Within the span of a month, she became a state champion, the first Houston Independent School District athlete to be named swimmer of the meet, committed to a top 25 school to swim at the collegiate level and the VYPE public school female swimmer of the year.

Junior Cadence Johnson always loved the idea of “the LA dream,” but this dream was all dependent on her ability to cut down time.

Pressure was on for Johnson as she made her third consecutive trip to the UIL State Swim Championship in February 2026.

“This year felt a little different because it was the first time that a lot of people knew that I swam,” Johnson said. “My sophomore year, I got fourth place at state, and I was kind of mad. I was one away from the podium, but everyone ahead of me was a senior. So, going into state this year, I was seeded to be the fastest.”

The path for a state title began at the 18-6A District Meet. The week prior to districts, Johnson was practicing five days a week for an hour and a half. She cruised through districts, finishing first in both of her individual events, the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard individual medley (IM).

“Districts was pretty smooth,” Johnson said. “It was more nerve-wracking going into regionals because if you don’t make it out, you can’t get to state.”

In the week following districts and leading up to regionals, Johnson tapered her workouts, training lighter than usual to save energy. At regionals, all athletes compete in the preliminary round. The top eight swimmers from preliminaries advance to finals, with the first and second place winners in the finals advancing to state.

“At regionals, I didn’t get much time to rest in between events,” Johnson said. “[The 200-IM] is tough because it’s such a hard race. My legs are dead after and I can still feel it when I swim the 100-fly next. At the same time, it is a confidence booster because if I can finish a 200 I know I can finish a 100.”

Johnson finished first in the 100-yard butterfly and the 200-yard IM, securing her a spot in the UIL State Championship.

Johnson was one of two swimmers from Bellaire advancing to state, a two-day meet from Feb 20-21. Similar to regionals, 24 athletes in each event had to compete in a preliminary round. From there, the top 8 swimmers advanced to the final round.

Finishing first in the 100-yard butterfly and second in the 200-yard individual medley, Johnson secured herself a spot in lane 4 in the 100-yard butterfly final.

“I was so nervous for Friday morning because I’ve been trying to get better at becoming a prelim swimmer,” Johnson said. “I needed to finish prelims with a good time so I could be seeded high for finals.

The stage was set for Johnson. On Feb 21, she stood on the block behind her first race: the 200-yard IM. She finished in second place with a time of 2:00.23. Less than a few hours later, Johnson became the 6A State Champion in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 53.87.

“When I first touched the wall and saw my time, I was in shock,” Johnson said. “ It didn’t really sink in. When I got home it finally sank in. I was like, ‘I actually did win.’”

However, two state medals were not all Johnson had won. She was awarded swimmer of the meet. Swimmer of the Meet is determined by the amount of points accumulated throughout the state championship. Points are given down to fifth or sixth place with 16 points available per individual event.

“Coach [Gary] Johnson told me I was running for Swimmer of the Meet because he had done the calculation, and my points matched up,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s father, Chris Johnson, has seen the continuous work Johnson has been putting in for the past several years. Johnson’s practice schedule and coaching looks different than a typical club swimmer. Chris has been coaching her for the past six years .

“I was ear-to-ear smiling and excited for Cadence,” Chris Johnson said. “I see her work hard for success everyday. I knew she had the skills and was prepared, but anything can happen in finals, therefore it’s a relief that she got what she wanted.”

As an engineer, Chris Johnson interprets swimming a little differently. He is able to look at the sport as a fluid dynamic practice problem.

“It’s funny because he’s never swam, and he even told me ‘Cadence, I didn’t think swimming was a sport,’” Cadence Johnson said. “He learned swimming through watching YouTube videos, so when I started swimming, he got in the water a few times to get a better understanding of what I’m feeling in the water.”

Monday through Thursday, as well as Saturday, immediately after school, Johnson and her dad spend between an hour and an hour and a half at 24-Hour Fitness’s pool in Rice Village. Johnson swam unattached at most meets representing herself rather than a club for two years until she decided to make the switch to competing with the Houston Bridge Bats.

“It’s definitely a different experience because a lot of people swim with their team, but I know it’s best for me and my situation,” Johnson said. “One of the biggest differences between swimming unattached and being part of a team is the experience at meets. Being on a team is a lot more encouraging and motivating because I have all of my teammates there to cheer me on and support me. When I was unattached, I was usually on my own at meets, or I had to find other teams to sit with and get to know.”

Chris Johnson writes all of Cadence Johnson’s workouts each week. He sets the total distance of her practices in proportion to Johnson’s upcoming meets, and has Johnson practice all four strokes daily.

“I try to implement drills to develop habits,” Chris Johnson said. “[Prior to meets] I typically reduce yardage as we don’t want to go to the meet with sore muscles.”

However, training with her dad requires Johnson to remain self motivated five days a week with the greater goal of swimming at the next level.

“He’s my dad,” Johnson said. “I don’t always agree with the things he thinks, but he’s taught me a lot of my technique. It can be lonely showing up by myself, but at the same time I do enjoy it. It’s kind of just you and a black line.”

Chris Johnson has been a constant in Cadence Johnson’s growth and success. He has played a key role in improving Johnson’s technique, but has also provided guidance during the recruitment process.

“I always said I’m dad at home and coach at the pool,” Chris Johnson said. “My only job is to motivate her, to give more than what she may think is her best, [make] a gameplan to do it.”

Cadence Johnson’s success at state opened doors for her options to swim at the collegiate level. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules for swimming allow colleges to start contacting athletes on the June 15 prior to their junior year. Since June 15, Johnson has been visiting different campuses, talking with college coaches and weighing her options.

“The biggest challenge for me during the recruiting process was balancing school with all of my college visits,” Johnson said. “For about the first month and a half of school, I was traveling almost every weekend, and the visits were a lot of fun, but at each visit we were usually up late spending time with the team, so I didn’t have much time to sleep or study. When I would get back on Sundays, I was jetlagged, tired, and I had to cram in all of my schoolwork before school on Monday.”

Although Johnson had numerous D1 offers, such as Rice University, University of Arizona, and Georgia Tech, UCLA attracted Johnson through her passion for a different sport. Johnson started gymnastics when she was 4, but as she improved and got older she decided to try another sport instead of committing to longer practice times.

“I’ve wanted to attend UCLA since I was about 9 or 10 years old,” Johnson said. “I remember it being my dream school because of how good their athletics were, especially gymnastics.”

As of 2023, the NCAA has allowed prospective athletes an unlimited amount of official visits. This allows athletes to visit a campus multiple times before committing to a school. Schools can then offer athletes athletic scholarships and contracts, which is a one-year binding agreement between the university and athlete.

“A standout moment was when I first saw the campus online and it honestly reminded me of a castle, and I loved that it’s surrounded by Beverly Hills,” Johnson said. “Another thing that really drew me to the school was the idea of the “LA dream” and getting to experience something new outside of Houston, since I’ve lived here my whole life.”

Johnson made her commitment public with an Instagram post receiving almost a thousand likes on March 12. Johnson’s decision to pick UCLA was a complete surprise to everyone except for junior and close friend Annabel Qiu. Qiu and Johnson have swam together since they were kids and have been part of a Bellaire medley team together every year since their freshman year.

“She called me right after she got the new contract and I was so happy since I know how much this means to her,” Qiu said. “I know she stressed about this a lot and I’m glad that I could be there for her. I feel like we’ve bonded so much through the sport and being there for each other’s ups and downs from such a young age has been so amazing.”

At UCLA, Johnson will swim for Coach Jordan Cordry, who has coached the Bruins since 2019. UCLA women’s swim and dive is consistently ranked in the top 20 for swim and dive, and has recruited around six athletes from the class of 2027.

“I think about how much opportunity swimming has brought me and all the friends I’ve made,” Johnson said. “I enjoy the competitive aspect of swimming, even though sometimes I’ll sit behind the block really nervous for my races, but it’s really rewarding to drop time and see all the hard work pay off.”