Brady, Matthews to Compete at NCAA East Preliminaries
May 22, 2013 | Women's Track & Field
May 22, 2013
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Senior Nikko Brady and graduate student Katie Matthews will each compete at the 2013 NCAA Division I Women's Track and Field Preliminary Championships beginning on Thursday at Greensboro, N.C.
"I'm looking forward to it," director of track & field and cross country Robyne Johnson said. "I'm expecting some great performances from all of our kids. They're really coming into their element. The kids get this extra NCAA experience and to be here is quite an honor."
Brady, competing in the 100m hurdles, will be making her second appearance at the East prelims. She previously competed in the 100m hurdles at the 2011 East prelims, though she is at her fastest entering this year's event. The senior sprinter enters having achieved a personal-best time of 13.55 seconds at Florida State earlier this month.
"She knows she can run fast, and the hurdles are such a rhythm event that you need to keep running fast to run faster, and that's exactly what she's doing," Johnson said. "She's a great competitor, very focused and I believe she can run even faster than she's (already) run. This is her fourth year in school but only her second outdoor season because she broke her foot two years in a row. She's only had two years of outdoor completion. She'll be back next year and she wants to be better."
Matthews, who will compete in the 10,000m run on Thursday night, is in the midst of a dream year. The Rocky Hill, Conn., native was a two-time All-America selection during the indoor season thanks to a fifth-place finish in the 5,000m run and an 11th-place performance in the 3,000m run. Matthews last competed at the East prelims in 2011, advancing to the national final of the 10,000m run that year and finishing eighth to earn an All-America selection. She has the fourth fastest time in the region entering the weekend.
"Katie is unbelievable," Johnson said. "She's one of those people that whatever she thinks she can do and puts her mind to, she can do it. She's such a hard worker, a huge fan of track and field, wants to be better and aspires to be an Olympian. Those things really make for someone who can really do big things in track and field. She keeps improving every week and she steps her game up when the competition gets better."
