Kayla Shull, a 2009 Rocky Grove graduate, was inducted into the Clarion University Hall of Fame in 2026.

Shull was a standout swimmer for the Golden Eagles after starring in the sport for Franklin, where she won four state medals in the backstroke and another in the 100 free under coach Eric Smith. She was an eight-time all-stater during Franklin's heyday.

Not only did she star in swimming in college under coach Mark Van Dyke, Shull was a standout in the classroom, too.

She graduated with a 4.0 GPA in speech pathology and audiology, which was one of the reasons she picked Clarion. 

Shull collected a number of academic awards before earning her master’s degree from Clarion.

Here’s a list of her swimming accomplishments at Clarion, long a swimming Division II power:

• 15-time NCAA Division II All-American

• Four-time PSAC champion in the backstroke

• PSAC Freshman of the Year

• Third at nationals in the backstroke

• One of nine finalists for NCAA Woman of the Year (and that includes Divisions I, II and III) in 2014

• NCAA top 10 award

Shull accomplished all this despite being scared to death of the water at an early age.  Swimming lessons at the Franklin YMCA fixed that.

“I was absolutely terrified of the water. I hated water, I hated swimming and I hated swim lessons until I was about 7 or 8 years old, so it’s kind of ironic that swimming ended up being my sport,” she told Joe Henderson of The Derrick. “But, here we are.”

Shull is now a pediatric feeding specialist in the Franklin area. She and her husband, high school sweetheart Zakk Johnson, are the parents of three sons.