12-year-old signs with UVA Track as part of Team Impact

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - The UVA Track and Field team is welcoming its newest member, a 12-year-old battling cancer.

Benny Will is on the road to recovery, and has spent the last few months the team.

“It means a lot to me. Open to watch these people play, open to come to these people’s practices. It’s a lot of fun and it means a lot to me,” he said after signing a ceremonial letter of intent.

Benny hooked up the Cavaliers as part of Team Impact, a program that matches children facing serious illness with college sports teams.

“It’s been nice, they’ve been very supportive of me, always make things fun,” he said.

Benny was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, just over a year ago.

“It was definitely scary, overwhelming. I did not know what was going to happen. Definitely the scariest thing about this is you don’t know what is going to happen,” he said.

Benny is now halfway through his chemo treatments.

“I feel great, I feel like a normal person,” he said. “It makes me feel better being able to be back in school, back with my friends.”

“His perseverance through everything is inspiring. He’s gone through a lot,” team member Jack Eliason said.

“They’ll come over to the sideline or talk to him during the events and high-five him. It’s been really special to have this connection,” John Will, Benny’s dad, said.

Benny says he might want to be a runner some day, just like his parents and the uplifting athletes at UVA.

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