 |
| Kosgei '12 |
On a bright September morning senior Derick Kosgei takes off from the starting line at the Guilford X-C Carnival and a little over 16 minutes later he crosses the finish line with a very solid fourth-place finish, one that helps Guilford’s cross country team win its season-opening meet.
A little less than a month later, Kosgei is on a plane back to Kenya for the first time in four years after the passing of his grandmother.
Part of the reason he hadn’t been home sooner is the expensive trip. In order to make this trek, head cross country coach Bill Cason coordinated the fundraising effort, relying mostly on Facebook.
“It started on a Wednesday night I just sent out some Facebook messages to some friends and a post on the Guilford Track & Field Facebook page,” said Cason.
Someone at the Greensboro News & Record picked up on the news and ran a story the following day. The money started flowing in from multiple sources.
“The phone just started ringing and the first guy who called asked how much money we had, about $150, and I said we needed about $2,000, and he said he’d have the check over shortly,” said Cason.
“It was good to go home, even though everyone was mourning. It was still good to go back,” said Kosgei.
The trip back home gave Kosgei an opportunity to reflect on what it’s like to live in America as opposed to Africa. “The infrastructure here is much better. The roads, and the technology are better than home too,” said Kosgei.
Kosgei first went to school at East Central College in Oklahoma then transferred to Guilford. He came to America to run and to get his education.
“A friend of mine got me into running,” said Kosgei.
“His brother ran in America and he told me I could be good since I was a better athlete than him.” Kosgei took to running like a fish to water and came across the Atlantic to test his skills.
Since coming to Guilford Kosgei’s hard work earned him 2010 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Runner of the Year and First Team All-ODAC honors. He was also Guilford’s first contestant in the Division III Cross Country National Championships.
 |
| Kosgei running at the Guilford X-C Carival |
Cason collected $3,000 the day after Kosgei’s story broke, and after the collection was over, he had enough money for multiple trips to Africa, $3,775 in total.
“The man who donated first was a Guilford grad who hadn’t been back on campus since he graduated. He brought the money over himself, so that was pretty special,” Cason said.
Kosgei looks ahead to the future with lofty goals and optimism. “My main goal this season is to go to nationals and be an All-American”.
As for life after Guilford Kosgei plans on staying the course both in his education and running. “I want to go to graduate school and continue to run, maybe run in some competitions,” said Kosgei.
No matter what lies ahead Kosgei’s trip home was a long overdue homecoming for a young man who spent far too many nights away.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete