SPARTANBURG, SC -- Amos Bixler punched his ticket into the NCAA Cross Country Championships on 11/15 at the NCAA Niagara Regional Championships. To date, he is the only male athlete in Houghton's history to compete in an NCAA Championship. With this accomplishment, he was still hungry for a strong finish amidst the best DIII runners in the country. The course was at a beautiful Arboretum called Millikin Park in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The weather was historically warm in Spartanburg for this time of the year. Bixler handled the unseasonably warm conditions well, and ended up in 116th place in the field of 294 athletes. 

Bixler got off to a decent start, clocking the first kilometer in 2:59, and first mile in 4:50. His fast start still put him at 215th place at the first kilometer mark. He would later capitalize on many athletes getting out too fast. In the next two kilometers, he would move up 57 places! He fell 14 places during kilometers four and five, before unleashing an outstanding finish. He'd move up another 56 places in the final 3 kilometers, and close the last kilometer in 2:56 (4:44 mile pace). In the end, Bixler finished behind only RIT's Derick Koen, from the individual qualifiers, in the Niagara Region. Regional powerhouses SUNY Geneseo and NYU would finish at National Runner-Up and 4th place, respectively. 

Coach Hager commented after the race, "I can't say enough about Amos and his cross country career at Houghton. The sentiment that comes to mind is that he absorbed the grit and culture of guys like Caleb Kasper and Sam Lyon, and created his own legacy in how the younger guys view performance ceiling. If you care enough, and find unique ways to motivate yourself, your ceiling is higher than you think. Amos talked in his senior speech about learning to take risks. This could be the greatest lesson he could have learned in the last year. It's not rocket science, it's consistency and belief. In terms of his race today, you don't see as many individuals debut in the top 200 because of the gravity of the field, extending your season by a week, and nerves. The decision he made at 5k to fight through the heat, and start blowing past person after person is a perfect cap to his cross country career."