Athlete of the Week

Sarah Palermo Sports Editor

This past weekend, according to women’s cross country coach James McCowan, “the team really shined” at the NCAA Division III Atlantic Regional Cross Country Championships and one runner in particular capped off a “perfect senior year.”
Tri-captain Elizabeth Hixson ’06 claims that while she had a really good race, finishing seventy-first of 207 runners, the team’s tenth place finish is just as important to her.
“Placing in the top ten was our goal all season,” said Hixson. “It just shows that we could have done even, better because two of our top three runners had a bad day.”

Achieving this team goal completes a season of accomplishments for Hixson, who also set out to improve over her performance in the past three seasons. She and fellow captain Nilly Buchsbaum ’06 are the only runners on the current women’s team who ran for the Brewers for four years straight.
“Nilly has been a stronger runner for the past four years, and an amazing leader,” said Hixson. “I really want to give her a shout-out, because it’s too bad that she didn’t get to end it on a good note.”

Hixson points to Buchsbaum, and the rest of her teammates, for helping her stay motivated throughout the season.
“I’m not the best runner on the team,” Hixson admitted. “I couldn’t have done anything without my teammates.”

However, achievements and improvement are impossible without internal motivation as well. Having been on the team for four years, Hixson saw the end of her senior season as a chance to “go out on a positive note.”

Hixson took advantage of every chance to push herself all season, trying to be just a little faster each time, but McCowan praised Hixson’s performance for more than just her speed. In her final race, McCowan said that she overcame the obstacles of “huge nerves and race anxiety to really perform exceptionally well.”
It all ties back to the fact that this is the last season Hixson will race for the Brewers.

“I’m not the most confident person,” she said. “I usually get nervous before competition. But knowing every race was the last time I would run there, I told myself, ‘Just do it one more time. Do your best.’”