Johnsburg golden girl Dixon shoots to cap Iowa career in style
Tiny far Northwest Suburban Johnsburg, population 6,303, has meant big things to the University of Iowa lately.
First, town golden boy C.J. Fiedorowicz, a three-sport star in football, basketball and track for the Skyhawks, decided to become a Hawk in the Big Ten. He signed with Iowa in 2010 for football, and wound up earning a starting spot at tight end as a sophomore. He was named first-team all-Big Ten last fall as a senior.
Fiedorowicz, 6-feet-5, 265 pounds, is now a rookie tight end with the Houston Texans and has played in eight games this season.
When Fiedorowicz was a freshman at Iowa, Johnsburg's golden girl, Melissa Dixon, then a senior for the Skyhawks, also decided to become a Hawk in the Big Ten. She was the top female basketball player in town and led Johnsburg to three Class 3A supersectional appearances by the end of her career. She graduated as McHenry County's all-time leading scorer for both boys or girls with 2,146 points.
“As soon as I got to Iowa, I loved it,” Dixon said. “I felt so comfortable here. I loved the coaches and my teammates and I knew people here. My older brother (Mike) and C.J. (Fiedorowicz) were really good friends in high school. “I've known C.J. for a long time. It was fun having him here at Iowa with me.
“It's crazy looking back at where I came from, to now. Iowa has been the perfect place for me. It's a lot bigger than (Johnsburg), but it still has that community feel and I really enjoy that.”
Now a senior, Dixon is staring down another graduation — and her goal is to finish off her Iowa career as successfully as her longtime buddy Fiedorowicz did.
Dixon, an ace 3-point shooter, is hoping to help the No. 19 Hawkeyes, who open the season Friday against visiting USC Upstate, win a Big Ten championship. She averaged 13.1 points per game last year as a junior and is just 23 points away from scoring her 1,000th career point.
“It's kind of sad to be in my last year already,” said Dixon, who loves that both of her brothers, Mike (a recent transfer) and Steve, also attend Iowa. “But at the same time, it's kind of exciting to have one last time to achieve everything that you want to do.”
Dixon has yet to win a conference championship at Iowa, although she came close as a freshman when the Hawkeyes finished second. Her high school team also had some significant near-misses.
The Skyhawks lost the supersectional during her senior year by just 3 points.
“We were the underdogs,” Dixon said. “Coming from a small town and a small conference, I just tried to work hard because I knew I wasn't going to be highly recruited (automatically). I knew I had to put in the extra time and the extra work. I knew that I had to put in a little more effort than the next person.”
Iowa coach Lisa Bluder loves that small-town work-ethic.
“We've actually had a lot of small-town girls here over the years who have made well,” Bluder said. “Next year, we'll have a player who comes from a graduating class of 10.
“We love finding those kinds of kids. Melissa has played significant minutes for us since she stepped on campus. She's one of the best 3-point shooters I've ever been able to coach. I just love having her be a part of our team.”
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