Central Ohio well repped at NCAA Track & Field meet
Micaela Degenero, India Johnson and Abby Nichols were rivals in high school and college before they finally teamed up out west.
All three attended Ohio high schools, joined Big Ten track programs (Degenero at Michigan, Johnson at Michigan State, Nichols at Ohio State) and then transferred to Colorado, which will send a school-record 12 women to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, June 8-11.
They believe their history of running into each other helped them when they started running together, which then led to them qualifying for Nationals at an NCAA Regional in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
“We always talk about home and how funny the world is and how awesome it is that we now get to be at the same place,” Johnson said. “Who would’ve thought we’d be in this position?”
Colorado coach Mark Wetmore had a pretty good idea.
“In all cases, they came from successful programs, but they had to adjust as soon as possible to adapt to our method, which normally takes a couple of years,” he said. “They stepped right in, went to work right away and were successful almost immediately.”
Degenero, a Granville grad, is competing in the 1,500-meter run for the second year in a row. With the Blue Aces she was a three-time state champion (800-meter run in 2014 and the 1,600 meters in 2015-16) and set school indoor and outdoor records in the 800 and 1,600 meters. She also placed sixth in the 2014 cross country state meet and was named Division II Central District Runner of the Year.
Johnson was a qualifier for nationals in the 10,000-meter race with the Spartans last season. This year, she will compete in that event again as well as in the 5,000-meter run after rallying to capture the last spot.
“Both the 10 and the 5 worked out that way,” Johnson said. “(My coaches) said this is what can happen. Stay patient and calm and when the opportunity opens, take it, seize it.”
At Hilliard Davidson, Johnson won the state title for the indoor and outdoor 3,200 meters her junior and senior years.
She joins Nichols, a Kettering Alter graduate, who placed 17th in the 5,000 meters at the national championships last year. Nichols was the first Ohio State runner to win a conference title in the outdoor 5,000, setting a school record with a time of 15:56.52 in 2019. Additionally, in 2015, Nichols won the OHSAA Division II cross country title.
“It’s pretty special we all ended up together. We weren’t always in the same event, but often in the same meets,” said Degenero. “It was a really difficult transition, a hard time for the first couple of months. But I had my teammates with me, and I trusted the history and success of the program, and just stuck with it no matter what.”
Among the other Colorado runners headed to the NCAA Championships is Grace Jenkins of Watterson, who qualified as part of the 4x400-meter relay team, and there are 19 members from the Ohio State men’s and women’s track team going, giving central Ohio a strong presence at this year’s finals..
Kentucky’s Abby Steiner (Dublin Coffman) will run in the 100, 200 and is a member of the Wildcats’ 400-meter relay team . ... Cincinnati’s Steven Mcelroy (Pickerington North) will run in the 400 . ... Nik Curtis (Iowa/lancaster), who placed second in the shot put of the Division II Championships with Tiffin, qualified as a Hawkeye in Division I, placing 10th in the Fayetteville Regional. ... Aman Thorton (Clemson/mifflin) will compete in the 800 and the 1,600 relay. ... Elliott Cook (Oregon/dublin Jerome) will get to stay in the host city to run in the 1,500.