In the world of Dickinson College athletics, one name has been a recent and frequent addition to the history books: Franklyn Akabi-During ’28. A sophomore and Washington D.C. native, Akabi-During is a sprinter for the Red Devils’ track and field team. As a freshman, his performance was nothing short of exceptional. In his first year competing with Dickinson, and breaking a school-held relay record, winning the majority of his races, he was named twice to the All-Centennial Conference First Team. He was also titled an Outstanding Track Performer at the Centennial Conference (CC) Championships and was ultimately crowned the CC Rookie of the Year.
Similar to his performances on the track, Akabi-During hasn’t slowed down this season. At the Shenandoah University Holiday Kickoff Open on December 7, he had a strong start to the indoor track season. He won the 60-meter race with a time of 6.86 seconds. He also won the 200m event with a time of 22.07 seconds. His relay team with Darian Crim ’28, Sean Harris ’26 and Owen Seveland ’29 placed second.
January 24, the Red Devils traveled to Franklin & Marshall College to compete in the Coach I Invite. Although the major victories of the day were secured by Trevor Richwine ’26, Akabi-During did not disappoint. The sophomore dominated in the preliminary 60m sprint, and shaved 5 milliseconds off his time to place first in the actual race. His time was 6.84 seconds. The relay A team, consisting of Akabi-During, Richwine, Crim and James Masterson ’26 finished first in their race. Their time of 3:23.62 was the 28th fastest time in Division III track and field.
At the Penn State National Open on February 3, Akabi-During raced against collegiate athletes from Divisions I, II and III. In the 200m event, he took an impressive sixth place. He ran the distance in 21.62 seconds. This time was both a Dickinson College school record as well as a Centennial Conference record previously shared between him and Aiden Tomen of Ursinus College. For his performance at the open, Akabi-During was named the Centennial Conference Track Athlete of the Week.
In their return to Franklin & Marshall, the men’s track and field team battled it out in the Blue & White Invite on Saturday, February 7. In the 300m race Akabi-During ran a personal-best time of 34.65 seconds. He placed first and broke a school record. His time is currently the seventh best in the nation for Division III in this event. Additionally, Akabi-During ran the 4x400m relay with Crim, Masterson and Richwin. They won their race with a time of 3:23.54, a season best for the Red Devils.
On Valentine’s Day, the Widener Indoor Classic was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Akabi-During was the star of the meet. Although he placed second in the 60m race, he set a new personal record with a time of 6.75 seconds. This broke the previous school and conference records and is the 6th best time in Division III across the nation. As the bar keeps getting raised in Division III and Centennial Conference races, Akabi-During keeps meeting it and raising it one notch higher.
He won the 200m race with his season best time of 21.44 seconds. This shattered a school and conference record, and is the tenth best time in the division. He ran in the relay with Crim, Richwine and Matthew Garaeu ’26. Their time of 3:17.12 won them the event, breaking school and conference records.
Akabi-During was recently named the Centennial Conference Track Athlete of the Week, for the second time this season, following his achievements at the meet. Judging by his phenomenal indoor season, Akabi-During is someone to keep your eye on as he undoubtedly carries his success into the quickly approaching outdoor season.