Andrew Johnston—Who served as the Marshall County Men’s Assistant Track Coach and helped the men bring home a Regional Championship—will take over Marshall County’s Men’s Track and Field program, Athletic Director Mike Johnson announced this Wednesday. “Johnston is a quality person who shares our commitment to fostering growth and continuing to build our track and field program in all facets,” Johnson said. “I had the pleasure of watching him and our team in person last year at Regionals and State and was impressed by the energy and unity of our team.”
Johnston graduated from Marshall County in 2009. During his tenure at Marshall—as an athlete —he set the school’s Pole Vault Record at 13”1” (which was broken by Cody Gregory in 2014). At the State level, Johnston finished with a 6th place finish as a sophomore and a 3rd Place finish as a junior. Johnston was awarded an Athletic Scholarship and continued vaulting at Union College, in Barbourville, Ky. At Union, Johnston was a repeat conference champion for four consecutive years. He also set the Appalachian Athletic Conference record in the vault, which fell in the spring of 2018. Johnston was also named the conference Field Athlete of the Week for four consecutive weeks as a senior.
“I’m excited to have the opportunity as head coach at Marshall County,” Johnston said. “Before I go any further I want to thank everyone in the program and administration here at Marshall. They gave me a chance and I’ll always be so grateful to have worked with them. Thank you to Corey Westerfield and Nathan Bazzell for their leadership and for trusting me to take on this role at MC. I look forward to hitting the ground running, building winning teams in the classroom and on the track. I can’t wait to start leading this great program. Marshall Strong!” Prior to this year, Johnston served as an assistant coach to both the Marshall County Track team and Football team, which he is currently still serving. However, before returning to Marshall County, Johnston was the Men’s Head Track and Field Coach and Cross Country Coach at Knox Central in Barbourville, KY. During his tenure at Knox County, Johnston also taught Sophomore English—which he is still does here at Marshall County High School. Under Johnston’s leadership, the Knox Central Panthers earned seven top finishes at the Regional level and three top finishes at the State Level. At Marshall County, Johnston assisted the Men’s Sprinters and Relay Teams in bringing home thirteen top finishes at the Regional Meet and broke five indoor/outdoor School Records.
Johnston is a native of Benton, Ky, but has roots all over the Bluegrass State and West Virginia. He earned his B.A. from Union College (Barbourville, KY) in 2014. Johnston also earned his M.A. from Marshall University (Huntington, WV) in 2016. Johnston is the son of Rick and Teresa Johnston of Benton, KY.