Against an ultra competitive field of women’s college hurdlers, former Effingham County High School track star Olivia Brown, now a junior at Kennesaw State University, placed 35th in the 100-meter hurdles Thursday at the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Outdoor Track and Field East Preliminaries at the Haugh Track and Field Complex in Bloomington, Ind.

Brown had a time of 13.72 seconds and finished seventh in her first-round heat. There were six heats of eight for the field of 48 athletes. Twenty-four hurdlers — the top three in each heat and six best remaining finishers — advanced to Saturday night’s quarterfinals. The top 12 (along with the top 12 from the West prelims) moved on to the semifinals and finals in Eugene, Ore., June 8-11.

Brown, the 2019 Class AAAAAA state champion in the 100-hurdles at ECHS, has been Atlantic Sun Conference’s 100-hurdle champion the last two years. (She didn’t compete in 2020 because the outbreak of COVID canceled NCAA spring sports.)

Two weeks ago, Brown won her conference championship in the 100-hurdles with a personal-best time of 13.43.