Sports

Cross Country teams look to reclaim dual CIAA titles

by De-Ann Smith

Although the Winston-Salem State women’s cross country team won the CIAA championship last year, both the men’s and the women’s team have not won the title together since 2010.
“As a coach, I want to be the winner always,” said Inez Turner, who’s entering her third year as WSSU’s head coach.  In her short tenure, she’s been named CIAA Cross Country Coach of the Year twice.  
With the WSSU’s cross country teams having so much success in recent seasons, Turner understands the effort that her teams must continue to give to remain as one of the toughest schools to beat in the CIAA.
“I know what competition is from past experience,” Turner said whose athletic accolades includes being chosen to run on the Jamaican Olympic Team in 1996.
“If you are on top, you have to get out there and work twice as hard,” she said.
JuaShanna Kelly, a senior  from Washington, D.C., knows the passion her coach has for winning.
“Coach Turner loves it and wants it for us,” Kelly said.
“Everything she does is positive, and I think that is a really good thing for the whole team.”
Turner having that positive attitude toward being successful is something that Kelly said helps her and her cross country teammates stay optimistic that they can win each event on their schedule.  
As her leaders going into this season, Turner listed Kelly for the women’s team and Andrew Chebii for the men’s team.
Chebii, a nursing major from Kenya, already has had a great career at WSSU.  He’s broken numerous running records in the CIAA.
This season, his personal expectations are to break all of his records.  He also wants to qualify for the NCAA Division II Regional and the NCAA Division II National Championships.
The regional championships will be Nov. 3.  The national championships will be Nov. 17 in Joplin, Mo.
Chebii is focused and confident that the men’s team can regain the CIAA title. The CIAA Cross Country Championships will be Oct. 20 in Cary, N.C.
“We are going to bring [the championship] back home,” Chebii said.
Kelly, like Chebii, also believes that both teams have the talent to again be the best in the CIAA.
“I think we have a good chance of winning the championships again as long as everybody stays positive because we put in the work for it,” Kelly said.
Turner said she has seen the dedication that her teams have had in getting ready for the season.