Athlete – Track and Field
Michelle Williams Johnson is a native of Lexington, KY. She is the youngest child of Robert and Mary Williams and has two older brothers, Robert Jr. and Henry, and an older sister, Suzette. Often finding herself trying to keep up with her siblings, Michelle grew a love for running, well let’s say racing. She would often race kids in the neighborhood and at school. Field days were the best! That led to her joining the track team in 7th grade at Leestown Middle School. Though the parking lot and grass field were their practice areas, that’s where Michelle’s track career began.
Michelle was a 1997 graduate of Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School. She had a great academic and athletic career in high school, which awarded her numerous opportunities to showcase her talents, not only locally, but nationally and internationally as well. She ran for Dunbar from 1994-1997. Michelle’s track career awarded her with more than 100 medals and ribbons. While in high school, she was named team MVP in 1996 & 1997 and was named 1st and 2nd teams in 1994-1996. Michelle still holds the 100m hurdle record at Dunbar and is listed amongst the top times in the 100m, 100m hurdles, 200m, and 300m hurdles. She was ranked rationally and competed in the USA Junior Olympics in 1994 & 1995, finishing 5th in the 100m hurdles.
The summer of 1996, Michelle competed on the World Sports Exchange Track and Field Team at two international track meets in Spain. There were athletes from 45 states, and she was the only one from Kentucky. Michelle received 10 state medals (3- 1st, 3- 2nd, 2- 3rd, 1- 4th & 1- 5th) during her career, even though her senior year state meet did not go as planned. In 1997, Michelle was named the High School Sports Woman of the Year, by the Kentucky Women’s Sports Foundation. She gives major credit to her coaches Bethel Ward and Wilbert Prinkleton, who poured life into her hurdling/sprinting career.
Michelle was recruited by 63 colleges/universities. After a few college visits, she knew that Coach Edrick Floreal was going to be her college coach. And so it began. Michelle earned a full athletic scholarship to attend and compete as a Division I athlete, at the University of Kentucky. She competed for four years (four indoor and three outdoor seasons) and currently holds both the freshman and varsity indoor 55m hurdle records at UK. During her college career, Michelle competed all over the country against top talent in the hurdles, sprints, relays, and the heptathlon.
After four years, Michelle received Bachelor Degrees in Finance and Marketing in 2001. Shortly after graduating, she moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, to pursue her professional career in the banking industry. While in Cincinnati, she offered her hurdle expertise and assisted coaching a summer track team. She lived in Cincinnati for about 13½ years. In 2014, Michelle received her Masters in Business Administration (MBA) Degree in Marketing from American InterContinental University.
Michelle and her family lived in East Lansing, MI, Savannah, GA, and Pittsburgh, PA, prior to moving back home to Lexington, KY, in 2019. At the start of COVID-19, Michelle married Derrick Johnson, in a unique Facebook live ceremony (because the COVID-19 shutdown began and canceled everything two weeks before). The couple’s teenage boys, Jalen (17) and Cameron (14), both exceptional student-athletes, attend Woodford County High, where Derrick coaches football and Michelle coaches track. Michelle has coached hurdles at Woodford County for the last three years and has sent four female hurdlers to the state meet each year.
Michelle is the Director of Student Financial Operations at KCTCS (Kentucky Community & Technical College System). She enjoys working with numbers and solving problems. Michelle recently started SheRose, an upcoming brand to elevate young ladies/women, and she will use that platform to host clinics and events tailored to female athletes. In her spare time, Michelle enjoys spending time with family and close friends, being outdoors, fishing, football, and traveling. The beach is her ultimate happy place.
Michelle’s favorite saying is “Carpe Diem,” which means “Seize the Day!”
You are not promised tomorrow, so live today as if it is your last.
