Amos Bixler, a senior on Houghton's cross country team, punched his ticket to the NCAA National Championship with an eighth place finish at the regional meet on November 15. That result made Bixler the first-ever Houghton male individual to qualify for an NCAA Championship. Bixler will compete in Spartanburg, S.C., on Saturday against the best competition in the nation. But for Bixler, his preparation for the Nationals meet began before his regular season had even started.
 
First off, what was your initial reaction to qualifying for nationals?
My initial reaction was mostly just gratefulness and joy. Looking back through the summer and how all the work I put in was rewarded was really awesome, it was something I had been thinking about since June and to see my goals be fulfilled was really rewarding.
 
What are your goals going into the nationals meet?
It's hard to say, I'm not too familiar with the field. But some preliminary goals for me are to finish top 100 and possibly break the school record of 24:49 if conditions are good. I'd also like to beat a few of the other qualifiers from our region that I either beat or narrowly lost to at regionals.
 
How have you been preparing for nationals this week?
Just maintaining fitness I've built up throughout the season. I did some heavier volume of easy running on Monday, followed by a workout where I did some tempo pace work and a little bit of faster stuff at the end. I've also been trying to mentally prepare by watching the course video and doing some running inside to adjust to the warmer temperatures in South Carolina.
 
Qualifying for nationals signifies the culmination of your college cross country career. How has this season built up to that qualification?
Coach Hager's training plan for the summer really built up some good base fitness to go into the season with. This season specifically we've done some heavy volume workouts to get the strength needed for racing 8ks. Every meet we've been improving and trying to peak for this moment, and I think it's been very successful. Something I have felt a lot better about this season is hills, which we've done some work on in workouts and long runs. During races where there is tougher terrain I've felt a lot stronger than I have in the past.
 
Anything else you'd like to add?
I couldn't have gotten here without the support of my teammates. We've run the whole season with a team mentality in mind, and me qualifying for nationals signifies success for the whole team. Everyone had a great season and it has been an honor to compete with this group of guys and find success in pretty much everything we've done this season.