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Kentucky has had some huge track stars in recent years who have excelled on the national and international stages and now the Cats have another “big name” athlete headed to Lexington.
Cha’iel Johnson of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., committed to Kentucky earlier this week. She recently won the Florida state high school 800-meter state championship with a time of 2 minutes, 11.41 seconds — her third straight year to win the 800 state title.
She was also on the 4×400 and 4×800 relay teams that finished second in the state track meet.
Her father is former NFL star Chad Johnson, who played for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2001-10 and caught 751 passes for 10,783 yards and 66 touchdowns. He also played in 2011 of the New England Patriots and finished his NFL career with 766 catches for 11,059 yards and 67 scores.
Cha’iel Johnson won the AAU Junior Olympic title in the 400 meters in 1:01.57 in 2015 when she was 10 years old. She set numerous national age group records.
She picked Kentucky over LSU and Tennessee. She actually made an official visit to Knoxville the same weekend the No. 3 Vols beat coach Mark Stoops and Kentucky 44-6. Her father took time to meet Tennessee receiver Jalen Hyatt, who had two touchdown catches in the game.
Kentucky’s women recently finished sixth in the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
