PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's and women's track and field teams travel south to Lynchburg, Virginia on Friday to compete at the Darius Dixon Memorial.
 
DARIUS DIXON MEMORIAL
Liberty Indoor Track Complex | Lynchburg, Va.
February 11, 2022 | 1:30 p.m.
February 12, 2022 | 10:30 a.m.
Live Results | Meet Schedule
 
ABOUT THE DARIUS DIXON MEMORIAL
The meet is entering its eighth year of existence, hosting 24 universities from up and down the East Coast. Darius Dixon, a promising freshman sprinter from Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, Virginia, opened his Liberty track & field career by competing in the 200 and 400-meter dash events at the Liberty Kickoff on December 5, 2013. Two days later, he was tragically killed in a car accident at the age of 18. In his memory, Liberty created the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational meet. The inaugural Darius Dixon Memorial was contested on December 3-4, 2014, at the now defunct Tolsma Indoor Track Center. There will be a special ceremony to honor Dixon on Friday, just prior to the men's 400.
 
PENN'S LAST TIME OUT
Skyla Wilson put on a show at the Dr. Sander/Columbia Challenge at The Armory last weekend, guiding a strong outing by the women's program. Wilson set the program record in the 60m hurdles in day one, cruising to a time of 8.35 for third place. The Quakers had a handful of other record book performances as well, including Wilson bumping up to fifth in the 200 with a time of 24.25. Shevell Higgs moved to ninth in the 60 hurdles with a time of 8.74, while Caia Gelli shifted to seventh in the 400m (55.55). In distance events, Bronwyn Patterson moved to seventh in the 800m (2:08.31), and Lizzy Bader jumped to ninth in the 3K (9:36.35). Emma de Boer entered the top 10 in the high jump with a clearance of 1.70m to sit ninth. Haley Rizek wrapped up the movements in the pentathlon, recording 3,614 points to land sixth in the record book.
 
The men's team also had a great showing at the Dr. Sander/Columbia Challenge, including two Quakers putting together record book outings in field events. On day one, Benedikt Sachta earned second place in the pole vault, clearing 5.10m on his first attempt. The height was good enough to land him eighth in the record book. On Saturday, Olatide Abinusawa capped off the afternoon with a fourth-place finish in the shot put, tossing 16.68m to move him into eighth in program history. Over the two days, Andrew Colbert and Michael Hermes competed in the heptathlon. Colbert finished ninth with 3,995 points, and Hermes scored 3,291 points for 12th.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
This weekend marks the final indoor meet before the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships at The Armory. The two-day event starts on February 26. The women's team has won the past three indoor titles, while the men have finished in the top three in the previous three indoor heps.