NEW ORLEANS — An endorsement from close friend and current teammate, Jorim Bangue, would help John Adesola’s track and field career make the long jump from South Africa to UNO.

“We had another guy on the team already from South Africa who knew John, and it was kind of by word of mouth. You know, he was he was like, Hey, coach, I got a friend back home who’s interested and he’s talented. Like, I think he’s worth taking a look at and kind of passed me info. And then we got to talking a bit and I realized, you know, John is, yes, he’s a great athlete, but he’s a really good kid, too, and a guy who really changes the culture of the program.So, just got connected with him through that and the rest just kind of took off,” said UNO track and field interim head coach Ben Hibbert.

In his first year with UNO, John Adesola has proven to be a rising star on the 100-meter hurdles’ scene.

He took home gold at the Southland Conference Outdoor Championships and broke his own school record with a time of 13.60 in the NCAA East Regional quarterfinals.

A mark good enough to make Adesola an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

UNO’s first since Ishmael Kone in 2022 and first in the 100 meter hurdles since 2017.

“It’s a great opportunity, especially my first year being in the NCAA. It’s been amazing. It’s going to be an amazing opportunity, you know, being able to like, compete at a highest at the highest level in America. And, you know, I feel like just being able to run both of those people is going to make me even better,” said UNO junior John Adesola.

The best is yet to come for John Adesola when you take into account all he has accomplished in his first full season with UNO and in his first full season since breaking his toe in 2022.

“I’ve been out a couple of year over the hurdles. This was actually my first full, full season over the senior high. So, I definitely do think I’m scratching the surface and there’s a lot more to come,” said Adesola.

“I think the hardest part is done. Now, he just has to go out and race. I think he’s got a good shot at making the national final, as any coach would say. You know, but king of like we talked about, he’s just starting to scratch the surface and get through that potential and I think each time he steps on the track, he’s pushing it forward a little more,” added Hibbert.

The NCAA Outdoor Championships will take place at the University of Oregon June 5th through the 8th