Denison University

Makorobondo “Dee” Salukombo ’12 was a dominant member of the Big Red track & field and cross country teams, earning four varsity letters in each sport. In the fall of 2011, he earned All-American honors for the third time in cross country with an eighth-place finish among a field of nearly 300 of the nation’s top runners at the NCAA National Championship meet in Winneconne, Wisconsin. Dee also was a three-time All-American in track & field, placing in seventh in the mile at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, followed by a third-place performance in the 5,000 at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships and a seventh-place finish in the 5,000 at 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Dee also finished 10th in the mile at indoor nationals and 12th in the 5,000 at outdoor nationals in 2011. In addition, the North Coast Athletic Conference honored Dee as its Indoor Track & Field Distance MVP in 2011, Outdoor Track & Field Distance MVP in 2010 and 2012, and Cross Country Runner of the Year in 2011.

At the conference level, Salukombo was a 15-time All-NCAC performer and nine-time conference champion in indoor and outdoor track & field. He won the indoor conference championship in the 3,000 three years in a row and won a conference title in four different events in outdoor track & field. As a senior in 2012, he won the 3,000 and placed second in the mile at the NCAC Indoor Championships before sweeping the 1,500, 5,000, and 10,000 events en route to his selection as the Outdoor Track & Field Distance MVP for the second time. In 2011, Dee won the 3,000 and was second in the mile, and he was named Indoor Distance MVP before going on to win both the 1,500 and 5,000 at the outdoor championships later that same year. In 2010, he was first in the 3,000 and second in the mile at the NCAC Indoor Championships before finishing first in the 3,000 steeplechase and second in the 5,000 to claim the first Distance MVP honor of his career. As a freshman in 2009, he was third in the mile in indoor track & field and second in the 3,000 steeplechase in outdoor track & field.

Dee holds five Denison track & field records, including the indoor mile (4:12.15), 3,000 (8:33.45), 5,000 (14:21.20), and distance medley relay (10:31.32), and the outdoor 5,000 (14:18.83).

In cross country, he was a three-time All-American (2009, 2010, 2011), four-time All-Great Lakes Region, and four-time first-team All-NCAC honoree, and he was Denison’s second-ever athlete to be named both NCAC Newcomer of the Year and Runner of the Year. After finishing in third place at the conference meet in 2008, 2009, and 2010, Dee won the championship in 2011 with a time of 25:01.1. He qualified to compete in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional and NCAA Division III Championships all four seasons. He finished second at regionals in 2009 and 2011 and was fourth in 2010. At the national meet, he went from 236th (26:29.07) in 2008 to 33rd (26:07.6) in 2009, to 29th (24:50.5) in 2010, to eighth (24:21.45) as a senior in 2011.

Dee was named to the NCAC’s 30th Anniversary All-Decade Team in both cross country and track & field.

In 2022, Dee was honored by Denison with its Alumni Citation for his humanitarian and philanthropic efforts. The Alumni Citation is the highest honor bestowed upon a Denisonian. The criteria for selection include professional accomplishment, service to one’s local community and beyond, and service to Denison. Dee founded Project Kirotshe, a youth running program with a positive educational focus. The nonprofit entrepreneurial program is based in his former home village of Kirotshe, located in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Dee is noted for running 120 miles over three days to raise money for Kirotshe just one day after competing at the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The goal of Project Kirotshe is to provide school expenses and supplies for students to deter them from joining militant groups. After receiving a $10,000 grant from the Davis Projects for Peace and other donations, Project Kirotshe shipped 13,000 textbooks, 55 computers, and athletic equipment to supply the village’s new community learning center and running team. His philanthropic vision is to inspire young students to become leaders and role models in their community and build a future generation that can break the cycle of poverty and war. In addition, while at Denison, he also served the Central Ohio community as a volunteer with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.

Dee’s illustrious athletic career in track & field continued beyond college. He represented the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he competed in the marathon event. One of his DRC teammates at the Olympics was a runner who had come through the Project Kirotshe program. A year later, he won the gold medal in the marathon at the 2017 Jeux de la Francophonie in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Dee was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. At the age of 12, he and his family fled the Congo as refugees to Uganda. His father, Fanchon, was imprisoned and extorted for what little money they had. If not for a lone prison guard who aided in Fanchon’s escape, this could have been where the story ended for the Salukombo family. After spending three years in a refugee camp in Uganda, Dee and his family resettled near Cleveland in Lakewood, Ohio, in 2004, where he continued to pursue his academic and athletic careers. His story has been told and retold in the media, including features by the Associated Press and National Public Radio.