- November 13th, 2008, 8:09 pm
#208655
Runner's World wrote:November 13, 2008There's some pretty cool quotes in the Q&A ...
A Brief Chat With Sam Chelanga
By Peter Gambaccini
Sophomore Sam Chelanga and his Liberty University teammates will compete Saturday at the NCAA Cross Country Southeast Regional at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Chelanga was been the outstanding male cross country runner of the U.S. fall season.
Josh McDougal of Liberty won the NCAA Championships last year, and a lot of attention came with that. It would be remarkable if a Liberty guy could win for the second year in a row. Do you feel pressure to do that? Do you want to live up to Josh’s example?
SC: Technically, I don’t want to say that I feel pressure. But traditionally, if your teammate or your team wins a title of any nature, it’s always according to you to defend it. So I would say I am excited and I’m looking forward to defending my title. I feel it’s my obligation and opportunity to continue the legacy that Josh left behind.
Are you an American citizen yet or planning on becoming one?Click Here for Full Story
SC: I’m planning on becoming an American citizen. I wish it could come sooner, before 2012, so I could run for American in the Olympics.
What would you do if you wanted to be in the World Championships or a meet like that? Would you compete for Kenya?
SC: I’ve been looking into that. I talk to my family and my friends I came to the United States when I wasn’t that good (a runner). I feel like NCAA, the program, the entire thing, is just helping me get better and better every day. It’s just a good thing to compete for the U.S. I made up my mind. I don’t want to say I don’t want to run for my country (Kenya), but I think the U.S. has done for me, I want to run for them.