Skyy Dixon chooses Duke

A little over two weeks ago, we did a feature that included high school sprinter, Skyy Dixon of Providence School in Jacksonville, Florida. Dixon was considering competing as a collegiate athlete at South Florida, University of Miami, Penn and Duke. On Nov. 24, the state champ in the 100 and 200 meters chose Duke University. Winners Only was able to get an interview about Dixon's decision process and what she plans to do academically while competing for the Blue Devils.

Winners Only: First off congratulations on making your selection. You had some amazing schools to choose. Duke won out. Tell us why?

Skyy Dixon: Thank you very much, I appreciate it! God truly led me to Duke University. The coaches at Duke truly looked out for me from the beginning of the recruiting process. They made it very clear that they wanted me and that they were going to do all they could to make me the best athlete I could possibly be. The track and field team was very welcoming and the environment is somewhere I see myself for the next four years. Miami was a close second but Duke is on top!

When making this decision, is it something that you wrestle with every day? Like even last night, were you still deciding?

I've had my decision/commitment since about two weeks ago. After having a good conversation with each coach at every school, I was confident that Duke was the right fit for me.

So do the schools find out before we do, if you're interested or not, or does everyone get the info at the same time?

I think it just depends on the athlete. Personally, Duke knew of my decision since two weeks ago, but the others schools that were interested just found out today.

It's impressive that you had two strong academic programs like Penn and Duke that were interested. Tell us how important academics are to you and your plans for your education in the future.

I take academics very seriously. I was blessed to have options like Duke and Penn. I didn't even know if they'd be interested or not, just because of how highly both schools are ranked academically. I plan to major in engineering and I feel that Duke is the perfect place to do so.

Most future engineers aren't trying to become one of the best NCAA sprinters and most of the best NCAA sprinters aren't trying to become engineers. What drew you towards both of your passions and how do you balance them?

I've wanted to be an engineer since I was in the sixth grade. No doubt it will be difficult to manage engineering and track, but I believe it is possible with a lot of dedication and hard work.

Final question, are there any particular athletes that are in college now, that you can't wait to race against?

Honestly, I'm excited to go up against everyone in the ACC. I have some friends headed to Miami, so I'm looking forward to competing against them.

To see the previous story featuring Skyy Dixon, click the link below:

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