Elon Phoenix student-athlete Emily Dixon and Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Mark Elliston received awards for their roles this year in leading the university to the CAA Outdoor Championship title in women's competition.
Elon University Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Mark Elliston and Phoenix freshman Emily Dixon were honored June 25 as the Colonial Athletic Association Women’s Coach and Rookie of the Year, respectively, as the league announced its track and field postseason awards.
Elliston guided the maroon and gold to the program’s first-ever conference championship and Elon University’s first team title in its inaugural season in the CAA. The Phoenix posted 150 points at the CAA Outdoor Championships, the most in team history at a conference meet. Elon also had six event conference champions and eight individuals receive All-CAA honors.
This is the third conference Coach of the Year honor for Elliston overall, who was also named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2011.
“It is definitely an exciting honor,” Elliston said. “It’s just a testimony of everyone’s hard work as far as the coaching staff and the young ladies on the team who all came together and did a great job. I’m very honored and appreciate the other programs and coaching staffs that voted so it’s definitely a blessing and an honor. It’s something I am more excited about for the program.”
Dixon concluded a terrific rookie campaign by capturing the league’s heptathlon title at the CAA Outdoor Championships. The Bath, England, native scored a school-record 4,921 points, the most ever in the event at the league championships since 2009. Dixon also earned the league’s Track Athlete of the Week on April 7.
“Emily is a young lady that is really talented and it showed at the conference meet,” Elliston said. “The other coaches and programs noticed it and voted her Rookie of the Year. For that to happen is definitely an honor and I know she’ll be incredibly thrilled. It’s just so exciting to have Elon being noticed and recognized after all the hard work that we’ve done as a team.”
Elon had eight athletes total earn All-CAA honors in 11 events at the league championships. Dixon, Kimberly Johansen (800-meters and 1,500-meters), Bryanna Hames (discus), Jen Esposito (400-meter hurdles) and Tereza Novotna (3,000-meter steeplechase) won the CAA championships in their respective events with Johansen being named the league’s Most Outstanding Performer of the Meet.
In addition to the event champions, earning All-CAA honors for the Phoenix were Sydney Griffin (100-meter hurdles), Megan Kirschling (high jump), Bre’anna Warren (shot put and discus) and the 4×100-meter relay (Jennifer Pash, Simone Jackson, Bria Turner and Griffin) and 4×400-meter relay (Pash, Jackson, Dixon and Esposito) teams. Kirschling was also Elon’s representative on the CAA All-Academic team.