Black Mountain, NC--  Wilbourn Kosgei has a lot on his mind while making his way around Montreat College’s cross country trails each day.  The runner’s Kenyan homeland is exploding with political strife as opposition leaders protest recent election results.  His wife, Eunice, and 4-year-old child, Evans, are still in Eldoret, Kenya, where some of the nation’s nastiest fighting broke out recently. Many other family members live nearby as well.  “I think of them when I’m running,” said Kosgei, one of Montreat’s newest track and cross country team members. “I think, ‘I am doing this so I can support them.’ I am very concerned because there is a lot of instability there.”

Problems in Kenya

Around the time Kosgei transferred from Warner Southern (Fla.) College to Montreat over the winter break, disputed results in Kenya’s presidential election set off violence across the African nation.

Near Kosgei’s hometown of Eldoret, a mob of protesters trapped more than 30 people who belonged to the tribe of ruling president Mwai Kibaki in a church, then burned them to death.

“They held elections on the 27th of December, and people said they were denied their rights,” said Kosgei, who keeps up to date via the Internet. “The tally of the votes did not go well. … I am so sad. It is so bad.”

Eunice works as a pharmacist at a local hospital, which was besieged by rioters and police last week.

Concerned for his immediate family’s safety, Kosgei recently called and urged his wife and son to move in with his sister, Sivia.

“(Eunice) was living in an apartment by herself,” Kosgei said. “So I told her to live with my sister and brother-in-law so they will be safer. … I am still concerned about it because there is a lot of instability in the country.”

Coming to America and Montreat

Jose Larios, Montreat’s first-year cross country and track coach, first began recruiting Kosgei in 2003. Then the coach at Warner Southern, Larios heard about Kosgei through Olympic gold-medalist Peter Rono.

Kosgei was denied his student visa over technicalities for three years but finally was approved in 2006. Members of his community pitched in contributions to pay for his plane ticket to America, where he quickly showed why he’d caught Rono’s eye years earlier.

“Even though he was head and tails above most of my other runners, I could tell he had more potential because he hadn’t been training as intensely in Kenya,” Larios said. “In his first cross country meet just a few weeks later, we ran against Kentucky and Florida. Florida placed its runners first through sixth, and he came in seventh with a time of 24:50 for an 8K course. He has (NCAA) Division I ability. He’s the real deal.”

Injuries prevented Kosgei from competing very much last year, and Warner Southern officials granted him a release so he could join Larios at Montreat beginning this semester. During the upcoming track season, he’ll compete in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.

So far away

Since arriving in America before the start of the 2006-07 academic year, Kosgei has not been back home.

In Florida, he found summertime work like landscaping to earn enough money for calling cards so that he could speak with his family more frequently.

Now 28, he said the most difficult times are when he calls to find either his wife or child is not feeling well.

“I feel very sad when that happens,” he said, “because I cannot be beside them at that time.”

Asked to describe his son, Kosgei’s face quickly brightened with pride.

“Evans is a smart boy,” Kosgei said. “He likes soccer. One time, I sent him a soccer ball as a present. I asked my wife if he liked it, and she told me he sleeps with that ball. … He is in a baby class (Kenyan equivalent of preschool). So when we talk on the phone, he tells me what he’s been learning.”

What’s next

Besides aiming for an NAIA national cross country title, Kosgei hopes to earn a degree in business administration.

He’s fluent in three languages (Swahili, English and his tribal language of Kalenjin) and has an overall grade-point average of 3.0.

His goal is to return home to his family and to help restore pride in his community.

“In my town in Kenya, many companies fail due to mismanagement and corruption,” he said. “When I go back, I want to try to revive them if I get a chance.”

Until then, he keeps faith that his family will remain safe.

“When I got married, I thought I would be by her side, with her,” Kosgei said. “I am a Christian. I got married in a church by a pastor, and I thought I would be by her side until death. That is what I still follow. I still observe that. And so faith is guiding me.”

Article written by:  Tyler Norris Goode (TGOODE@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM)