Eritrean-American female runner from Virginia wins national title in San Diego

Weini taking off to win a national title! Congratulations!

Eritrean-American female runner from Virginia wins national title in San Diego.

By Mike Sium | Eri-International sports

Eritrean-American high school standout and a great future prospect, Weini Kelati of Leesburg, Va. captured a first place title at the 37th Annual Foot Locker Cross Country Championships (FLCCC) National Finals at Morley Field, Balboa Park in San Diego, Calif., this week. Kelati won in a time of 17:10 in San Diego, home of another Eritrean-American legend Meb Kiflezghi. This is a great achievement for Kelati who has been working hard to get to this point.

In this national event, another Eritrean-American Futsum Zienaslassie a current stand out at Northern Arizona University was a second place runner up in 2011.In this year's girls' race, Kelati, a two-time FLCCC national qualifier, took an early lead, cruising to a mile split of 5:13. Maryjeanne Gilbert (Peoria, Ill.) closed the gap and took a brief lead prior to the race's midway point. Kelati reclaimed the lead quickly while Nevada Mareno (Leesville, N.C.) and Judy Pendergast (Naperville, Ill.) joined the lead pair. Kelati and Gilbert pulled away in the final stretch with Gilbert finishing second (17:11), Mareno in third (17:18) and Pendergast in fourth (17:20).

A little bit about the FLCCC (Foot Locker Cross Country Championships).
The Foot Locker Cross Country Championships is comprised of four regional 5K races, which took place across the country in the Midwest (Kenosha, Wis.), Northeast (Bronx, N.Y.), South (Charlotte, N.C.)and West (Walnut, Calif.), culminating in the National Finals here today.

Weini is a star in the making and don't be surprised if you hear her name in the very near future doing big things. Congratulations to Weini and her team. It is to be recalled that Eri-International sports blog did a small piece on Weini earlier this year.

For Eri-International sports.

Mike Seium

Weini and the male Champion! holding their award.

Sponsored Ads