Meet: Darius Dixon Invitational
Location: Lynchburg, Va. (Liberty Indoor Track Complex)
 
The short story: The Rams had ten athletes record new personal bests as they competed in their final meet before the Atlantic 10 Championship. 
 
THROWS:

• Gudrun Hallgrismdottir continued her stellar indoor season in the weight throw. She earned first place with a mark of 22.32 meters, breaking the meet record and bettering the facility record she set in 2024 of 21.83 meters
• Eryn Byrd finished second in the shot put with a distance of 15.00 meters. She also finished fourth in the weight throw with a mark of 18.47 meters, just shy of her personal best mark of 19.06 meters
• Like Matalatala set a new personal record in the shot put with a mark of 14.04 meters, crossing the 14-meter threshold for the first time in her collegiate career
• Sophomore Blanca Pereira recorded a personal best in the shot put at 17.44 meters to make the finals, increasing her career best mark by 1.3 meters

DISTANCE:

• In the 500-meter race, Jaliyah Person earned third with a time of 1:15.18. Person's teammates Nia Warren and Sabria Wooden finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the event as well. Warren recorded a new personal best time of 1:16.64 and Wooden set a new personal record of 1:16.75
• Freshman Madelyn Anderson was the top finisher for the Rams in the 800-meter open race, clocking a 2:18.30. Wooden set a personal best in the event as well
• Anderson also set a personal best in the 1000-meter race, recording a time of 3:01.59
• In the 800 invite, Warren set a new personal best with a time of 2:15.44
• Kennedy Korzen ran a 18:43.94 time in the 5000-meter race as the only Ram competing in the event
• Sophomore Shreya Krishnamurthy set a new personal best time in the mile race 

SPRINTS:

• Lauryn Taylor earned ninth in the 60-meter dash finals, posting a time of 7.55 seconds. Asia Powell finished on Taylor's heels, earning 13th with a mark of 7.63. Both improved their times from the prelims
• Freshman Kyndal Jones recorded a new personal best in the 400-meter dash

JUMPS:

• Sophomore Selkis Elong recorded a distance of 5.55 meters in the long jump, finishing as the top Ram in the event
• Nayome Shipp earned fifth in the high jump invite finals with a height of 1.64 meters

 HURDLES:

•  Freshman Tori Lewis recorded a new personal record in the 60-meter hurdles

Quote
"This meet was our final competitive opportunity before the championship portion of our season, and we got exactly what we needed from it. We experienced highs, lows, and everything in between, which gave us a clear picture of what to fine-tune for the championship. Now, we're looking forward to two weeks of focused preparation heading into the A-10 meet."– Head Coach Jon Riley
 
Next up
The Rams next travel to Virginia Beach, Va. to compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship where they look to defend their title. The event will be held Friday to Saturday, Feb. 28-Mar. 1.