Johnston earns perfect score on ACT

A perfect 36 composite score on the ACT college entrance exam is something very few high school seniors achieve, in Carson City or anywhere else.

Sarah Johnston, a student who has juggled academics along with soccer and basketball in each of her four years at Carson High, is one of those few. Johnston took the test in June and became the only student to achieve perfection out of about 1,500 in Nevada who took the test at that time, and one of only 33 nationwide to do so.

Quite an achievement, though she won't tell you that.

"Yeah, I was happy," she said with a shrug and smile. "It wasn't life-changing or anything like that."

Vice-principal Carl Henry had to do some serious persuading to simply send out a press release to announce her achievement.

"The only way she agreed was after I told her the recognition would be a tribute to her teachers," Henry said. "That meant a lot to her because she is very appreciative of the help she's gotten from her teachers."

That pretty much sums up Sarah Johnston whether she's in the classroom - a valedictorian candidate with who has a cumulative 4.0 grade point average - or on the basketball court. Just listen to her talk about her role on a Carson team that is currently fighting for third- and fourth-place in the Sierra League.

"I just play guard and try to get the ball to the post because our posts are really good this year," she said, referring to Carson's inside combo of 5-foot-11 senior Andrea Hoff and 6-2 junior Nicole Scott.

The 5-foot-8 - "maybe a littler taller" - Johnston gets her points, too, including a 10-point performance Saturday afternoon in Carson's 77-20 league win at Wooster.

"We played really well against Wooster," Johnston said. "We're doing better now. I think we'll do well (this season) - we're kind of coming together now. Obviously, the goal would be to win state, but we just want to do as well as we can and have fun."

Johnston also enjoys increased her playing time from last year, when she was strictly a reserve on a senior-dominated team.

"I just think it's fun to play the games," she said. "It's really nice to get to play a lot. I have a lot of fun with the other two seniors, Kelli (Weyrick) and Andrea (Hoff)."

Johnston also contributed as a midfield wing starter for a Carson soccer team that challenged for the Sierra League title up until the final week of the regular season and then lost its Northern 4A Tournament opening-round game in overtime to eventual champion Galena.

"She works hard. You don't hear a lot from her," Carson soccer coach Randy Roser said. "But you put her on the field, she'll get the job done."

As if basketball, soccer weren't enough, Johnston looked to another sport for her Senior Project - rock climbing.

"I chose rock climbing," said Johnston, who combined with Devon Anderson to work on the project. "I hadn't really done any rock climbing before, so we started going to RockSport, which is an indoor climbing gym in Reno. I haven't really gone out yet. I want to wait until after basketball season, then we'll to go outside in the spring."

Beyond that, her plans for college are still up in the air. She hasn't decided on a college yet - the list includes Stanford, Dartmouth, Cal Tech and Williams College (established in 1793 and located in the Berkshires in northwestern Massachusetts) - nor has she decided on a field of study to specialize in.

"I don't know yet," she said. "Actually, I'd kind of like to go to Williams if I can get in there. I've applied to a few schools on the West Coast; I'll just have to wait and see."

In the meantime, she's having a pretty decent senior year of high school.

"It's been great. I've been pretty good at balancing everything out - I just pay attention and do my homework," she said. "I've had a lot of fun here, but I am looking forward to trying something new and different."

n Contact Dave Price at dprice@nevadaappeal.com or call 881-1220.