Wabash College Athletics

Ralph P. Dixon III came to Wabash from Indianapolis Lawrence Central High School in the Fall of 1975 as a highly. decorated student-athlete and Eagle Scout. Dixon wasted little time making a big splash as one of Wabash's promising re­cruits in what would become a spectacu­lar four-year run for Coach Doug Landgraf's Little Giant Tankers. After pledging Delta Tau Delta, Dixon got serious with swimming and earned All-American honors in his first Divi­sion III National Championship at Washington and Jefferson College in the Spring of 1976. Anchoring Wabash's 400-yard medley relay, Dixon flexed his muscle as a dynamic freestyle and backstroke swim­mer on Wabash's sixth place NCAA team that also won the Indiana Collegiate Conference title. As a sophomore, Dixon made the Dean's List as a biology major, and he again qualified for nationals which were held at Oberlin College. More All-American honors followed with an individual eighth place swim in the 50 freestyle, setting a then-record time of 21.88 seconds. That record wouldn't last, however, it would be broken the following year, Dixon's junior year at Wabash, when he came home from the NCAA Championships at Grinnell College as a five-time All-American. He clocked a then school-record time of 21.81 seconds to win the 50 freestyle, while taking seventh in both the 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke, the latter another school record per­formance. He also swam legs on two All-American relays, including a school-record clocking of 47.82 seconds on his leg of the 400 freestyle relay. Most Valuable Swimmer honors were awarded Dixon that year as Wabash came home from the NCAAs sixth, a second top-10 perfor­mance by Wabash. As a senior, a fourth letter was awarded to Dixon, who was team captain on a squad that won the Liberal Arts Championship and took 10th at the NCAAs, which were held at Geneseo State University. All-American in five more events as a senior, Dixon capped his outstanding career as a 14-time All-American swimmer. During his career, Wabash teams beat DePauw all three times, placed in the top 10 at nationals three times, and claimed two Liberal Arts Invitational titles. A member of the Sphinx Club, the Outing Club, and the Spe­lunking Club, Dixon left Wabash in 1979. A manager with Ameritech in Indianapolis, Dixon married his wife, Vija, in the Wabash Chapel in 1983. He continues to swim at the Masters level, while also competing as a full ironman triathlete. Now the father of two children, Christo­pher and Ashley, Dixon serves as a scout leader and resides in Carmel.