William M. Johnston Jr. has been elected to the Northeastern University Hall of Fame for his achievements in the sport of track and field.
Johnston, Class of '77, was recruited by coach Irwin Cohen out of Bishop Hendricken High school in Warwick, R.I, where he won All-America honors in the hammer throw, setting the school record. With that talent, it was a natural to matriculate at NU, which in the '70s was the track capital of New England.
His freshman season of 1972-73 was spent training and learning from the half dozen All-America throwers that made up the Husky squad. In the hammer, Johnston's specialty, his mentor Boris Djerassi won the 1975 NCAA Championship. In his sophomore year, Johnston competed indoors, but an appendectomy postponed his debut outdoor campaign.
He emerged as a force in the hammer his sophomore outdoor season of 1975, when he took fifth at New Englands, third at IC4As and eighth at NCAAs, earning him All-America status.
In 1976 he was elected captain of the indoor track team and took first place in the 35-pound weight at New Englands. That spring, no longer in the shadow of Djerassi, he was the area's No. 1 hammer man. He won New Englands, took second at IC4As, and claimed sixth at NCAAs with another All-America certificate.
In 1977 he was elected captain of the outdoor track team. He won the Greater Boston and New England titles with a throw of 208'9, finally captured the IC4A crown. His career ended with a third place at NCAAs and another All-America honor. He graduated with four All-America certificates, one indoor and three outdoors.
Track is also a team sport, and Johnston was a team man as shown by his election to captain of both the indoor and outdoor teams. During his tenure, the Huskies went 25-3 in indoor meets, plus three New England championships, and 19-1 outdoors with two New England titles.
He has not been able to get the sport out of his blood and since1995 has been the throwing coach at Bishop Hendricken, where he has produced 20 high school All-Americans, including his son, Will.
