Benjamin OlisonBenjamin Olison was on the Kansas track and field teams from 1967 to 1968. He was considered one of the swiftest sprint relay runners in Kansas history as he was consistently close to 46.5 in quarter-mile baton carries in the spring of 1968. Olison was a member of the 1967 and 1968 Big Eight Conference Championship squads and also captained the 1968 team. He cracked a school record for the 440 with a time of 46.7 in the NCAA and for the 220 with a time of 20.8 in the National Federation. He ran the 220 with the sprint medley team that broke a world record with 3:15.2 at the Texas Relays and in the same meet anchored the mile relay team to a school mark of 3:09.5. He won the Big Eight Indoor 440 as a junior, but didn't run that distance at the outdoor championship (he instead ran the 100, 220 and anchored both relays).
In his senior year, he broke the Southern Illinois Dual meet record while running 49.2 in the 440. He was a part of the mile relay team that came in first at the Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma State triangular. In the 1968 Federation Meet, Olison broke the 440 yard dash record with a 49.5 time. At the 1968 Big Eight Track Indoor Championship, Olison was the fourth leg of the mile relay team that took first with a 3:17.3 time. In the KU-UCLA Dual in 1968, Olison was part of the team that came in first for the 440 yard relay with a 40.5 time. Also, came in first for the mile relay with a time of 3:11.9. In the Texas Relays, Olison was a part of the squad that won the 880-yard relay with a time of 1:24.1. In the Kansas-Florida Dual Meet, Olison came in first in the 100-yard dash with a time of 9.7 and managed a 3:13.7 time in the mile relay. In the 1968 Kansas Relays, Olison was a part of the 880 yard relay squad that took first with a time of 1:24, the mile relay team that took first with a time of 3:11.2. He managed a 9.4 time and 21.2 time in the 100 and 220 yard dashes, good for first place, respectively in the Southern Illinois Dual outdoor meet in 1968. Kansas came in first for the 440-yard relay and mile relay, both of which Olison participated in. In the 1968 Big Eight Conference Championship, Olison helped win the mile relay and also won the 220-yard dash.
He also played for Kansas football as a split receiver in 1967 and 1968. He caught two touchdown passes of 58 and 52 yards against Iowa State and Missouri and set up a touchdown during the Oklahoma State game with a spectacular 45 yard pass. He was a 10th round draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL.
Teams:Track & Field (Men's) 1967Football 1967Track & Field (Men's) 1968Football 1968Conference Champion1967 - Track & Field (Men's)
1967 - Track & Field (Men's)
1968 - Track & Field (Men's)
1968 - Track & Field (Men's)
1968 - Track & Field (Men's)
Captain1968 - Track & Field (Men's)
World Record1967 - Track & Field (Men's)
