Going the distance: Blue Dragon cross country runner Faith Jepchirchir stars in first race

By Greta Klein
Sports Editor
Twitter: @gmklein32

Athletes all over the world want to compete at the next level, no matter if that is from high school to college or college to professional, it is a dream lots of athletes have. For freshman cross-country runner Faith Jepchirchir, her dream of competing at the next level came true.

At Hutchinson Community College, it is not uncommon for many athletes to be out of state and even international, but some challenges go along with recruiting internationally.

“International is always tricky,” Blue Dragons cross country coach Jafet Molinares said. “Especially with not being able to visit and have that face-to-face is always a challenge, but you can still get a good amount through building relationships and looking for individuals that can help complement our team on and off the track.”

Even with the technological advancements many places have, not all countries have access to recruiting websites and other places to show performance videos or stats.

“Depending on the country, recruiting can be a little more tricky like with Kenya,” Molinares said. “When countries can get verified means, it’s pretty easy (to recruit) because there’s a world athletic page where you can see all the results of the competitions that they’ve been to throughout time.”

While there are beginning challenges in recruiting international athletes, the struggle is well worth it.

“Usually (internationals) have an understanding of how big the opportunity (to be recruited) is,” Molinares said. “We have individuals that don’t come from much, so those individuals usually understand how big the opportunity is and they won’t take that for granted.”

Taking this opportunity to her advantage, Jepchirchir decided to move 4,975 miles away from her home in Kenya and her family of eight to be at HutchCC and compete as a collegiate runner.

Starting her cross-country journey in primary school, her ambition for running would flourish as she watched her older brother become a professional runner.

“(Watching him train) encouraged me,” Jepchirchir said. “When I saw him training in the morning, I felt like I should join him with his training.”

From that young age, Jepchirchir became passionate about running exactly like her community.

“In Kenya, cross country is very competitive because everyone likes running,” Jepchirchir said. “From primary to high school, they participate and compete in cross country. Even when (you are) finished (with) high school, they do marathons.”

Having a community that is so heartfelt about running is inspiring, but one that does it together is something unforgettable.

“We usually (run) together,” Jepchirchir said. “After evening you might go alone or two groups of two or three, but in the morning we have a lot, maybe around 50 people or 100.”

Experiencing that kind of team chemistry is memorable and will never be forgotten.

Going into the Terry Masterson Twilight Classic, Jepchirchir had some pre-race jitters as it was her first collegiate race, but was quickly calmed by her teammates and personal focus.

“I felt a mix of excitement and encouragement,” Jepchirchir siad. “My teammates boosted my confidence which helped me focus on maintaining a stead pace and allowed me to feel prepared.”

Another significant moment for Jepchirchir was becoming the first Blue Dragon women’s runner to win the Terry Masterson Twilight Classic.

“(Winning) it made me happy,” Jepchirchir said. “So I feel like the training (and practices) were very good, and (gave me) focus for the next race.”

With a time of 18 minutes, 17 seconds, she now holds the fastest Blue Dragon time in event history and the ninth-best time in Masterson history overall. When results were announced and Jepchirchir’s time and placing were said, her teammates shared much excitement for her.

“They are a nice team and encouraged me,” Jepchirchir said. “There’s a good atmosphere with them as a team.”

The plan for the Masterson was to keep things straightforward and not do any uncharacteristic actions since it was the first meet of the year.

“We try to keep everything simple when it comes to training,” Molinares said. “We stick to the basics and just try to do that at a high level and keep things very consistent.”

Molinares didn’t have very specific goals for his athletes this meet but wanted to see the team perform well along with having fun and focusing on doing their best.

“I didn’t really have too many expectations,” Molinares said. “I just wanted to watch them go up and compete. Some individuals were given some great strategies, but for the most part, I just wanted to see where we’re at and just go there, compete, and have fun is pretty much what I told them.”

Molinares also expressed his enthusiasm for Jepchirchir winning the Masterson, “It was super exciting to watch her compete the way she did. I gave her the strategy of going out with that group and hanging out with them until she felt like it was time to go, and she executed it extremely well.”

While this has been a strong start for Jepchirchir, she is not dwelling on it and looking forward to their next meet, the Chili Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark.

“I think this will hopefully keep her hungry,” Molinares said.  “There was decent competition, but our next meet at Arkansas is on a much bigger scale when you’re going against some of the biggest, best, deep ones in the country. So I’m excited to see what she’s capable of doing.”

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