Upcoming Event: Cross Country versus NCAA Championships on November 22, 2025 at 8:00 AM
8:00 AM
Cross Country
vs NCAA Championships
The University of Utah Athletics
A Road Less Taken
11/13/2025 6:17 PM | Cross Country
After picking up running late and switching distances as a senior, the Utes standout aims to make her first cross country postseason one to remember.
Utah senior Millie Wilcox has taken an unusual path to reach her first NCAA Cross Country Mountain Regional Championships. From picking up running late, to switching distances, Wilcox enters Friday's meet looking to leave a lasting impact on her first cross country season.
Wilcox, a Holladay native, started track her freshman year of high school as a way for her and her soccer teammates to condition in the off-season. "I ended up my freshman year probably going to two practices and competing at two meets, and I did not like it," Wilcox said.
While many other high schoolers may have given up on a sport they didn't like at first, Wilcox gave track another try. "Sophomore year, I was over soccer," she said. "I was like, this just isn't for me, I'm not into it anymore, but track was fun. So, I thought, sophomore year, I'm going to go all in. Sophomore year was 2020, so I couldn't go all in because we didn't have a season. So, I started seriously junior year of high school."
When Wilcox went all in, she never looked back. With the support of her coaches and teammates, Wilcox starred for the Olympus High School track team, earning all-state honors in the 400m during the 2021 season. She also performed well in the 4x200m relay and the 800m; this led to Wilcox being recruited by the University of Utah.
During her first three years running for the Utes, Wilcox performed well for the team, posting multiple regional marks and three top five times in the school's history. With her senior year approaching, Wilcox thought a change was needed heading into her final season.
"We've got to adapt; we've got to switch it over," Wilcox said to her then sprints coach, Rebecca Rhodes. "The communication with her, I remember my individual meetings, I was like, we've got to do something different."
The change that ended up happening? It was transitioning from the sprints team to the cross country team heading into the fall. With the help of her coaches, Wilcox adjusted her training regimen to prepare for cross country. "We added mileage, and this summer specifically was actually really hard," Wilcox noted. "My easy runs were the equivalent length of what my long runs have been for the past few years, so it was just kind of brutal but still fun."
The increase in volume in the summer paid off for Wilcox as she found instant success as a consistent scorer for the Utes. While she has put in the work and excelled, Wilcox credits some of her success to luck. "I think I have some lucky girl syndrome with this," she remarked. "To be honest, I'm from elevation so that was already on my side. Then just being on both sides, I've got to experience having every single person being my teammate and being able to train with everyone."
Wilcox also credits her teammates for supporting her through the season. "On the sprint side, I would say they've helped me be consistent this year; cheering me on even when I'm not with them and just being happy that I've kind of found a rhythm," noted Wilcox. "Then on the distance side, helping me in the workouts, being positive and being patient. Although I'm a senior, I'm a bit of a freshman in the sense that I just didn't really understand. It's really hard in the fall to understand the flow of how everything works and even the scheduling flow."
Now, Wilcox gets the chance to perform just down the road from where she grew up in the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships. As her and her teammates prepare for Friday's race, Wilcox looks forward to having a large crowd of family and friends there. In Wilcox's words, she wants to see "a sea of red" of Utes supporters as the Women of Utah look to qualify for the National Championships.
Wilcox, a Holladay native, started track her freshman year of high school as a way for her and her soccer teammates to condition in the off-season. "I ended up my freshman year probably going to two practices and competing at two meets, and I did not like it," Wilcox said.
While many other high schoolers may have given up on a sport they didn't like at first, Wilcox gave track another try. "Sophomore year, I was over soccer," she said. "I was like, this just isn't for me, I'm not into it anymore, but track was fun. So, I thought, sophomore year, I'm going to go all in. Sophomore year was 2020, so I couldn't go all in because we didn't have a season. So, I started seriously junior year of high school."
When Wilcox went all in, she never looked back. With the support of her coaches and teammates, Wilcox starred for the Olympus High School track team, earning all-state honors in the 400m during the 2021 season. She also performed well in the 4x200m relay and the 800m; this led to Wilcox being recruited by the University of Utah.
During her first three years running for the Utes, Wilcox performed well for the team, posting multiple regional marks and three top five times in the school's history. With her senior year approaching, Wilcox thought a change was needed heading into her final season.
"We've got to adapt; we've got to switch it over," Wilcox said to her then sprints coach, Rebecca Rhodes. "The communication with her, I remember my individual meetings, I was like, we've got to do something different."
The change that ended up happening? It was transitioning from the sprints team to the cross country team heading into the fall. With the help of her coaches, Wilcox adjusted her training regimen to prepare for cross country. "We added mileage, and this summer specifically was actually really hard," Wilcox noted. "My easy runs were the equivalent length of what my long runs have been for the past few years, so it was just kind of brutal but still fun."
The increase in volume in the summer paid off for Wilcox as she found instant success as a consistent scorer for the Utes. While she has put in the work and excelled, Wilcox credits some of her success to luck. "I think I have some lucky girl syndrome with this," she remarked. "To be honest, I'm from elevation so that was already on my side. Then just being on both sides, I've got to experience having every single person being my teammate and being able to train with everyone."
Wilcox also credits her teammates for supporting her through the season. "On the sprint side, I would say they've helped me be consistent this year; cheering me on even when I'm not with them and just being happy that I've kind of found a rhythm," noted Wilcox. "Then on the distance side, helping me in the workouts, being positive and being patient. Although I'm a senior, I'm a bit of a freshman in the sense that I just didn't really understand. It's really hard in the fall to understand the flow of how everything works and even the scheduling flow."
Now, Wilcox gets the chance to perform just down the road from where she grew up in the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships. As her and her teammates prepare for Friday's race, Wilcox looks forward to having a large crowd of family and friends there. In Wilcox's words, she wants to see "a sea of red" of Utes supporters as the Women of Utah look to qualify for the National Championships.
Players Mentioned
Distance
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