Post Classifieds
Athletes beat adversity, find success
By Angelica Rodriguez
On September 26, 2012
The Buffalo State men's cross-country team has been surging, earning its first regional ranking in
program history last week. That success has been due in large part to freshmen Alex Ngabo and
Bumkoth Jiak.
Jiak and Ngabo have set an excellent pace for the Bengals, finishing first and second respectively in each
competition since the start of the season.
"We're really happy to have them," head coach Dustin Demit said. "We expected them to be this good
coming in, and we certainly expect them to continue throughout the season."
But for each of these strong runners, the opportunity to be at Buffalo State has followed stories of
adversity, separation and change.
Ngabo faced a civil war in his native Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2004, when he was only 13, the
Kivu conflict occurred between the DRC's military and rebel forces, putting Ngabo and his family in
danger.
"We decided to move to Burundi [on the DRC's eastern border], but before we could even reach the
border, our car was stopped by the rebels," Ngabo said.
There, his family was beaten and robbed, but let go. With no money or possessions, they entered
Burundi and were forced to live in a refugee camp.
"The conditions were not good at all," he said. "We lived in a tent with six other families. My brothers
and I had to move out and find another place to stay because there was no way we could all squeeze
into that room."
After two months in the camp, they were attacked and forced to flee.
"Tents were being sprayed with gasoline so that they could be easily set on fire. A lot of people were
killed trying to escape," Ngabo said. "In the morning when I came back to the camp, I sort of lost my
mind because of what I saw. Most people lost all of their families and I consider myself lucky to still have
one."
The family managed to make it Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, and from there, with the help of the
United Nations, they made it to the U.S. Ngabo learned English with the help of friends he made in high
school. That was also when he first started running.
"My English teacher happened to be the [track] coach, and he always talked about track in class so I
said I would try out. I didn't take it seriously," he said. "My senior year I was going to play soccer, but I
missed the tryouts and didn't make the team, so the cross country coach asked me to just try and (said)
that if I didn't like it, I could quit."
Jiak had the same sort of experience with running, though getting to the U.S. was a little more peaceful.
He grew up in Gambella, a village in western Ethiopia, and moved to Syracuse with his sister in
December 2006 when Ethiopia was engaged in war with Somalia. Jiak's parents did not make the trip,
and while he speaks with them every couple of weeks, he hasn't seen them in six years.
Coming from a warm climate, Jiak was unprepared for Syracuse in December.
"That was my first time seeing snow," he said. "I thought it was American rain. That's still probably the
most difficult thing for me to deal with now - the snow and the cold."
He began school and faced another challenge shortly after coming to the U.S.
"I jumped from a fifth-grade level to ninth grade in the United States because of my age," he said. "I was
learning materials I've never seen and I struggled. School is still challenging for me, but I'm still doing it -
I'm still moving forward."
Like Ngabo, Jiak played soccer growing up, but things shifted once he started gym class in high school.
"We had to run a mile, and I did it in 5.1 minutes, so my gym teacher told my ESL teacher and they got
together to introduce me to [running]," he said.
At the time, Jiak wasn't interested in running. However, that changed after he learned that he couldn't
play soccer anymore due to a knee injury. Jiak could still run, and his attention shifted to track and cross
country.
"Now I feel like it's my thing," he said. "I think 100 percent about running. If I don't run, I'm not happy.
I'm addicted."
Each runner has found Buffalo State to be a great fit for them. They have great relationships with their
teammates, and each has said they find their team to be more than just a team - more like a family or
a group of good friends. However, neither Jiak nor Ngabo viewed Buffalo State as their first choice for
college.
"I wanted to explore my other options first," Ngabo said. "[Other schools were] offering me a
scholarship, but the Buffalo State coaches showed more interest, and it was close to home so I decided
to come here."
Jiak also tried looking elsewhere.
"One of my idols went to Northern Arizona and he was also Ethiopian, so I was trying to go there but I
struggled in school," he said.
"I talked to my best friend, and his sister turned out to be the Buff State assistant coach [Leah
Andrianos]. She kept bugging me, and my best friend convinced me to visit. I fell in love."
As for personal successes, they have differing opinions.
"I push myself 100 percent all the time. There's a lot of pressure," Jiak said. "I ran at a D1 level in high
school and trained with a club team, but I couldn't say I would have that success coming here. I'm not
really comfortable with it. It's too early for me."
Ngabo is simply happy to be doing well.
"I expected to have this level of success, but I'm still appreciative," he said. "I know I have it in me, and
my coaches help me really push my limits, but I know I still have to improve."
As for the future, Ngabo views team success as the ultimate goal.
"I would like to see us win SUNYAC, regional championships and make Nationals as a team," Ngabo
said. "There's so much I'm thinking about [personally] that I want to achieve after college, but I'm still a
freshman so let's save that for later."
Meanwhile, Jiak is focused on the present.
"I'm just thinking about feeling healthy, because [then] anything is possible," he said. "After that, I want
to do my best to become a professional runner, but you never know."
Angelica Rodriguez can be reached at rodriguez.record@live.com.
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