Bio

Johnson has been a key member of the Northwood University track and field coaching staff since joining the program in the fall of 2021. She currently serves as Associate Head Coach (promoted September 2023) and oversees the Timberwolves’ sprinters, hurdlers, and jumpers.

2021–22

In her first season with the Timberwolves, Johnson coached one of Northwood’s two individual Indoor Conference Champions, as Xzavia Price captured the 60-meter dash title in a time of 6.84. She also worked closely with the men’s 4x400-meter relay squad, which claimed Northwood’s first conference championship in the event since the 1990s. Those efforts contributed to the coaching staff earning GLIAC Men’s Indoor Track & Field Coaching Staff of the Year honors in 2022.

During the outdoor season, Price again topped the podium in the 100-meter dash, earning the unofficial title of the conference’s fastest man while posting a lifetime-best 10.83 in the preliminaries. Behind the scenes, Johnson helped build a strong sprints and hurdles recruiting class, bringing in 17 newcomers to prepare the Timberwolves for their transition to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.

2022–23

In her second season, Johnson’s athletes showed significant progression throughout both the indoor and outdoor campaigns. Her group played a key role in establishing Northwood as a competitive presence during its first year in the G-MAC. Sophomore hurdlers Matheu Morrison and Blake Vier emerged as cornerstone performers, consistently advancing to conference finals and elevating the program’s competitiveness in short sprint and hurdle events. The season laid an important foundation, with notable improvements in technical consistency and event execution across the group.

2023–24

Johnson’s event groups took a major step forward during the 2023–24 season, producing podium finishes, provisional qualifying marks, and a national qualifier. Several athletes delivered key scoring performances at the G-MAC Championships while achieving program milestones.

Sophomore Keiyera Johnson broke the outdoor school record twice in the 100-meter hurdles, ultimately setting the mark at 15.36. At the same meet, Gabby Jones placed fifth in the 400-meter hurdles with a personal best, providing valuable points for the women’s team. On the men’s side, Arthur Powell placed sixth in the 100-meter finals with a personal-best 10.84.

Hurdle standouts Morrison and Vier enjoyed their most successful season to date, both recording provisional qualifying marks. Indoors, Vier broke the eight-second barrier in the 60-meter hurdles for the first time with a 7.97 at the GVSU Big Meet—third-fastest in school history and the fastest by a Timberwolf since 2017. He earned podium finishes at both G-MAC Championships, placing third indoors (8.03) and second outdoors (14.26), and narrowly missed NCAA Indoor qualification by one position (17th nationally).

Morrison also elevated his performance, running a provisional 8.04 indoors and placing fifth at the G-MAC Championships. Outdoors, he qualified for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the 110-meter hurdles, marking Northwood’s first national appearance under Johnson’s guidance. His 13.98 from the Len Paddock Open ranked 15th nationally in Division II.

2024–25

The momentum continued in 2024–25 as Johnson’s athletes established Northwood as one of the top hurdle programs in the G-MAC and nationally. Blake Vier emerged as one of the conference’s premier indoor hurdlers, recording seven sub-8.00 performances in the 60-meter hurdles and earning qualification to the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships. He ranked as high as third nationally during the season and finished 11th overall in Division II.

Outdoors, Morrison continued his success in the 110-meter hurdles with another NCAA-qualifying performance and a runner-up finish at the G-MAC Championships. He placed 13th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Pueblo, Colorado (13.99), finishing one spot shy of Second Team All-American honors, and now ranks as the third-fastest performer in Northwood history in the event. Michael Cook added to the program’s success by earning All-Conference honors in the 400-meter hurdles with a season-best 53.05, finishing runner-up at the G-MAC Championships.

On the women’s side, Keiyera Johnson continued to rewrite the record book, repeatedly lowering her own school record in the 100-meter hurdles and ultimately resetting it to 14.83 during the 2025 outdoor season. Junior Jenna Gaul enjoyed a breakthrough year, lowering her 400-meter hurdles personal best to 64.44 and scoring fifth in her first G-MAC Championship appearance. Johnson also guided true freshman Diogo Vaz through his debut season in the 400 meters, where he placed seventh indoors (48.41) and fourth outdoors (48.18), showcasing strong potential in his first year training in the event.

This year was the first for Coach Johnson to work with the Northwood jumps squad. The success of the group was headlined by Sophomore transfer, Breanna Hyde. She had the meet of her life at Outdoor GMACs placing 3^rd in the Long Jump - helping the lady Timberwolves to their highest conference point total since 2003. Hyde’s series put five of her six jumps over her previous lifetime best of 5.45m (New PB-5.68m).

Prior to Northwood
From 2014-19, Johnson competed herself for fellow DII institution, Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. During this time she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Education, as well as found success as a quarter-miler and a hurdler for the DII Lakers. Her own accomplishments in Track and Field include helping the women add to their now over 20-year streak of Indoor and Outdoor Team Conference titles, being a part of multiple First Team All-American efforts on the 4x400 and Distance Medley Relays at the National level, as well as earning individual All-American Honors in the 400 Meter Hurdles in 2018. In the same 2018 National Meet, she also set the university's 400H record with a time of 59.38. Heather left GVSU with a legacy off the track as well, earning their annual Mike Lints “Blood, Sweat, and Tears” Award; An honor decided on by both student-athletes and coaches and given to the individual who was most valuable to the team atmosphere.

Following her time at GVSU, Heather joined the Track and Field staff at Northern Arizona University (NCAA DI) from 2019-2021 as their Graduate Assistant. While completing her Master’s Degree in Higher Education, she helped coach both the NAU men’s and women’s squads to exciting Big Sky Conference victories in the Indoor and Outdoor seasons that bookended the COVID pandemic. Working the first two seasons of her coaching career in such a time of uncertainty proved a great challenge, but helped her shape her philosophy for coaching around overcoming adversity, the importance of a great support system, and advocating for student-athlete mental health.

Heather has enjoyed being back in her home state of Michigan to pursue her passion for Track and Field with the Timberwolves. When she is not working with her athletes, she can be found working out herself, planning her next road trip, or spending time with her family and friends in the area.