Johnson takes 'leap of faith' to run for former Olympian

LHS two-time state champion runner turns down DI opportunities

By Randy Arrington

LURAY, Dec. 11 — The courting started in the spring of his sophomore year, when the Luray High School standout runner began to contact college coaches by email and signed up for a recruiting app for athletes. Over the next year, colleges at all levels launched their own solicitations, trying to attract a young talent with drive and a competitive edge that captured two state titles, four state runner-up titles and broke numerous school and track records in multiple events.

“It is almost every athlete’s dream to be able to compete at the highest level, and I was no different. I was fortunate to engage in the recruitment process with multiple standout NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III programs. Through a lot of prayer by myself, friends, and family, I was led to Shippensburg,” LHS senior Davey Johnson stated in a social media post on Oct. 3 announcing his collegiate choice.

On Wednesday, dozens of family, friends, coaches, teammates and supporters gathered in the LHS Commons for a signing ceremony.

“We could talk for a couple of hours about his accomplishments…but the thing that stood out was he was always encouraging his teammates and his competitors…he had a competitive nature, but he always encouraged everyone around him,” LHS track coach Lynn “Skip” Hamilton said on Wednesday. “They are not only getting a quality athlete, but a quality person as well …I think Shippensburg is getting one of the best recruits they’ve gotten in a long time.”

Despite visiting Division I programs like George Mason, talking with coaches at William and Mary, and getting interest from Liberty and Appalachian State…the Division I route had its drawbacks for this highly-recruited runner.

“I’m kinda glad since I’ve committed DII…Division I has become very, very political…with the NIL rules and the transfer portal being opened, it’s being run more like a business,” Johnson said. “I’m a UVA fan, and Tony Bennett’s retirement… he retired because of the political nature…he said it’s not about the sport anymore, it’s about the money.”

With multiple opportunities in front of him, Johnson kept his options open, including a dialogue with Division III Lynchburg College of the regional Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC). His father, Dr. Paul Johnson — a running champion and record holder in his own right — remembered that Shippensburg had a good program during his glory days, and they were being coached by Olympic marathoner and World Championships marathon bronze medalist Steve Spence.

“It was awesome,” Davey said of meeting the 18-time PSAC Coach of the Year, who has tutored nearly 100 All-Americans in track and field and 18 All-Americans in cross country at Shippensburg University. “He’s a really slow talker, but you can tell he knows what he’s talking about…he’s very knowledgable about the sport, and he’s a really nice guy.”

The Raiders compete in the NCAA Division II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Shippensburg University sits just west of I-81 in southern Pennsylvania and had an undergraduate enrollment of 4,421 in the fall of 2023. As the Johnson family was traveling south along I-81 on their way back to Luray, Paul asked his son about his impressions of his “official visit.”

“He told me that ‘I asked the Lord to show me if he’s in Shippensburg, and that’s where I’m supposed to be’…to our family, faith is huge,” Dr. Johnson told those gathered at LHS on Wednesday. “He also told me…’It’s not every day you get a call from an Olympian.'”

Davey will run both cross country and track under Spencer, a 1985 graduate of Shippensburg, who is now in his 27th season of coaching the Raiders in cross country and serves as an assistant coach in track and field. The LHS senior said that Spencer “liked how I was able to move around distances.” Davey’s personal best at the 400 meters is 50.2 seconds, while his personal best at the 5K is 15:56.

“It wasn’t necessarily my first choice, but faith played a really big part in it,” Davey said after the signing ceremony. “I wanted to go somewhere where I know I will be surrounded by people who have the same ideas as me…people who I can get along with in that nature. So seeing there is a big faith stance there really helped twist my arm to go there.”

In the fall of 2025, Davey will be joining a men’s cross country roster that currently carries 13 runners, only two of which are either a senior or graduate student this year.

“It is an honor to be able to run for Coach Steve Spence considering his reputation as one of America’s running greats and to be a part of a program that dominates year in and year out,” Johnson stated on social media Oct. 3 of his decision to commit to Shippensburg. “I want to thank everybody who has helped me along this journey (teammates, coaches, doctors, friends, family, teachers, and many others).”

At last week’s signing ceremony, LHS cross country coach Steve Printz recalled when Davey finished his last middle school race: “He comes across the line and shakes his head and says, ‘I’m all yours’. We had a plan in ninth grade and we stuck to it.”

That plan has now produced a partial scholarship to a Division II program. (Athletes are not allowed to divulge exact monetary amounts.)

“I ask every runner, ‘Why are you here?’…and Davey said, ‘I’m here to break records’…He was here to break records and he did that, and a couple of state championships,” LHS assistant track coach David Sours said last week. “You’ve helped me grow more than you know as a coach. You’ve pushed your teammates and your coach…He’s always about team, and he leads by example.”

Davey plans to major in Public History at Shippensburg, and he’s not overly concerned about his athletic legacy at LHS.

“The wins and everything is nice, but running is temporary…I’d rather be remembered for personality, how people view me as a person,” he said. “I’d like to be known as a good person, and someone who is helpful.”

His favorite memory is not that of an individual achievement, but one he shared with members of the 4×400 relay team — James Farrow, Eli Jones and Hunter Kibler.

“Among all the races, all the wins and everything, my favorite race that we’ve had is actually last year, the 4×4, where we got second, so it was a loss…but it was with the guys… some of my really, really good friends,” Davey recalled. “We were ranked second going in, but we were ranked a few seconds behind, and we lost by less than a second to the Nandua team, which was seemingly untouchable…and we broke the school record by at least seven seconds…that was awesome.”

And that team-first quality is what all three of his high school coaches drove home during last week’s signing ceremony. Coach Printz told how Davey helped recruit others to build up the cross country program, which qualified both the girls and boys teams for the state meet this year for only the second time in school history. That four-year effort came to fruition at the Region B tournament, where Davey had trouble…but the team came through.

“Davey tripped and fell behind…he fell back to 32nd and had to really haul it to get back in a position where he finished in eighth place…Wyatt Seal picked up the slack,” Coach Printz recalled of the Region 2B meet. “But when Davey saw me, he said ‘We did it’… he was more concerned about the team than his own performance, and that’s what teamwork is all about.”

“I’ve known Davey for a while, but over these last four years…two things come to mind…character and teamwork,” Coach Printz continued. “Carry those things with you…good luck, I’m going to miss you.”

To learn more about men’s cross country at Shippensburg University, click HERE.

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