“My goals involving track and cross country center around going to Nationals.”These were the words spoken by Derick Kosgei, a junior and star runner on the Guilford College track and cross country team. The soft-spoken Kosgei has a definite path for his life and this sets the example for his teammates.

“Coaching a young man such as Derick, who has a distinct path for success, is refreshing not only for myself, but also for his teammates,” said Head Track and Field Coach Bill Cason.

Born and raised in Eldoret, Kenya, Kosgei has now been living in the United States for three years, two of them at Guilford.

Kosgei said, “The life I lived in Kenya was pretty different from the one I live now, but after being here for three years I have adjusted fairly well.”

Running has helped speed up the process significantly. Last year, Kosgei became the first conference champion in the 5K that the school has ever had, and no one seems to see this type of success slowing down anytime soon.

“In my time at Guilford, Derick is hands down the best athlete I have ever seen or coached,” said Cason.

“Looking into the season we expect the Men’s Cross Country team to be top three in the conference,” said cross country Coach Heidi Pinkerton. “And there is no question that we expect Derick to be the best runner in the conference.”

What separates Derick from his competition is his driven work ethic.

“His work ethic is unparalleled. Derick’s goal is to be a national champion and when you run over 80 miles a week the sky is the limit,” said Cason.

“Derick is the leader of our team and he sets the level of excellence by example,” said Pinkerton. “He has perfect form and there is nothing more graceful. It’s like he floats on grass.”

Kosgei also excels outside of sports, where he is an honor roll student and is pursuing an accounting and business major. However, Kosgei is a busy man, being a full-time student athlete and working at Ragan Brown Gym.

“The biggest struggle I face is balancing my school work, my job at Ragan Brown and my training,” said Kosgei.

Although he has all this on his plate, Derick is calm and collected and has a specific path that he is taking.

“When you first meet Derick he is very quiet, but once you get to know him he is easy-going and his positive attitude jumps out and there is never a moment when he isn’t smiling,” Pinkerton said.

“Concerning my life goals the first thing on my list is to graduate in two years and after that I’ll see where life takes me, but I’d like to pursue a career in business,” said Kosgei.

When he is not busy with work, training or class, Kosgei enjoys playing ping pong and relaxing at his home.

“Derick is a fantastic ping pong player,” said Cason, “and back in his home town of Eldoret ping pong is the number two sport behind running.”

“Being a collegiate athlete doesn’t leave you a whole lot of free time, but when I do have some I just like to chill at my house,” said Kosgei.

From one continent to another, Derick’s personality remains the same and everyone who meets him will have their life changed forever.

“The first time Derick walked into my office I knew he was going to be different from most college athletes,” said Cason, “and since then he has become a close personal friend of mine.”

Nothing has ever stopped Derick from striving to be the best, and Cason put it best,

“Derick lives the life he believes.