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RIO de JANEIRO  --  Deja Young won her heat and finished preliminary competition with the fastest time of 12.12 in the T47 100 meters at the 2016 Paralympic Games Saturday. She edged Cuba's Yunidis Castillo, who ran the heat in 12.13.

The two will face each other again in the final set for 4:56 p.m., Sunday.

A junior at Wichita State, she will also compete in the T47 200 meter preliminary at 4:33 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 15. The 200 meter final is set for 9:27 a.m., Friday, Sept. 16. Times are subject to change. Her Paralympics results page can be found here.

Young trained in Wichita through the beginning of school before travelling to Houston for training with the U.S. team. After a 10-hour flight from Houston, she arrived in Rio Sept. 2. She participated in the opening ceremonies on Sept. 7 with Team USA.

"The Opening Ceremony is something I will always cherish," Young said by text from Rio. "I will always carry the moment with me... being able to walk out with Team USA, and be united as one, means the most to me. It is an honor I will carry for the rest of my life."

Young was born with brachial plexus or shoulder dystocia, a deformity in her right shoulder, and competes in the T47 classification at Paralympic events.

"I am really happy for Deja Young and her ability to represent the United States in paralympic events and now Team USA in Rio," said Wichita State Track and Field Coordinator Steve Rainbolt. "She has set an American Record and has a World Best as a Paralympian, and I hope that everyone will keep any eye out for her... she is a very talented athlete and a special Shocker."

The Wichita State All-American set the American Record in the T47 classification, which is also a World Best time, of 11.92 at the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Championship in Normal, Ill.

Young earned All-American honors as a freshman member of the Shockers' 2015 4x100 meter relay team that finished 16th at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Champinships and also holds the WSU 4x100 meter relay record (44.30).

"What I think it cool is that she's not just a great Paralympic athlete, she is a legitimate Division I sprinter," said Assistant Track and Field Coach John Wise. "She's already an All-American, and she is a very special athlete. Obviously, she's dealing with things that other athletes don't have to deal with, and still performing at a high level. It makes me really proud of her. When you are representing your country, it is even more significant. She is a medal contender."

Young is one of 47 athletes (30 male, 17 female), including four guides, that were named to the 2016 U.S. Paralympics Track and Field National Team in July following the Team Trials.  She was named to the U.S. National Team in January.

A relative newcomer to Paralympic competition, the junior from Mesquite, Texas, made a name for herself in Doha, Qatar, at the 2015 International Paralympic Committee Athletics World Championships, winning the Gold Medal in the T47 100 meters in a time of 12.69. It was her second medal in the games as she won the Silver Medal in the T47 200 meters in a time of 25.08.

Young earned a spot on the 2015 team after winning the 100 meter dash at the 2015 United States Paralympics June 20, 2015, in Minneapolis, Minn., in a time of 12.26. Her time, in addition to running a 25.08 in the 200 meters, qualified her for the World Championships in Qatar, her first international competition.