Victor Banjo Prepares To Compete At NCAA Outdoor Championships

Springfield, Ohio — Wittenberg University track and field standout Victor Banjo, class of 2014 from Sugarland, Texas, will compete in the 2012 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 24-26 at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps University in Claremont, Calif., in the 100-meter and 200-meter races.

The national meet appearance will cap a remarkable first year at Wittenberg for Banjo, who has put together one of the finest individual track and field seasons in program history. He earned five All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) designations between the indoor and outdoor championship competitions and earned Outdoor Sprinter/Hurdler of the Year honors, in addition to becoming the second Tiger ever to earn indoor All-America honors after finishing fourth in the 60-meter dash in the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in March.

Banjo, who also made 11 tackles as a key special teams performer for the Tiger football team during the 2011 season, ranks 16th in the nation in the 100-meter dash with a season-best time of 10.64 seconds at the Gregory Invitational at North Central College (Ill.) on Friday, May 18. He ranks 18th nationally in the 200-meter dash with a top time of 21.53 posted at the NCAC Outdoor Championships on Saturday, May 5. Only the top 22 competitors in each event earn the opportunity to compete in the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Banjo's time in the 200-meter event is a school record, while his time in the 100-meter dash is just .04 off the standard established by Kenny Black in 1981. He will compete in the 200-meter preliminary race at 5:45 p.m. (PST) Thursday, May 24, and he will compete in the 100-meter preliminary race at 6:50 p.m. (PST) Friday, May 25. If he qualifies for the finals, he would race at 4:10 p.m. (PST) Saturday, May 26, in the 100 meters and at 5:20 p.m. the same day in the 200 meters.

Banjo is bidding to become the 10th Wittenberg men's track and field student-athlete to earn All-America honors in an outdoor championship meet. A total of 15 All-America performances have been achieved by nine different student-athletes previously, with the most recent coming in 2004 when Skip Ivery placed seventh in the 110-meter high hurdles and Tim Gaal took fourth in the javelin.

Wittenberg has just two men's national champions in track and field. Bob Cherry finished first in the 120-meter high hurdles in 1963 and Ivery matched the feat in 2003 in the 110-meter high hurdles.

Written By: Ryan Maurer
Photo By: Erin Pence