Winona, Minn. - With the pause in NCAA action this fall, the Winona State Athletic Department is proud to present the "Warrior Stories" series.  Warrior Stories offers fans and followers of Winona State Athletics a chance to reconnect with former Warrior student-athletes and learn of their post-graduation success and achievements. A warm Warrior thanks to HW Portraits for their support of the Warrior Stories series. 

In this edition of Warrior Stories, we catch up with Brittany Reinbolt-Johnson, a former standout for the Warrior track and field team and head coach Mason Rebarchek.  The Searcy, Ark. product attended Winona State between 2003-2006, competing across a range of events in both indoor and outdoor track seasons, and excelled in the pole vault.  However, for Reinbolt-Johnson her Warrior track and field career was a just a preamble to a lifetime of remarkable sport acheivements.

After watching a bobsled event on television and becoming inspired to give it a try, Reinbolt-Johnson began her bobsledding career with Team USA in 2011. Her role with Team USA has her through each of the positions on the bobsled team, from brakeman to pilot, competing in both two-person and four-person sleds.  She most recently took part in the IBSF World Championship in 2019 and is currently training for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games.

She also competed for the 2010 United States Women's American tackle football team in the 2010 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Women's World Championships.  The former Winona State physical education major helped the U.S. to a first-place finish and a perfect 3-0 record in the event.  The U.S. outscored their three opponents, Canada, Finland and Austria, by a combined 201 - 0 margin to claim to the championship hardware. The 2010 IFAF tournament was the first women's football world championship ever held; the IFAF has since sponsored world championships in 2013 and 2017. 

On May 30, 2020 in Searcy, Arkansas, Brittany Reinbolt married Benjamin Johnson, a high school football coach from Ohio. 

Rebarcek stated the following about the versatile Reinbolt, " Brittany is an outstanding individual.  Fun, energetic, outgoing, positive and has some great stories to tell from bobsled and otherwise."

What is it like to pilot a bobsled?  Check out this video description from Reinbolt-Johnson on the Team USA Insider website series.

Photo Credit: Molly Choma/USBSF

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Bits and Pieces...

We Have Reached our Cruising Altitude.  Reinbolt-Johnson competed in the pole vault for Winona State, so it is fitting that one of her roles for USA Bobsled was 'Pilot'.  Reinbolt currently has the third-best Winona State indoor pole vault mark in program history at 10' 8.25" 

Join Bobsled, See the World. While she has called Searcy, Arkansas home for most of her life, Reinbolt-Johnson has traveled the world, both as an athlete and knowledge seeker.  Her non-bobsleding stops along the way include Israel, Kenya, and Nepal.

Little Known Fact.  Reinbolt-Johnson has her pilot's license and works as a flight instructor when not bobsledding. Or traveling. Or teaching. Or getting married. As Benjamin Franklin said, "If you want something done, ask a busy person." 

Have Sled, Will Travel.  Competing for Team USA Bobsled has taken Reinbolt Johnson to some of the coolest places on earth.  In World Cup action, Reinbolt-Johnson has competed in Koenigssee Germany; Whistler Canada; and PyeongChang, South Korea, as well as races in France, Austria, Switzerland.  

It's My Other, Other Sport.  In addition to collegiate track and field and Olympic bobsledding, Reinbolt-Johnson also competed on the 2010 Women's National Tackle Football team.  Pole vault, helmet.  Bobsled, helmet. Football, helmet.  We sense a theme... 

Four on the Floor. The 2014-15 North American Cup circuit was one of the most successful for Reinbolt-Johnson in her bobsledding career, picking up four medals in North American Cup competition. Her World Championship highlights include a 5th place finish in Whistler, Canada and Bronze Medal in the team event, also in Whistler in 2019. 

Nepal Earthquake, 2015. Reinbolt was in Nepal on April 25, 2015 when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck. The tragic quake killed over 8,800 people in the mountainous nation nestled in the Himalayas between India, Bangladesh and China. Read more about her experience in this NBC Sports article by Nick Zaccardi and her first-hand account at this link.

Reinbolt Reports... 

In addition to pole vault, what other events did you compete in at Winona State? -  "I competed in a little bit of everything at WSU. My main events were the sprints and pole vault. However, I think I experimented with every single race below 800m at some point (including all of the relays) and nearly all of the field events. Most of those experiments resulted in failure, but I had to try!"

Being from Searcy, Arkansas, how did you end up in Winona, Minnesota? -  "I had three rules when searching for colleges. First, I had to be able to compete in track and/or soccer. Second, the college needed to have a quality aviation program. Third, I had to be able to surf or snowboard… Believe it or not, there are not many colleges that fit that description. So, my dad recommended that I visit Winona State, and the rest is history."

Did the cold Minnesota winters help prepare you for the bobsledding environment? -  "I do think that being at WSU and running in track meets, in freezing temperatures, while wearing only spandex prepared me to do that same exact thing in bobsled! It definitely takes a different mindset to compete in sprint events in cold climates."

Pole vault, tackle football, flying and bobsledding.  Can you describe your interest in those activities with a physical, somewhat daredevil aspect to them? - "I like to do things that haven't been done before, something about pioneering new things brings me a lot of joy. I think that is why I found a little bit of success in pole-vaulting, football, and bobsled. Women have not been competing in these sports for a very long time, so I've been blessed to be on the forefront of all of them."

How would you describe your education here at WSU? What degree did you earn and are you working in your field (when not training for Team USA)? - "I'm incredibly thankful for the education and experiences that I had at Winona State! I consider myself to have earned three degrees at Winona State: Track & Field (although it's not an official degree!), Aviation (my minor was in Airway Science & Aviation, but the minor program at WSU was equivalent to the major programs at other universities), and Physical Education (my official major)… I have used all three of these experiences! I spent two years as a Physical Education teacher and high school basketball coach prior to bobsled. I also earned my commercial pilot license while at WSU, and I have been working off and on as a flight instructor ever since. I also believe that understanding the concepts of flight and understanding how to pilot an airplane have made me a better bobsled pilot. Not to mention, I use track and field concepts every day in my training and when I push a bobsled at the start of a race."

What do the next 18-24 months hold for you in terms of training, work, family, etc.? - "From now until February 2022, my life is pretty much consumed with bobsled. I'll be living part-time with my husband in Ohio and I'll be traveling the rest of the time for bobsled. I recently returned to our team's headquarters in Lake Placid, NY and things currently look a little different with Covid-19 protocols in place, but I normally have about 10 international bobsled races every winter. All of those races are step towards hopefully competing in the 2002 Olympic Games."

A tip of the Warrior helmet to the incredible, and continuing, Warrior Story of Brittany Reinbolt-Johnson. Best of luck in your preparations for Beijing 2020!

For the most current news in Warrior Athletics, please visit: www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and @WinonaStateATH. About Winona State University Athletics: 

The Winona State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, as an integral part of the educational mission of the institution, is committed to offering opportunities to experience academic and athletic excellence for our student-athletes through two simple words: Graduate Champions.  

Fourteen Warrior programs compete at the NCAA Division II level within the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).  Winona State University competes as an affiliate member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) in the sport of women's gymnastics.

Media Contact: Pete Watkins, Director of Athletic Communications | Ph: 507.457.5577 | Email: pwatkins@winona.edu