Aiden Tsaturyan ’25
Joachim (YaYa) Johnson ’25 is renowned throughout the Episcopal Academy as a highly skilled, award-winning, athlete and a stellar student. Johnson illustrates his particular versatility as an athlete within the track and field team. Not only is he a star high-jumper and triple-jumper, but he will also occasionally run, as “running is part of his training regimen,” remarks Varsity Boys’ Track Head Coach Zachary Richards.
Photo courtesy of Yaya Johnson ’25
Johnson was inspired by his friends to begin his athletic career on the track and field team. Johnson elaborates, “None of us wanted to be track stars, but we knew if the entire friend group stayed in the same sport, it would be a lot of fun, which it most certainly is.”
Only having begun jumping freshman year, Johnson is naturally talented, passionate, dedicated, and hard-working athlete. Coach Richards characterizes Johnson as a “student of the sport. He is a lot of fun to coach, and he will take in anything we tell him and do his own research to improve his craft. It’s amazing to see how much he has grown.”
Johnson is high-achieving, having set new records in the triple and high jump. However, he sets his aspirations even higher, hoping to break the records again in the future. According to Coach Richards, “YaYa is beginning to put together a nice athletic resume. He has had some amazing marks this winter and we expect him to do the same in the spring.”
Johnson is known as a helpful leader, setting an example for the rest of the team. Abaas Hunter ’26 describes Johnson as a “generous and thoughtful guy.” Hunter continues, “He’s driven me home a few times when other people’s hands were tied…He’s able to help the coaches teach his teammates even more about jumping.” I’jaaz Abdul-Malik ’24 adds, “He always has great energy and a positive aura about him. Other than his impressive athletic achievements, he is always a vocal leader and ready to chime in when something needs to be said.”
Johnson’s favorite memory with the track and field team was in March of last year when he and the team had to practice in the wrestling room due to poor weather. He recalls, “We were doing a body circuit and Rome [Na’rome Rayborn ’24] led the workouts alongside Coach Davis and decided to do a different chant for each workout. The chants varied from various Black Panther chants to full tribal performances. Everyone was laughing, and it was a very nice team bonding moment that we don’t get often as practice is usually divided into groups based on different skill sets.”
Coach Richards has incredible memories of Johnson as a jumper, recalling the Indoor State Championship during the winter track season. Richards states, “Going into the meet we felt like we had a chance of winning the state title again, but we needed points from the field—from YaYa specifically. However, due to the poor timing of events, he had to do the triple jump and the high jump within a short time frame. Despite this, he was able to overcome soreness and still got a personal best in the triple jump, getting second place. In the high jump, he cleared 6’6 and got another second-place finish. With sixteen points to his name, YaYa helped us pull away from the rest of the competition.”
Regarding Johnson continuing his academic and athletic careers at the collegiate level, Richards comments, “He’s a great student, and he will definitely have options—it’s still too early to tell. I’m excited for him to go through the college-searching process, as he is smart by casting a wide net, with priorities and checklist items in what he is looking for in a school.”
Johnson himself looks forward to completing his college search process and says, “I’ve been in contact with a few coaches from different universities, some more exciting than others. Regardless, I’m grateful to be in the position that I am in. Despite how much I love track though, the decision to continue conversation with certain schools will come down to their computer science program.”
Johnson’s future is bright, as his athletic talents and academic pursuits only further set him up for success. Episcopal can only wait and see where his talents take him.