Bates College

Junior Kallie Nixon set a personal record and raised her national stature in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Saturday the all-divisions Open New Englands on Saturday at Stonehill College.

Despite falling a mile into the race, Nixon (Medfield, Mass.) crossed the finish line .27 seconds ahead of Boston College's Danielle Winslow to place sixth overall, in a time of 10:56.13, more than nine seconds under her previous career-best time of 11:05.23, which she ran at MIT in April.

Nixon's performance moved her from 18th up to 12th in the Division III national rankings in the steeplechase. She is also currently ranked 18th in the 1,500-meter run, with a season-best time of 4:33.46. She is second on Bates' all-time performance list in the steeplechase, trailing only the 10:33.20 run by three-time All-American Kathryn Moore '07.

Nixon and teammates will compete at the ECAC Division III Championships this Thursday and Friday at Springfield College, the final meet before the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships May 23-25.