Senior Kallie Nixon placed fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships to gain her third career All-America accolade and Bobcat of the Week plaudits for the week of May 19-25.
A native of Medfield, Mass., Nixon finished with a time of 10:38.79, just 0.92 seconds behind her personal-best time of 10:37.87 which she set at the New England Division III Outdoor Championships on May 1.
Nixon claimed her third All-America honor, and first as an individual, after picking up her previous two All-America laurels as the anchor for the Bobcats’ distance medley relay at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2012 and 2014.
A five-time NCAA Championship competitor over three seasons, she becomes the seventh athlete in program history with three or more All-America plaudits, joining Heather Bumps ’97, Liz Wanless ’04, Keelin Godsey ’06, Kathryn Moore ’07, Izzy Alexander ’09, and Vantiel Elizabeth Duncan ’10.
Bates’ 2013-14 Female Athlete of the Year, Nixon qualified for the finals after finishing third in her heat with a time of 10:50.67. With her finish in the finals, she scored four team points for the Bobcats, placing them in a tie for 56th among 81 scoring teams.
