Her times dipped. Her steps were off. She had a bout with strep throat. She was haunted by the memory of falling on the final hurdle at two different big meets.

“People had told me they didn’t see it in my eyes anymore,” Johnson said.

But that was before Saturday’s NCHSAA 4-A Mideast Regional track meet, where it all came together for the Athens Drive sophomore.

On her home track, Johnson won the 300-meter hurdles in 45.84 seconds, clinching her second straight trip to the state championship meet.

“I really just said in my head, ‘I want this more than anyone here. And I’ve always wanted it,’” Johnson said. “If you get down, if you lose your focus, you lose everything. But now that I’ve recovered from everything, it just all came together.”

Just more than a week earlier, Johnson placed fifth at the the Tri-Eight championships. Entering the day, she had the third best seed time in the field.

She ran the best time in the preliminaries (46.31 seconds) and then returned in the afternoon and lopped nearly another half second off her time to win the event.

“Finally, my steps just really clicked,” said Johnson, who placed fifth in the state in the 300 hurdles last year. “I’ve been working with coach and it just finally worked out today. I got my head in the game.”

Johnson was just one of the more than 30 area athletes who will move on to the state meet, which will be held this Saturday at N.C A&T’s Irwin Belk Track in Greensboro.The top four finishers from each event at regionals advanced.

Apex won the Mideast Regional with 73 points to finish ahead of Leesville Road (57) and Millbrook (53).

“I’m pleased with how the girls performed today,” said Apex coach Roy Cooper. “We lost some points in some places we thought we’d get some points, but then somebody else stepped up and we got some points to replace what we were looking for.”

Andie Cozzarelli won the 1,600 in 5:15.11 and the 3,200 in 11:28.64. Cozzarelli will go after her third straight title in the 3,200 this weekend, and she’ll contend in the 1,600, a race she has placed second, fourth and fifth in at the last three state meets.

Apex excelled in the distance events throughout the day. In addition to Cozzarelli, Kersie Jhabvala finished third in the 3,200 in 11:56.26. Apex also placed third in the 4x800 relay and fourth in the 4x400 relay.

Elsewhere, Jaimie Brown was third in the triple jump (36 feet, one inch), while Anna Sterlina and Kerri Sackmann were tied for third in the pole vault. They both cleared 9-6 to round out the Apex contingent that will head to Greensboro.

Nancy McLeod will join Johnson as the only other Athens Drive state qualifier. McLeod won the discus with a throw of 114-1 to win that event by more than 16 feet. She was also second in the shot put, with a best throw of 35-5.

“Nancy’s one of those kids who works her butt off,” said Athens Drive coach Ron Wheeler. “To see her excel like that, it’s starting now where a lot of colleges are looking at her. It’s just amazing when an athlete like that starts to excel. I’m just so tickled pink.”

Green Hope’s Karen Kazaglis won the pole vault, which was held Friday at Apex High. Kazaglis’ winning vault was 11 feet.

“Regionals was an accomplishment,” Kazaglis said. “As of right now, I think I’m top two in the state, so that should be a good match to see who can come out. Hopefully I’ll be able to win. We’ll see.”

Kazaglis will aim to clear between 11-3 and 11-6 at the state meet, where she’ll contend with Clayton’s Tori Rivers and Watauga’s Taylor Cook for the top spot. Those two have also cleared 11 feet this season.

Kazaglis will be joined in Greensboro by teammates Seyram Fudzie, Cara Enright and Olivia Enright. Fudzie was third in the shot put (34-5), Cara Enright was fourth in the 300 hurdles (46.95 seconds) and Olivia Enright was fourth in the 3,200 (11:57.59).

Cary’s all-freshmen 4x800 relay team — Deanna Foshee, Sheridan Jordan, Jenna Christensen and Morgan Stephenson — won its race in 9:48.77.

Cary’s 4x400 relay team also advanced. Deanna Foshee, Erin Foshee, Linnea Howie and Jordan were third in 4:03.92.

Panther Creek will send three athletes to Greensboro. Emily Whitfield finished third in the 300 hurdles (46.73 seconds) to earn her second straight trip to the state championships. Last year, she placed third in the same event. Cassie Crawford placed second in the pole vault, clearing 10 feet, and Chaunda Wilson was fourth in the shot put (34-1).

Middle Creek had two state qualifiers. Sheila Delhagen was second in the 800 with a time of 2:24.84 and Jessica Van Hulst was fourth in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.75 seconds.

Green Hope leads area boys

Green Hope finished fourth with 48 points and had five state qualifiers plus a relay team.

Josh Brunelle won the pole vault, clearing 13-6, and Zak Roshdy won the 1,600 in 4:24.55.

“Everything I’ve accomplished this year and last is really a product of great coaching, a good environment and hard work every day,” Roshdy said. “To get a win at a regional meet is a good feeling because you feel like everything you do is worth it.”

Scott Hefner wasn’t far behind Roshdy in the 1,600, finishing fourth in 4:27.55. In the 3,200, Doug Black was second in 9:43.38. Patrick Moakley was fourth in the 400 in 50.93 seconds. And the 4x800 relay — Taylor Dunham, Brian Pahle, Hefner and Moakley — was fourth in 8:15.72.

As a team, Cary was right on Green Hope’s heels, finishing fifth overall with 43 points.

The Imps were led by high jumpers Michael Graham and Amanuel Micael. Graham finished first, clearing 6-4, while Micael was fourth, clearing 6-2.

The high jump figures to be among the most competitive at the state meet this weekend. At the four regional meets, all four high jump winners won the event clearing 6-4.

Cary’s Morgan Harris nipped Greenville Rose’s Kameron Thompson and Louis Muldrow by .07 of a second to win the 110 hurdles in 14.8 seconds. Teammate Andrew Hill also qualified for the state meet after finishing fourth in the long jump (20-9).

Apex will send a three-man team to Greensboro.

Bob Vanderham won the 800 in 1:58.44, edging New Bern’s Rodney Stewart by half a second. Vanderham and Stewart were at the front of the pack for most of the race, and Stewart pulled slightly ahead with 300 meters to go before Vanderham caught him going into turn three.

“I knew I had to pass him on the straightaway,” Vanderham said. “I was able to get him on the backstretch and I was able to hold him off over the last 200.”

Kevin Fogg advanced in two events. Fogg was fourth in the triple jump (44-7.5), grabbing the final qualifying spot by an inch and a half. Fogg was also third in the 200 in 22.30. Apex’s Tyler Scales finished third in the pole vault, clearing 12-6.

Athens Drive’s Marc Campbell won the discus with a throw of 154-9.75, nearly three and a half feet better than his seed throw and two feet ahead of the field. Also, his throw was the best — by three inches — compared to the rest of the regional meets that were held Saturday. In the west, Giovanni Scott of Ardrey Kell threw 154-6, and in the Midwest, Jared Stalling of Northwest Guilford threw 154-3.

Holly Springs has first qualifier

Holly Springs junior Joanna Davis was fourth in the 100 hurdles in 16.33 seconds at the East Regional championships Saturday in Clayton. As a result, Davis became her school’s first track and field state qualifier.

Davis ran the morning preliminary race in 16.91 seconds, finishing sixth and .38 of a second out of fourth place. She came back in the afternoon and clipped .58 of a second off her time to claim fourth place and a spot in Greensboro.