Jacquelyn Johnson may be the greatest athlete ever at ASU

Perhaps the greatest pure athlete to ever attend Arizona State University relaxes on a rail near the track at Sun Angel Stadium, as Jacquelyn Johnson has a rare moment of inactivity.

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The six-time national titlist and overwhelming heptathlon favorite at this weekend’s Pac-10 Conference Track & Field Championships might not be in motion, but her plans keep moving at high speed. These are her ambitions, from Tempe to Beijing.

“People always dream, but I try to take it one meet at a time,” the senior said. “I knew the Olympic Trials are coming soon, but I’m focused on the Pac-10s right now. Then, I’ll worry about nationals. Then, the trials. …

“If I get to the Olympics, I’ll be there to get a medal. That’s what you go there for, right?”

For Johnson, an Olympic trip would be the first major international-level entry on a résumé that is filled with collegiate domination. She has three national titles each in the track and field events that define athleticism: the outdoor heptathlon and indoor pentathlon.

She has been instrumental in ASU’s winning NCAA indoor and outdoor team titles in 2007 and the ’08 indoor crown. Overshadowed by her track exploits is the fact she arrived out of Yuma High School on a basketball scholarship and would likely be a star guard had she stuck with the sport.

“When she got here, it was hard to say what her best sport was,” ASU track coach Greg Kraft said. “She was also a very good volleyball player. It was just a decision she came to that if she wanted to maximize her potential, she should go with track. She was farthest along there.”

The 5-foot-8 Johnson played one season of basketball, appearing in 17 games and averaging 4.5 minutes and 0.5 points a contest. Her hoops skills were below her athleticism, and — in the age of year-round training — participation in two sports was spreading Johnson thin.

“We spent a lot of time recruiting her,” women’s basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “She was good at anything she tried, basically. She didn’t play basketball a lot in high school, so she wasn’t as far along as other kids in the program. But you looked at her physical talent, focus and mentality and said that she has it all there.

“She would have grown into a starter, a top player in our conference.”

On the track, Johnson was an elite talent from the start, quickly picking up instruction focusing on goals with laser-like intensity. After placing second in the pentathlon at the 2004 NCAA indoor meet, she won the outdoor heptathlon — a two-day event which consists of the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 meters, long jump, javelin throw and 800 meters.

(The pentathlon is made up of the 60-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump and 800 meters.)

“I appreciate what it takes to win six titles, but it’s nothing that I keep in my head,” Johnson said. “That’s in the past. …

“Things have been harder since the first title. The expectations grew. I won my freshman year, so the assumption is that if I’m a freshman winning, I should be a senior winning. It’s hard to have that weight on your shoulders.”

That pressure has not stopped Johnson, nor did ankle surgery in 2006.

She set a school record — and posted the highest score in the world this year — with 6,143 points in the heptathlon at a meet in Tucson in April.

Her place in the pantheon of ASU athletics secure, Johnson aims to unleash her athleticism on a global scale.

“You have to become a little complacent after all those titles,” Kraft said. “But being an Olympic year, she knew she had to improve.

“She understands what’s at stake if she wants to progress as a track athlete at the next level.”

Pac-10 track and field championship
What: First of two weekends of competition, in the women’s heptathlon and men’s decathlon
When: Today — 4 p.m. heptathlon; 4:30 p.m. decathlon; Saturday — 3:30 p.m. decathlon; 5 p.m. heptathlon
Where: Sun Angel Stadium
Admission: Free
Men to watch: Ashton Eaton, Oregon; Ricky Moody, Washington State; Josh Hustedt, Stanford; Kyle Hitchcock, Arizona State
Women to watch: Jacquelyn Johnson, ASU; Shevell Quinley, Arizona; Shana Woods, Southern California; Kalindra McFadden, Oregon

Sun Devil superheroes
Who is the best pure athlete that Arizona State has ever produced? The answer figures to be among heptathlete Jacquelyn Johnson and these seven former standouts:

Ron Brown (football, 1979-82; track and field, 1980-82): A starting defensive back for two seasons before moving to receiver, Brown was a national indoor sprint champion. He won a gold medal on the U.S. 400-meter relay team at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and played eight years in the NFL.

Joe Caldwell (basketball, 1962-64): Caldwell’s athleticism — particularly his leaping ability — made him a college basketball trendsetter. After thrilling ASU crowds, who packed the gym during warm-ups to watch him do a reverse dunk, he starred in the Olympics and the NBA and ABA.

Henry Carr (track and field, 1962-64; football, 1963): Carr was billed as the fastest man alive during his prime, winning three national titles and setting three world records while at ASU. He won two gold medals in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, then played three years as a safety for the NFL’s New York Giants.

Reggie Jackson (football, 1965; baseball, 1966): The fact that he attended just one year at ASU should not diminish the exploits of Jackson, who was a starting cornerback in the fall, then batted .327 with 25 home runs and 65 RBIs in the spring. The Kansas City Athletics drafted him No. 2 overall in 1966, and Jackson’s journey to the Baseball Hall of Fame began.

Maicel Malone (track and field, 1989-92): A stellar sprinter, Malone’s ASU career included six individual and relay titles and 10 All-America awards. She won gold medals for the U.S. in the 1,600 relay at the 1993 world championships and 1996 Atlanta Olympics. (Malone missed the 1992 Barcelona Games due to a pregnancy.)

Tammy Webb (volleyball, 1983-86): Considered ASU’s top female athlete of the 1980s, Webb’s leaping ability enabled her to set block records and earn All-America honors twice. She played in three Olympics, helping the U.S. to a bronze medal in 1992, and starred on the pro beach volleyball tour.

Danny White (football, 1971-73; baseball, 1972-73): The Mesa Westwood High graduate arrived at ASU on a baseball scholarship and left the most celebrated football player in school history. The quarterback/punter set seven NCAA records and led the Sun Devils to three Fiesta Bowl victories, then played professionally for 15 years. White hit .264 with five home runs and 20 RBIs in two baseball seasons in Tempe.

SOURCE: “Maroon & Gold: A History of Sun Devil Athletics”