The same driving force that led him to graduate from Stonehill last week with a bachelor's degree in environmental studies has Dixon in position to cap his collegiate track career with All-American honors.

The former New Bedford High standout will compete tonight in the 2014 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Allendale, Michigan.

He enters the 6:30 p.m. preliminary heat of the 110-meter high hurdles seeded 11th with a personal-best time of 14.26, the 13th best time run in the nation this season. He'll need to finish in the top eight to compete in Saturday's finals.

"He is a success story because of his work ethic inside the classroom and out," said New Bedford track coach Isaiah Houtman. "At New Bedford High, we've had talented athletes that didn't have that work ethic, but he had both. He's a complete student-athlete."

This is Dixon's first NCAA appearance for outdoor track. He placed 11th in the 60-meter high hurdles at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March.

"I've been on the provisional list in the past, but always got bumped off," said Dixon, an All-American at the high school level. "It's not like high school where if you make the time, you go. So I'm happy I'm able to go my senior year."

Determined to leave his mark on Stonehill's track program like he did at New Bedford High, Dixon is focused on not only breaking 14 seconds and reaching Saturday's finals, but also on earning All-American status that is awarded to the top eight athletes in each event.

"I'm striving to become an All-American," he said. "I was disappointed to finish 11th at NCAAs in the winter, so that drove me to get back to nationals. I just need to run clean. I only have to beat myself. I feel like if I run my best, I think I can get in (the finals)."

Once he's in the finals, a competitive Dixon admits he won't be satisfied with just being there.

"You never know when I get to that level, the goal may change," he said. "I'm just trying to take it little steps, and I just want to win my heat and go from there."

Getting to this level in track has been quite the learning experience for Dixon, who gave up playing football at Stonehill after one season to concentrate on his running.

"If I wanted to get better for track, I had to let football go," said Dixon, who played outside linebacker and defensive back. "There was a time when football was my one go-to sport, but I believe everything happens for a reason."

Even though Dixon emerged as one of the area's top hurdlers in high school, at college there was a big gap — three inches to be exact. That's how much higher the hurdles were, making it a challenging road to get to this point.

"It's completely different," Dixon said. "A lot of high schoolers can get by running over the hurdles, but when you're competing at the collegiate level, the hurdles are bumped up, so you can't do that."

Since Dixon is just 5-foot-11, he lacks the height of other top-tier hurdlers, forcing him to work harder on his technique.

"Every year in college I've learned something different on how to run hurdles and how to perfect it," Dixon said. "First it was my start, then running a continued stride and my arm movement. Finally, it was running tall and not leaning in. All of those things I learned each year have helped me PR from freshman year until now."

No matter what happens tonight, Dixon has already made a name for himself at Stonehill, earning All-New England and All-Northeast-10 Conference status eight times each, and winning three NE-10 championships — two in the 110 hurdles and one in the 60-meter hurdles.

He also was recently given the Father William Gartland Award as the top senior male student-athlete at Stonehill.

"Xavier's dedication and constant goal setting put him in the position he is in today," said Stonehill track head coach Karen Boen. "He has worked incredibly hard to achieve this level of success. This work ethic is contagious and a testimony to what it takes to qualify for the most prestigious meet in Division II."