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Weini Kelati enrolls at Virginia HS 2014 - DyeStat

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DyeStat.com   Sep 22nd 2014, 8:26pm
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Weini Kelati makes U.S. high school debut

 

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

 
The list of potential national champions in girls cross country this fall just added a new name: Weini Kelati


The Eritrean international, a member of her native country's IAAF World Junior team during the summer, arrived almost out of the blue at Heritage High School in Leesburg, Va. less than two weeks ago. 


Kelati (her first name is pronounced WAY-nee) has moved from Eritrea to live with her cousin and guardian Amlesom Teklai, a U.S. citizen who competed at the Foot Locker National Finals in 1997. 


This past weekend, Kelati won her first high school cross country race at the Oatlands Invitational and covered a difficult 5K course in 18:12 despite pausing twice to re-tie her shoe. The course had two water crossings and the shoe that came untied had the chip used for timing on it.


Kelati placed eighth in the World Juniors 3,000 meters final that Mary Cain won in Eugene. Kelati ran 9:12.32 for a PR and was 14 seconds behind Cain. She was 19 seconds ahead of the second American, Stephanie Jenks (15th). 


In March, Kelati ran at the African Cross Country Championships and finished eighth, covering 6K in 20:03. 


Heritage coach Doug Gilbert said he has known about Kelati for 10 days. 


"Since the day she enrolled a week and a half ago," Gilbert said. 


One of the first priorities has been learning to communicate with her. Kelati speaks little English and her first language, Tigrinya, requires translation from Teklai. She also speaks some French. 


"I think we're going to learn a lot from each other," Gilbert said. "It's a big adjustment for her but the kids on the team love having her here."


For Gilbert, another change is conveying mileage to Kelati in kilometers instead of miles. 


Gilbert said Kelati attended a small meet last week but only as a spectator. 


"I do not know if she understands high school running in the U.S. yet," he said. "But she is very serious about her running and does not miss a beat."


Gilbert is still in the process of figuring out Kelati's racing plan, but Foot Locker could be her goal. 


"I'm not sure yet," he said. "Once I convey to her about what is out there and what her goals are I'll have a better idea. It started a little last week with her cousin. We are looking at the end of November and we'll see how she does. But she's definitely that caliber of athlete who can handle (Foot Locker)."


Teklai, her cousin, went to high school at West Potomac High School in Arlington, Va. and placed 32nd at the Foot Locker finals in San Diego as a sophomore. 


The reasons behind Kelati's immigration to the U.S. are still unclear. Gilbert said he didn't know the details of why she left Eritrea.


"I don't, honestly, know about her past. All I know she's in a great place now," said Gilbert, an elementary school teacher in Leesburg in addition to his coaching duties. "Her story needs to come from her."


The next race on the Heritage schedule is the D.C. XC Invitational this weekend at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C., about 40 miles from Leesburg. 


Kelati is technically a freshman at Heritage, but she's 17 and has two years of high school athletics eligibility. At the D.C. Invitational, which organized by class races, Kelati is entered in the race for juniors. 


In Virginia, Kelati will give Heritage a significant boost. Junior Georgie Mackenzie placed 11th overall at the Oatlands Invitational and the team placed seventh out of 56. 


The impact caused by Kelati's arrival is still hard to predict.


"It's been a big surprise, a whirlwind of a surprise," Gilbert said.



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1 comment(s)
DrBob
I think it's great Weini is attending school in the USA. For those aspiring a ticket to Foot Locker Nationals, and I'm assuming she competes, the depth just notched up a bit in the South.
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