JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Graduate student Marcus Johnson has qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 400 hurdles. The Bearcat standout punched his ticket by placing seventh overall at the NCAA East Region Meet on Friday evening at the Jax Track at Hodges Stadium.

Running in the first of three 8-runner heats, Johnson was fourth with a personal-best and school-record time of 49.93. The top three finishers in each of the heats - plus the next three fastest times - advanced to the NCAA Championships, which will be held June 11-14 at the University of Oregon. Johnson had the fastest time of the finishers outside of the top three in their heat and posted the seventh-fastest time overall.

"I am beyond thrilled that Marcus gets to continue his story by qualifying for the NCAA championship in Eugene," Binghamton sprint coach Jesse Fuca said. "He is a fantastic representative of our program and has continually pushed himself to new levels. I look forward to seeing him compete on the national stage and expect he will continue to impress."

For Johnson, Friday's race continues a career that began when he walked on to the Binghamton track & field team in 2021. Within the past month, he repeated as the 400 hurdles winner at the America East Championships and was named the Most Outstanding Track Athlete at that meet. For his career, Johnson is a five-time America East champion as well as a two-time NCAA East Region Meet qualifier. Now, he can add "NCAA Championship Qualifier" to his resume.

"It's surreal right now," Johnson said. "To think that I've gone from someone who barely made the team to becoming a national qualifier is truly insane. I am truly blessed and I am excited to see what I can do at nationals."

Johnson is the first Binghamton men's track & field athlete to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships since Dan Schaffer in the 5,000 in 2022. He is also the fifth male Bearcat ever to qualify for a NCAA Division I Track & Field Meet, joining Rory Quller, Cazal Arnett, Erik van Ingen, Jesse Garn and Schaffer. 

NOTES: Johnson was 25th overall in the 400 hurdles at the NCAA East Region Meet last year, missing the finals by just one spot. He posted the ninth-fastest time in Wednesday's first round, clocking a then school-record time of 50.44 ... the Bearcat men posted a pair of Top-14 finishers at the 2025 NCAA East Region Meet. Redshirt sophomore Brian Luciano was 14th overall in the hammer on Wednesday.