MARION, Ind. – A strong performance by Meredith Johnson in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase highlighted day one of the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships for Lindsey Wilson.

The senior, who missed the cut in the same event a season ago, crossed the finish line in 14th place with a time of 11:12.10 to secure a spot in this year's final. Johnson sat back in 19th position in the early goings of the race but catapulted up five spots over the last two splits to punch her ticket to Friday. The preliminary time narrowly missed her season-best by 0.06 seconds. However, she managed to shave 10 seconds off her national's mark from 2022.

Elsewhere for the Blue Raiders, the men's 4x100 relay team of Kelvion Wilson, Luke Birdsong, Edwin Van Wyk, and Justin Borden set a new season-best time of 41.13 and closed in 20th place. Then, later on, Logan Bullock, Justin Stearns, Marcus Abel, and Nolan Foushee turned in a 24th-place effort in the 4x800-meter relay, crossing with a time of 7:55.64.

Nikki Ravelli and Luna Senica were the only other individuals to compete on Wednesday for Lindsey Wilson. The latter of the two leaped a distance of 5.16 meters in the long jump for 24th overall, while Ravelli tossed 36.93 meters in the javelin and jumped 5.05 meters in the long jump to earn her 24th and 27th place, respectively.

The second day of competition will take place on Thursday and will feature Austin Campbell in the men's discus and Borden in the men's high jump.