it’s a realization that she’s certain she will come back and continue her career like normal. But it may be that going through her knee injury is reinforcement that helping others get back to playing the sports and doing the activities they enjoy is what she wants to do after her college career concludes.

For the Wexford native, she chose Scranton because of not just the opportunity to continue her athletic career, but also because she earned a seat into the 4+3 Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) program. This takes away some of the stress of applying for doctorate programs and possibly heading to a second institution in the coming years.

Photo courtesy of North Allegheny Athletics.

Johns is a lifelong athlete and started playing soccer as early in life as she could because she enjoyed watching her older brother play before her. As she got older, the game shifted to her second favorite sport as she began enjoying the unique environment that track and field presented. In a sport that features a collection of events that pushes the body to its limits, it is rare to find a track and field athlete that doesn’t have a balance of wanting to win and wanting everyone involved in an invitational or meet to do well.

With this shifting in her favorite sport also was a decision to cut back some of her club soccer career. With her mind made up to pursue track and field to the fullest, she wanted to be sure that soccer remained fun and track and field was her primary focus in the spring months. The shift allowed her to remain with Beadling Soccer Club and pursue a club season filled with less travel and consistent schedule. The change made all the difference and helped her to keep a better balance in her academics and two sports for a very competitive high school.

Photo courtesy of braykmedia (Brayden Kushner).

The former Lady Tiger was also fortunate to win two WPIAL titles as a high school soccer player and not having to specialize in one sport. At North Allegheny, a lot of specialization takes place and two and three sport athletes are hard to come by. For Johns, she was one of the few to play two sports and she was rewarded with four overall WPIAL titles. In addition to her two WPIAL team titles in track and field, she placed second in the WPIAL in the 100m hurdles as a senior and is also accomplished in the high jump and long jump. In her junior season, she placed fifth in the WPIAL in high jump and took home her first district medal. Having the ability to compete in various events will make her a well-rounded addition whenever she’s cleared to compete for Scranton.

With her move to the eastern part of the state scheduled soon, she will miss her family and friends who have endlessly supported her to make the next chapter in her life possible. As she explained during the interview, Johns did not always feel like she fit in with everyone. But when at Scranton, she felt immediately at ease with her teammates, coaches, and all those who welcomed her during her time there.

Photo courtesy of braykmedia (Brayden Kushner).

In life, most of us just want to be liked. We want to feel like we belong to something bigger than ourselves. We never want to be seen as an outcast or abnormal. Having someone tell me they’ve felt that way before is both heartbreaking and relatable. But because of the strong core of supportive people in her life, Rachael Johns has found her niche and her people. She decided on her future and feels confident in choosing the Royals as she continues her track career.

If there are some things to take away from this piece, it’s to be kind to those who may be different from you, as long as you have one person to support you and your journey, it is enough to get you through, and education will always be there to guide your life even when athletics are no longer an option.

Photo courtesy of North Allegheny Athletics.