Springfield, Ohio – Wittenberg University track and field sprinters Victor Banjo (Sugarland, Texas/Stephen F. Austin) and Brea Medlock (Galena, Ohio/Big Walnut) and long jumper Aaron Melsop (Westerville, Ohio/DeSales) have qualified to compete in the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships March 13-14 at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, NC.
Banjo, a senior, is making his third appearance in the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships and will compete in the 60-meter dash. Medlock, a junior, is making her first national appearance and will compete in the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash. The national berth is also a first for Melsop, a junior who will compete in the long jump.
Banjo, the school record-holder in the 60-meter dash, was named North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Indoor Sprinter/Hurdler of the Year after winning the 60-meter dash and finishing third in the 200-meter dash on Saturday, March 7, at DePauw. The NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region Indoor Athlete of the Year in 2014, Banjo is shooting for his second All-America finish in the event after placing fourth in the 2012 national meet.
Banjo, who also earned All-America honors in the 100-meter dash at the 2012 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, is ranked 15th in the 60-meter dash with a season-best time of 6.91 recorded at the Denison Last Chance meet on Friday, Feb. 27. Just .15 separates the 15 qualifiers in the event.
Also a four-year letterwinner as a cornerback in football at Wittenberg, Banjo finished his gridiron career with 118 tackles, three forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, seven interceptions and nine blocked kicks. He earned second-team All-Great Lakes Region honors in both 2013 and 2014, second-team All-NCAC in 2013 and first-team All-NCAC in 2014.
Medlock picked up 2015 NCAC Indoor Sprinter/Hurdler of the Year after a record-setting performance, which included school records and first-place finishes in both the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. Her time of 7.76 in the 60-meter dash also set an NCAC championship meet record. She also ran the opening leg of two all-conference relays, kicking off the second-place 4x200-meter relay and opening the 4x400-meter relay that placed third.
The four indoor All-NCAC finishes ran Medlock’s career total to six, in addition to seven outdoor All-NCAC awards in her first two collegiate seasons. She enters the national meet ranked 16th in the 60-meter dash and 13th in the 200-meter dash. Just .20 separates the 17 runners entered in the 60-meter dash and just .90 separates the 17 runners in the 200-meter dash field.
Melsop is the school record-holder in the indoor long jump, a mark he set with a jump of 7.14 meters at the All-Ohio Championships on Feb. 14. He added 2015 All-NCAC honors in the event, running his career total to four indoor all-conference awards to go along with three outdoor all-conference awards, including an individual title in the long jump at the 2014 NCAC Outdoor Championship meet.
The Team MVP in field events each of the last two years, Melsop also has excelled in relays for the Tigers. He and Banjo were members of the record-breaking 4x200-meter relay at the league’s 2014 indoor championships.
Competition times will be posted at 12 p.m. Tuesday, March 10.
Written By: Ryan Maurer