Springfield, Ohio – Wittenberg University track and field sprinter Victor Banjo (Sugarland, Texas/Stephen F. Austin) has qualified to compete in the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships for the second time in his career. Banjo will compete in the 60-meter dash Friday, March 14 and Saturday, March 15, in Lincoln, Neb., after posting the seventh-best time in the nation during the indoor regular season.
Banjo’s school-record time of 6.83 seconds in the 60-meter dash was posted at the Ohio State Tune-Up on Feb. 21. The top time of the regular season in the event was posted by Thurgood Dennis of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Corey Broussard of Wisconsin-Whitewater, both of whom crossed the finish line in 6.75.
The national meet is hosted in 2014 by Nebraska Wesleyan University at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb. Banjo also qualified for the meet in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.76, which ranks 10th in the nation in 2014. However, after consulting with his coaches and Wittenberg’s certified athletics trainers, Banjo decided to focus on the 60-meter dash at the NCAA Division III Championships.
A two-time North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) champion in the 60-meter dash, Banjo was an All-American in the event in 2012 after placing fourth. He came into that meet, hosted by Grinnell College (Iowa), with the sixth-best time in the nation. A year later, Banjo missed most of the 2013 track season due to an injury.
Also a three-year letterwinner as a cornerback in football at Wittenberg, Banjo piled up 49 tackles and led the Tigers with four blocked kicks, nine passes defensed and three interceptions in his first season as a starter in 2013. He earned second-team All-Great Lakes Region honors for his work on special teams and second-team All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) honors as a cornerback after the season.
One of just two Wittenberg track and field student-athletes in program history to earn All-America honors in an indoor championship meet, Banjo will compete in a preliminary race at approximately 3:30 p.m. (CST) Friday, March 14. If he qualifies for the final, he would race again at approximately 3:15 p.m. Saturday, March 15.
Written By: Ryan Maurer