Track & Field?s Katie Johnson Competes In NCAA Regionals Friday

May 26, 2010 | Track & Field

By: Ball State Athletics

MUNCIE, Ind. - - Ball State track & field senior Katie Johnson (Evansville, Ind./Evansville H.S.) was one of 48 student-athletes selected to participate in the 100m hurdles race at next weekend's NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field East Regional hosted by North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, N.C.

First round action in the 100m hurdles gets underway at 5 p.m. next Friday (May 28). The top three runners of each of the six first round heats, plus the next six fastest runners will move on to Saturday's 7:20 p.m. quarterfinal race. The top three runners from each of the three quarterfinal heats, plus the next three fastest times will advance to the NCAA Championships (June 9-12) hosted by the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.

"We are very excited Katie gets the opportunity to represent Ball State at the NCAA Regionals for the third time in her career." said Ball State head coach Randy Heisler. "She has battled injuries throughout much of the season, but lately everything is starting to come together for her. Katie is capable of running a lot faster than her MAC Championship time, and it things work out right next weekend, she will hopefully get a chance to compete in the NCAA Championships in Eugene."

At least weekend's 2010 Mid-American Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Johnson took home the league title in the 100m hurdles for the second time in her career with a season-fast clocking of 13.71. The effort has her seeded 43rd out of the 48 runners who advanced to the regional meet.

This will be Johnson's third trip to the NCAA regional meet, as she advanced to the NCAA Mideast Regional in both 2008 (Fayetteville, Ark.) and 2009 (Louisville, Ky.) under the previous qualifying format which had four regional competitions (West, Midwest, East and Mideast) instead of the current two (East and West).

At the 2009 NCAA Mideast Regional, Johnson placed 18th in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.86. One year earlier, Johnson placed 21st in the 100m hurdles with a career-fast time of 13.61, which stands as the third-best individual time in program history in the event.