MILLEDGEVILLE, Georgia – When the Georgia Military College cross country team took to the course at the NJCAA national championships in Iowa on Nov. 13, it was a Dixon native running in a place where local fans had gotten used to seeing her: near the front.
GMC claimed a fourth-place finish in the women's race, the highest in program history, paced by a pair of top-10 finishes including one by former Duchesses star Nicquelette Fazekas.
Fazekas finished ninth, working her way around the 5K course in 21:49.09. Teammate Paige White took seventh, making Fazekas and White the first two All-American runners in GMC program history.
"Training here with this team and with our coaches, it's been a lot of fun, it's been great," Fazekas said. "Having that long trip, that long drive, and still being able to perform and put ourselves out there and represent from all the way in Georgia, it was a lot of fun. It was memories that we won't ever forget."
Her freshman season was one with a lot of differences to get used to, from running a 5K instead of a 3-mile course to the many changes brought on by the pandemic.
Some races had to be wiped off the schedule for GMC with opposing schools canceling their seasons. Other events were run in phases or with staggered starts. GMC only got a handful of events in before heading up to Iowa for the national championships.
Even with restrictions on spectators, Fazekas still was able to have her parents there to see her run in the national championships, which were about 300 miles away from Dixon in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
"It was really nice, because it's been a few months since I've been able to see them, being in Georgia," she said. "Having them make the trip [to Iowa], it was good having that sense of Dixon and everything back home with running again."
Adjusting to life as a college runner is different for Fazekas than it would be for a lot of college runners. In addition to her class schedule and training, she has the rigors of a military life.
Fazekas starts her day at 5 a.m. with physical training, and has a packed schedule with classes until 6 p.m. and a mandatory study hall for 2 hours afterward. There are days where every minute is filled with something, but others where she can squeeze in an hour or an hour and a half to get in a run.
"It's been a struggle to juggle and figure out where to fit everything in, because everything is so structured here," she said. "As far as training goes, I was able to train whenever I could, but it's hard to get out there and condition properly."
With her sophomore season on the horizon, she sees figuring out that juggling act as the key to showing improvement.
"Now that I know what the schedule is like here at Georgia Military College, I can better manage my time and figure out exactly how to condition myself better to prepare myself for next season."