Lynde Johnson: She’s A Real Gem Mead Senior Following In Her Sister’s Footsteps

How unfair to compare Lynde Johnson to big sister Emily.

Fact of the matter is, they’re not at all alike.

Emily was named after a soap opera character.

Lynde was named after a piece of jewelry.

Both, however, have had starring roles - and have been gems - in Greater Spokane League girls cross country.

Four years after Emily reached the GSL’s pinnacle during her senior year at University, Lynde - the girl named after a silver ring with blue stone - is one of the league’s top seniors.

The Johnson Era ended at U-Hi last year when mom Marilyn moved to the Mead School District and brought along her second and final daughter.

Some people cried foul when one of the area’s best runners joined the area’s best team. With Johnson backing up Emily Thompson, Annaka Gustafson, et al., Mead finished second at the State AAA meet in Pasco.

Then the tale took an ironic turn. Thompson and Gustafson graduated, leaving Mead as apparently just another good team in a league that second-ranked U-Hi is expected to win.

“I still like this team here,” Johnson said after a recent rainy-day practice at Mead. “You can’t just run for a winning team… . I wouldn’t just go to a school to have the ranking.”

Johnson realizes that individual goals may take precedence over team goals this year. She already has a pair of top-10 state finishes - something Emily never accomplished - but both were exactly 10th. Emily finished fifth at state in 1991.

“I’ve started making a name for myself, I guess,” Johnson said. “(People) ask me if I want to be as good as she is, which I think I am.”

Steve Llewellyn coached both Johnsons at U-Hi. He claims to still get “a bad stomach” when he thinks about losing Lynde, but remains a good friend of the family.

“In some ways it was good for her, the change,” Llewellyn said. “It was hard to follow in her sister’s footsteps. And she couldn’t have gone to a better place, with (Mead coach) Wes (Player) running things.”

“Lynde was happy at U-Hi,” Player counters. “(The move) had nothing to do with cross country.”

Johnson considers Llewellyn’s and Player’s styles as similar, although her former coach tends to express his happiness more outwardly.

Player had more of a reason to smile last year, when Mead won the league’s lone berth to state. Both coaches have a chance at state this year because the GSL and Big Nine Conference have pooled their three berths at a regional meet.

U-Hi and defending state champion Eisenhower appear to be shoo-ins for two of the three slots. Although an injury to Karen King is slowing Mead in the early going, Johnson said it would be foolhardy to count out the Panthers.

“Remember, people didn’t think U-Hi would do well last year (after Lynde left), but they did,” Johnson said of the second-place Titans.

At least five GSL teams (Ferris, Shadle Park and Central Valley are in the mix) could finish the year ranked in the top 10. Each team has two runners or more who figure to struggle with Johnson for league superiority.

Johnson is the first to admit that the league is lacking a clear-cut elite runner, a la Jessica Fry of Rogers (‘93) or Emily Johnson.

“A lot of us are on the same level, but maybe somebody will step up,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s secret weapon involves around how she spent her summer.

Running? Yes, she put in the necessary miles, attending a camp in Oregon and pushing herself when she returned home.

But Johnson’s main edge on the regional competition will be home-course advantage. During the summer Johnson worked in the cafe at Hangman Valley Golf Course, site of the regional meet.

“I went over the course in a golf cart,” she said. “I wanted to see what it looks like because when you’re running you don’t really look around.”

After cross country season Johnson will look around at college options. She already has a visit scheduled with the University of Washington, which loses Emily Johnson after this year.

”(Emily) likes Washington, but she tells me to also look at other places,” Lynde said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: GSL cross country Defending champions: Boys - Mead (seven straight league and state titles). Girls - Mead (second at state). Returning state veterans: Boys - Mark Mohrland, Morgan Thompson and Adam Cyr, Mead. Girls - Lynde Johnson, Brenna Robinson, Stephanie Goaslind and Karen King, Mead; Sara Hall, Shadle Park; Lori Kostelecky, North Central. Other runners to watch: Boys - Ryan and Chad Wiser and Jason Fayant, Mead; Isaac Hawkins, Paul Harkins and Dave Schruth, Ferris; Casey Perry, Shadle; Ryan Johnson, Lewis and Clark; Justin Hill and Jon Caballero, NC; Robby Warnock, Central Valley; Kyle Hentze and J.R. Roberts, U-Hi; Cameron Hatch, Rogers; and Jim Rucker, Gonzaga Prep. Girls - Carmen Compogno, Mead; Jenni Saling, Sandra White and Melissa Sherwood, CV; Jennifer Smith, Emily Hawkins, Liz Wallace, Jill Johnson and Kristen Parrish, Ferris; Lindsay Daehlin, Taraka Campbell, Kelly Kearsley, Shanna DeLong and Robyn Cross, U-Hi; Rebekah Paulk, LC; Tiffany Steele, Ali Krogel and Christa Eide, Shadle; Amanda Starkey, Rogers; and Erika Donegan, G-Prep. Predicted finishes: Boys - Ferris, Mead, NC, U-Hi, LC, CV, Shadle, G-Prep, Rogers. Girls - U-Hi, Shadle, Ferris, CV, Mead, G-Prep, LC, NC, Rogers. Biggest change: The District 8-AAA meet is out, replaced by a regional meet with the Big Nine Conference. Three teams and up to 15 individuals will advance to state (one team and five individuals advanced last year). The meet, at Hangman Valley Golf Course, has been shifted from Wednesday to Saturday. Openers: (All at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday): LC, U-Hi and Mead at Manito; NC, CV and Rogers at Audubon; Shadle, G-Prep and Ferris at Shadle.