After initially having an eye on competing in the 100 and 200 meter running track events, Al Johnson found he actually had more of a knack for the longer-distance events.
So that’s where he focused his efforts – and as a result, the Hahnville High School track and field record books needed a few revisions over Johnson’s tenure at the school.
Johnson set several school records during his prep track career, including his mark of 50.39 in the 400 at the 2025 Don Raymond Relays, the best time in the 400 in HHS history.
“It was pretty exciting because I’d had my sights on it since my freshman year,” Johnson said. “I got really close my sophomore year. And when I finally did it as a junior it was really exciting.”
The bad news was that his time only lasted as the record mark about a year. The good news was it was because he broke his own record, recording a time of 49.15 at the Lutcher Derbigny Relays.
He added another record-setting performance to his name at this year’s Region III-5A championship meet, where he set the school’s all-time record in the 800 meters with a time of 1:57.07. And he’s been part of multiple record relay team performances. He competed for both the indoor and outdoor track and field teams and was also a standout on the cross country team.
Johnson’s father and sister ran track before him, which drew his attention to the sport – “and I was always kind of fast,” he added.
He said running, whether its track or cross country, is as much a mental game as it is physical.
“Consistency is the key,” he said. “Just building up and understanding that everything doesn’t need to happen in one day. Our coach made sure we didn’t get down on ourselves if we couldn’t accomplish one goal one day. (In cross country) we gradually just built up to new endurance levels we didn’t really think were possible. It starts with just building off the day before.”
An outgoing personality, Johnson added another noteworthy accomplishment to his high school resume – he was voted Hahnville’s Homecoming King.
“It was a lot of fun. I was seeing how creative I could get with it,” said Johnson of the campaign leading up to the vote. “Social media posts and stuff like that. The whole month leading up to it was so much fun.”
Some other extracurricular activities he was involved in at Hahnville included working on the school’s Black History Month celebration, as well as working with the Student Athletic Advisory Council, which helped organize the first-ever St. Charles Parish Public Schools Athletic Awards ceremony this year – “it was pretty cool to see that get off the ground before I graduated.”
He’s headed to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, where he plans to study engineering.
“It’s not too big of a school to where I feel like I get drowned out, but I feel like being in that area with that amount of people is perfect for me,” Johnson said. “I didn’t want to go too far and I didn’t want to stay too close. I really like the diversity and the culture over there.”
He’s also familiar with the school, as both his sister and father are alums.
Johnson developed an interest in his upcoming major after attending a few engineering camps several years ago.
“It kind of stayed with me,” said Johnson. “I like building stuff, I like seeing how things work. It’s just how I am … as a senior, I had the opportunity to take an engineering design class, and that really solidified me wanting to be an engineer. I got to see a bunch of engineers in action on field trips and it really resonated with me.”
