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Johnson joyful over Minnesota State signing

Meskwaki Settlement School senior Shye Johnson, seated center, signed her National Letter of Intent to run cross country at Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minn., during a ceremony on Thursday at MSS. With Johnson at her signing are her parents, Steadman Brown and Stephanie Vest, and siblings Ellay (far left) and Channing Whitefish. -- Photo by Noah Rohlfing

Meskwaki senior Shye Johnson couldn’t help but smile Thursday afternoon in the Meskwaki High School commons. It was easy to understand why.

After years of making history for the Warriors and spending time as a four-sport varsity athlete in cross country, track and field, basketball and volleyball, Johnson finalized her future plans in a signing ceremony with family and coaches present. Her destination? Minnesota State-Mankato, where she will run cross country for the Mavericks starting next season.

Johnson said she was very pleased with the ceremony and with making her decision.

“It’s a big step in my life and I’m very excited to meet new people and being in a different environment,” Johnson said. “Finally I’m settled in, I made my choice.”

Mankato was her first visit, she said, and she was very happy with the coach and her potential teammates and how welcoming they were. Johnson also has an academic plan set for her time at MSU — she’s going into the physical therapy program, where she wants to eventually get her master’s degree and pursue a career as an athletic trainer.

After meeting with the professor, Johnson felt solid in her academic future as well as her athletic future.

Johnson’s mother, Stephanie Vest, said the recruiting process was difficult and it involved making some hard decisions. Among the schools they talked to were the University of Tampa, Wartburg College and Loras College.

“There were a lot of really good schools with really good cross country teams,” Vest said. “Finally finding a place feels good, it just feels like we’re moving forward with her senior year and we can’t wait for track season.”

During a series of short speeches, Johnson’s father, Activities Director Steadman Brown, and her high school cross country coach Tracy Sienknecht praised Johnson’s work ethic in the classroom and in athletics — as well as her character.

Sienknecht was effusive in her praise of Johnson for her historical athletic accomplishments, one of the most notable of which is her qualification and participation in the Class 1A state cross country meet in 2020 — the first Meskwaki athlete to do so. She also finished ninth at the 2021 state track and field meet in the long jump.

“She takes pride in her community, she takes pride in her settlement area,” Sienknecht said. “She takes pride in her school, she takes pride in her family and she takes pride in her friends. We as coaches really wish her the best, we know she’ll do well.”

Then it was Johnson’s turn to thank all of her coaches, some Meskwaki High School teaching faculty and her family for all of the encouragement, coaching and more that helped her get to this moment.

“Not having [Sienknecht] there as I show up to my first college practice will be one of the first hurdles I have to face,” Johnson said. “As I move forward on this path, I will take forward all the great things you all have taught me. I will continue to represent the Meskwaki Settlement School and our community in the best way possible.”

Now, Johnson is focused on making the most out of her senior year sports. The girls’ basketball team is off to an 11-3 start on the season with about a month left in the campaign and hosts Collins-Maxwell Friday night. After basketball, she’ll shift her focus to one last run at track and field.