Keisha Banks-Thornton (2019) - JMU Athletics Hall of Fame

Keisha Banks-Thornton

Induction:
2019
Class:
2001

With individual school records that stood for 13 years and a couple of relay records still standing, Keisha Banks-Thornton is the 11^th member of the JMU women's track and field and cross country programs to earn induction into the JMU Athletics Hall of Fame.

A member of the CAA Silver Anniversary Team recognizing the top 25 athletes in the league's first 25 years, Banks was 1998 USA Track & Field Junior National Champion in the 1,500-meter run, a NCAA qualifier in the indoor mile in 1999, CAA champion in the 800-meter run in 2000 and a six-time NCAA provisional qualifier. She once held six program records, including individual marks in the indoor 1,000 (2:50.90) and outdoor 800 (2:07.98), which each stood from 1999 to 2012.

She ran the anchor leg on the distance medley relay record (11:22.06), which still stands from 2001, and also closed the outdoor sprint medley relay top mark (3:58.93) set in 2000 and still first. Banks also once held both the outdoor (8:47.28 in 1998) and indoor (8:56.61 in 2001) 4x800-meter relays.

Additional top marks include second in the indoor 800-meter run (2:09.51 in 2001), fourth in the indoor mile (4:47.90 in 2000), seventh in the outdoor 1,500-meter (4:25.69 in 1999) and seventh in the outdoor 3,000 (9:46.06 in 2000). Banks was also the 1998 CAA Rookie of the Year and earned nine All-ECAC honors. In cross country, Banks captured All-CAA recognition in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

She graduated from JMU in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science in dietetics.