[Editor’s note: “Take Five” is a recurring feature designed to offer a quick look at some of Oregon’s most interesting high school sports standouts. This spring, Take Five will focus exclusively on seniors, whose final high school seasons have been canceled by the coronavirus. Today, we get to know East Linn Christian senior hurdler Jacob Johns. Last year, he qualified for the state meet and placed fourth in the 300-meter hurdles. We asked Johns to answer five questions from the 25 we posed to him. Here’s what he told us…]
OSAAtoday: What’s the wisest thing a parent ever said to you?
Jacob Johns: I think the wisest thing a parent has ever said to me is that going through life you’re going to meet people who don’t always have your best interest in mind or do not see things the way you do, whether they be teachers, friends, or co-workers. The advice was to always stand up for myself for what I believe in and not be afraid to express my opinion or side.
OSAAtoday: What’s the funniest moment you remember from your childhood?
Johns: Definitely my first day of first grade. It was my first full day of school. My mom and dad had walked me to my class. To make me feel comfortable my mom walked me to my desk and at that point told me that if I was ready for her to leave I just had to turn around and give her a thumb’s up. After she told me that, she walked to the back of the classroom and when she turned to face me again there I was giving her a thumb’s up with a big smile on my face.
OSAAtoday: What is one interesting or unusual thing people don’t know about you?
Johns: I’d say something unusual that people don’t know about me is, at one point when I was really young I learned to speak Japanese. What is even more unusual is where I learned to speak the language from, since I learned the language from watching Godzilla movies in Japanese.
OSAAtoday: If you find yourself stranded on a deserted island and can only have one movie that you’re able to watch, what movie do you choose and why?
Johns: The movie I would choose would definitely be Godzilla Final Wars. My reasoning for choosing this movie is that growing up I’ve always loved giant monster movies. Of those types of movies, Godzilla was by far my favorite and Final Wars in particular was a celebration of the film series bringing back all of the monsters that have appeared in past movies and having Godzilla fight them all.
OSAAtoday: Describe your scariest moment while learning how to drive.
Johns: My scariest moment happened not too long after getting my driving learners permit. My dad and I had gone to my school’s parking lot on the weekend since there wouldn’t be anyone there in order to practice parking, and while we were driving in the parking lot, I accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brakes to slow down. The sudden acceleration completely terrified me.
Read other Take Five articles published in connection with the 2020 spring season:
Monroe softball pitcher Tyler Warden
North Salem sprinter Maliyah Thompson
La Grande catcher Logan Paustian
Lake Oswego thrower Parker Williams
Lakeridge netter Nicole Rogers
Westside Christian sprinter Alvin Lai
Stayton softballer Emma Heuberger
osaatoday@osaa.org
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