Born and raised in Rock Hill, Olivia Paxton is now a 22–year–old graduate student at Winthrop University. As the daughter of cross country and track and field coach Ben Paxton, she also competes for the track and field and cross country teams at Winthrop.
Olivia Paxton has been doing track and field since before high school. Her dad has always had a love for the sport and being a coach, and she has always had a love for running too.
“I just grew up around the sport and play a lot of other sports,” Paxton said. “I started to take an interest in running when I was in the sixth grade, so I was like 11 or 12. So I’ve been running for a very long time. I just fell in love with it and have stuck with it ever since.”
In cross country all the runners compete in the 5,000–meter or the 6,000–meter competition depending on the race, but in track and field Olivia runs a specific event.
“In track season I specialize on the 5,000–meter and the 10,000–meter on the track.” Paxton said.
Her impressive skills on the track team have been noted and she has received many awards for track and field, not only during her first two years of college at Winthrop but also at the College of William & Mary where she completed her bachelor’s.
“I spent my first two years at college at Winthrop University, but when I decided to shift my studies to what I got my bachelor’s in — Hispanic Studies — I had to transfer because we have Spanish here at Winthrop but we don’t have Hispanic Studies, which is a little more broad,” Paxton said.
After Paxton graduated, she found her way back to Winthrop to complete her master’s. She is currently in her first semester of graduate school.
“When I graduated over a month ago I decided to come back to do grad school here,” Paxton said. “I really like the liberal arts program here and during the pandemic I wanted to be closer to home.”
With her bachelor’s already under her belt and a master’s degree on the way, Paxton has quite a few options of careers she is interested in pursuing.
“I swear I change my mind every day,” she said. “Sometimes I think about being a coach like my dad, and then sometimes I think about becoming a professor or doing something with my skills in Spanish. Or maybe do something for the government. I really don’t know; every day I change my mind.”
Paxton clearly has a bright future ahead. She has mentioned a possible career in coaching track and field, which is obviously very important to her.
“It’s such a big part of my life and I just really enjoy not just running, but pretty much all sports,” Paxton said. “I’ve thought about becoming an athletic director because I think college sports are so important.
“They just help foster so many parts of your life. Like teamwork, dedication, hard work and honesty. And even if I don’t have a career in sports I’ll always have some involvement with it.”
Paxton has many special moments that have stood out in her long-term sports career.
“Two memories really jump out. The first one is my second-to-last track meet at Winthrop before I transferred,” she said. “I won my conference title in track for the 10,000 meters and that was really exciting because it was something that had been a goal of mine for a long time, but it was something that I didn’t think would happen until my senior year of college.
“I did it as a sophomore, and knowing that I was leaving Winthrop soon, it was exciting to go out that way. And at William & Mary, I think the thing I’m most proud of was being part of a team that won the conference title for the Colonial Athletic [Association] during my first cross country season there. I’d never been on such a big competitive team before.”
Now starting her first semester as a graduate student at Winthrop, not only is she back on the same campus with familiar faces, one of those familiar faces is her own dad. Ben Paxton has been coaching women’s and men’s cross country and track and field at Winthrop since 1993.
“I get asked about being at school with my dad all the time,” Olivia Paxton said. “If you had asked me a few years ago the first time, I always loved it, but back then I was really young and I felt that I wasn’t getting the college experience seeing my parents and my dad every single day. So while I loved it, it was also a little odd. However, now being a lot older and spending two and half years away while I was at Williams & Mary, I love it. My dad and I get along well.”
There’s obviously a different dynamic as coach and athlete and father and daughter that most students don’t experience.
“At practice he’s my coach and not my dad. It’s really nice having that break of him being my coach and being my dad,” she said. “And then the second practice ends, he’s back to being my dad. Like today we got breakfast together, so it’s really nice to have that switch.”
Olivia Paxton also has some advice for those who are interested in getting into sports or working out in general.
“Finding something that works for you and that is fun because I know personally for me, I don’t like every form of working out. I may enjoy watching a sport but don’t like playing it,” she said. “Find what works for you and go with it. You don’t always have to go hard every single day.”
And for those who are interested in joining track and field, Paxton encourages everyone to reach out if they’re interested. “Don’t be afraid to reach out to the coaches,” she said. “Be bold and show that you can do the hard work to be on a Division I team and also don’t be afraid to try a different event. There’s many track and field events for you to try and figure out what works best for you.”
Paxton is excited about the classes she’s going to be in this year and for the chance to compete for Winthrop once again.
“I’m so excited to be on the track and field this year. It’s a whole different team than the last time I was here, so I’m excited to be on a team with new people.”
Photo by Oivia Esselman
Great article! Provided a truly humanistic view into the journey of this distinguished college student!!!