Springfield, Ohio – Wittenberg University track and field sprinter Victor Banjo (Sugarland, Texas/Stephen F. Austin) has become the second Tiger in program history to earn Great Lakes Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year from the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Banjo follows in the footsteps of Skip Ivery, class of 2004, who claimed the same award during his senior year a decade ago. Like Banjo, Ivery was an All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) student-athlete for both the Tiger football and track and field teams.
Banjo earned the award in recognition of his performance in the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash. He went undefeated against NCAA Division III competition during the 2014 indoor regular season, and he is currently ranked seventh in the 60 meters and 10th in the 200 meters.
Banjo will compete in the 60 meters in the NCAA Division III Championship meet, hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan University at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb., on Friday, March 14, and Saturday, March 15. He won the event for the second time in three years at the NCAC Championship meet on Saturday, March 8.
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. A two-time North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) champion in the 60 meters, 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