Christine Hufenbecher ’02

 2012 Sports Hall of Fame: Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field

Growing up, Christine Hufenbecher ’02 spent every day “running around with the neighborhood kids”—the perfect storybook opening for an athlete who went on to set 11 Dickinson records and one Centennial Conference (CC) record in indoor and outdoor track and field, a sport that put her innate speed at the forefront.

“My gym teacher in seventh grade encouraged me to get into running because I always had the fastest sprint times in gym class,” she says. Her natural ability on the track is what led to her stunning collegiate success, as she ran for a Dickinson squad that won CC team championships in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002—both indoors and outdoors.

“I was a very active kid, involved in several sports—gymnastics, tennis, skiing, swimming,” she says. “When I was 16, I came to the U.S. from Germany as an exchange student and joined the track and tennis teams.” Encouraged by her high-school track coach to try hurdles, Hufenbecher broke the school record in the 300 meters—in her very first race. The 300 became Hufenbecher’s main track event, and she trained hard to go to High School Nationals, where she placed in the top 50 in the country.

When the time came to make the move to college, Hufenbecher narrowed her search down to schools that could keep her track ambitions alive while providing her with a strong educational foundation. Once she learned more about Dickinson’s international and language programs and met with the college’s track team and coaches, Hufenbecher was determined to attend Dickinson and join the team.

“Sports, particularly running, have always played a major role in my life, and I wanted to have a balance between academics and competitive sports in college,” she says. “Dickinson’s track coaches [Craig Penney and Shellee Copley] convinced me that I could have that at Dickinson.”

Over the course of a Dickinson athletics career that plays like a highlight reel, more than a few moments stand out as exceptional (among them, receiving the McAndrews Award). But to Hufenbecher, her two favorites perfectly encapsulate track’s nature as both an individual and a team sport.

“During my senior year, I was running the 400 hurdles at the 2002 CC championship,” she begins. “I felt sick right before the race, thinking of the pressure of having this last chance to qualify for Nationals. For the first 300 meters, I was head-to-head with the best hurdler from Ursinus College, but I got a spurt of energy and passed her in the final 100 meters. When I crossed the finish line and saw I had run my fastest time ever and was on my way to Nationals, I was ecstatic and emotional.”

The other highlight the two-time team captain and 2002 team MVP remembers doesn’t involve achieving personal goals but being a part of something larger than herself. “We dominated the conference four consecutive years and placed third in the country as a distance medley-relay team at the National Indoor Championships,” she says. “I still think about being fortunate enough to be on a team of such talented girls!”

After Hufenbecher graduated from Dickinson with a B.A. in French, the drive she cultivated on the track took her through NYU—where she got an M.A. in music marketing and management—and eventually out to Los Angeles, where she now manages artists, producers and songwriters.

“I applied the discipline and dedication I had gained in track to my career and everything else in my life,” she explains. “Positive attitude and believing in myself—mind over body—became a mindset that I lived by and wanted people around me to be inspired by.”

That attitude helped land her in the Dickinson Sports Hall of Fame, a place of honor she will cherish. “I am sure there were several great athletes to choose from,” Hufenbecher says, “so I am extremely honored to have been chosen.”

Published October 1, 2012