Official home of the Emporia State University Hornets

In HS
A graduate from Emporia High, Karjala was a two-time State qualifier in both Cross Country and Track & Field. Along with being a two-time State qualifier, Karjala was a four-time letter winner and a LCL team member in 2017. In the classroom, Karjala was on the AD honor roll and was a first year scholar.

At ESU
2018-19: Entering her Freshman year for the lady hornets, Karjala joins the distance program with PR's of 5:40 (1600), 12:10 (3200), and 20:35 (5000). Karjala will look to improve upon her PR's while also being a contributor in the championship season.
2019-20: Karjala returns to the Hornets after coming off a cross country season where she improved her 5k time to 19:45. Karjala dealt with some set backs towards the end of last year but is back and better than ever. She will continue to develop into one of the top runners for the lady Hornets. At the Bearcat Open, Karjala ran a lifetime best 18:08.96 for 5000 meters, which makes her the 5th best 5k runner in ESU history. A week later at the Gorilla Classic, she ran a lifetime best in the 3000 meters with a time of 10:23.33. Karjala's outdoor season was canceled due to COVID-19.
2020-21: Karjala battled through injuries most of the season but was able to run a 5:11.81 for 1500 meters at the ESU Spring Invitational. She would also run 12:50.50 for the steeplechase at the ESU Relays.

Personal
Born June 2, 2000...daughter of Annette and Ryan Karjala...has one sister Karalyn...majoring in management Information Systems.