Johnson Named ACC Performer of the Week
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami’s Kayla Johnson was named ACC Women’s Outdoor Track Performer of the Week, as announced by the conference office Tuesday.
A freshman from Miami Fla., Johnson opened her inaugural collegiate outdoor season in an impressive fashion, running the second-fastest women’s 400m time in the NCAA this season. The freshman was the top collegiate runner in the event at the Hurricane Invitational, finishing second overall with a time of 52.82 seconds. Johnson’s time leads the ACC and NCAA East region, ranking second in the NCAA overall.
“That was a great run for Kayla in her first 400 of the season,” Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem said. “She is a very competitive and a hard-working athlete and she is going to continue to get better.”
Johnson also made a major impact on the Hurricanes’ 4x400m relay team, anchoring the relay to victory with an NCAA-leading time of 3:34.72.
“I’m really pleased with how our freshmen are coming around,” Deem said. ” Debbie [Ajagbe] and Kayla and some of the other freshmen are really stepping up and being great leaders.”
This is the first ACC weekly award of Johnson’s career. She is the third Hurricane to earn an ACC Performer of the Week honor this year, joining freshman Hasani Knight and junior Michelle Atherley.
Johnson and the Hurricanes will travel to Los Angeles to compete at the Power 5 Trail Blazer Challenge on March 23-24. The two-day meet will feature the only five Power 5 track and field programs in NCAA Division I that have a female head coach: Miami, Tennessee, Ohio State, Ole Miss and the host USC Trojans. To view the complete Miami Track and Field schedule for the 2018 season, click here.
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