Ram Runners Compete at Nationals

KENOSHA, Wisc-- The University of Mobile's Susanne Klungtveit and Dennis Kimeli ran at the NAIA Cross Country National Championships Saturday.

Klungtveit finished 100th out of 268 runners with a time of 19:11.5, while Kimeli finished 228th with a time of 27:36.6 out of 258 runners in Kenosha.

Klungtveit's time was good enough for 5th all-time in the University of Mobile Women's Cross Country National Championship history. Kimeli's time was good enough for 19th all-time in the University of Mobile's history at nationals.

Mobile Runners Come From Far Away To End Up in Kenosha

MOBILE, Ala—Susanne Klungtveit and Dennis Kimeli might have gotten lost in the mass of runners that qualified for the 2007 NAIA Cross Country Championships in Kenosha, Wisconsin, but for any sports fans, the stories of these University of Mobile cross country runners should not get lost in the shuffle.

Both athletes bring the hard work, determination and passion that fans often miss when they are over-saturated with games featuring over-paid athletes on one of the million sports channels readily available for our perusal.

From Africa to Mobile to Wisconsin….

Dennis Kimeli is a junior from Africa, who ended up in Mobile for a variety of reasons. Kimeli decided to jump to the University of Mobile from Lansing Community College (Mich.) because his brother Musa previously ran cross-country at Mobile, and because finding a Christian college was important for Kimeli.

“My brother introduced me to coach (Holly Person) when the program came back and had good things to say about his time here,” Kimeli said.

Coach Person and the Rams are very pleased that Kimeli ended up at Mobile.

“Dennis definitely puts his full effort into everything he’s doing and that’s all I can ask,” Person said. “He even trains on his own in the morning and then trains with us to make sure he’s doing the job he needs to do.”

That drive and determination stems from the fact that Kimeli is striving to repay the school for such a valuable opportunity that often is taken for granted.

When asked what his goal for the season was, Kimeli replied that he wanted to make Nationals to help pay the school back for such a great opportunity. What is that great opportunity? To be able to study and learn for free at a place of higher learning, something that many people get to do, but often don’t give a second thought.

For Kimeli and other international student-athletes, it is more than just running and studying. Things American athletes pick up with ease, serve as extra obstacles for the foreign athletes.

“Adapting to the new culture is a real challenge,” Kimeli said. “Everything is very fast here and simple things such as understanding the teachers can be very difficult.”

For the upcoming National Championships, the runner has a simple goal: “to run the best I can and be the best in our conference and region.”

But, for the 2008 season, Kimeli is thinking about much bigger things, but those much bigger things are for others. Kimeli wants his team to win the Region XIII Championship next season so the rest of the runners can make the trip and have the experience.

Don’t put it past this runner, at Lansing CC, Kimeli failed to bring the team a National Championship in his time there, but he kept his vow to the coach and sent the team some runners that helped carry them to the title this season.

Goalie to cross-country to greatness….

University of Mobile women’s cross country runner Susanne Klungtveit has had a much different path to Kenosha, but no less amazing.

When the 2007 cross-country season began for the Lady Rams, Klungtveit was not in the equation; instead she was manning the net as goalkeeper for the University of Mobile soccer team. The Norway native played every minute of the season in goal for the Lady Rams until the season ended on October 26th.

That’s when coach Person came looking for runners to fill out her injury-depleted team, and that was also only 1 week before the Region XIII Meet was set to take place. When asked why she joined the team, Klungtveit, who had never raced before, had a very simple answer.

“I like running,” Klungtveit responded. “Back home I wasn’t allowed to run as much because of foot injuries.”

Klungtveit enjoys running and the Lady Rams enjoy having her running on their side, even if it is only for a brief period of time.

“She has a natural athletic ability to perform,” coach Person said. “I wish we had more time with her, but she’ll do well and is worthy of this experience.”

That experience is what it’s all about to Klungtveit.

“I know that at times the other girls are better than me,” Klungtveit said. “I’m just going to take it as an experience and push myself as far as I can go.”

For the goalie turned cross-country runner, the biggest adjustments have been the different food and much warmer weather. Whatever the differences, and wherever they came from, both runners are enjoying their time at the University of Mobile.