As a sophomore, Johnson reached the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Division 2 championships in the shot put, then the following year she represented the Trojans in both the Class C discus and shot put finals. That junior season continued the improvement trend, as she took second in discus and threw a foot farther in the shot put.

That still left more for her to accomplish before graduating this spring and heading to SUNY Cortland to continue her athletic and academic career.

Johnson’s last run as a Trojan began strong, as she won both the discus and shot put at the Maryvale Invitational with throws of 131 feet, 11 inches, then 38 feet, 6 inches, picking right up where she left off as a junior.

The success continued for Johnson as she won both events at the Dunkirk Invitational, the Golden Falcon Invitational, the Super 8 Best of the Best, the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association championships, the Section VI Class C championships, then at the NYSPHSAA Class C state qualifier.

OBSERVER File Photo by Tim Frank Southwestern's Mikayla Johnson finished fifth in the NYSPHSAA Class C shot put this spring.

On her way back to states, Johnson secured school records in both events, including a mark of 42 feet, 4 inches in the shot put at the Super 8 Best of the Best meet. However, she was not done with her best in the discus as she was saving it for her final state championship meet.

Johnson began the state championships with her best event, the discus, and after three throws she was in second place behind Joni Chapko of Hoosic Valley. As the field trimmed down to the final eight, Johnson brought her best stuff and with a fourth throw that went farther than any girl in Southwestern history — 136 feet, 8 inches — to get into the top position.

Penn Yan junior Lydia Sciallo attempted a threat of top position with the sixth and final throw at 132 feet, but she was still too far behind Johnson, who captured the NYSPHSAA Class C title. Not only did Johnson’s throw stand as the best in Class C, but was the best overall in New York, making her the Federation champion over Class B’s Isabella Caparco, who hit 135-9, and Class A’s Carly Giebel, who met the mark of 133-9.

Johnson returned to competition Sunday with a final chance at the podium after two years of narrowly missing in shot put. She did not reach the heights of her discus performance, but her first throw was already among the best. A final distance of 35 feet, 11.5 inches secured fifth on the podium in Class C.

Johnson solidified herself as the best girls thrower in Southwestern history with her personal records becoming school records of 42-4 in shot put and 136-8 in discus. Her career was capped off at Webster Schroeder High School with both the state and federation titles in discus, and taking fifth on the Class C podium in shot put.

Wrapping up her career at Southwestern as the best girls thrower in history, the 2026 Class C state and federation discus champion and Class C shot put place finisher, Mikayla Johnson is the easy choice as the 2026 OBSERVER/Post-Journal Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.