The student-athletes that are members of the North Carolina Wesleyan Mens / Womens Cross Country and Womens Track & Field Teams are grateful for the support of all of our alumni and the community. This past Cross Country season saw both teams have their best USA South and NCAA Regionals finish in school history with runners setting new school records in 5K and 6K races. The womens CC team beat one D1 and six D2 colleges, while the men beat seven D1 and sixteen D2 teams during this outstanding season. These teams finished the season with two 1st place and two runner-up finishes at large invitational races.

These student-athletes do not just excel on the running course, but shine bright in the classroom and in the community. Our runners have spent time in the community by feeding the homeless, visiting the elderly at assisted living facilities, supporting local schools cross country teams at their races, and giving running shoes to a local track team. We take pride in sharing our life experiences with our community and showing that we care about them. One of our athletes even donated all the gifts and money that she received for Christmas to a charity that feeds the homeless in her nation of origin.

Also, both teams are comprised of students from all over the globe, such as Uganda, Kenya, Jamaica, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Moldavia. We take pride in our diversity and love learning about each others culture and sharing it with the community. One of our Kenyan runners went to a local elementary school and told them what it was like to live in Africa, and how great the country of Kenya is.

The support from alumni and other donors allow NCWC to offer these student-athletes a wonderful athletic experience. For example, we do morning runs at 6am and it still dark at that time. With it being dark we have to use running lights that are attached to the runner. We use 40 of these each season, and they cost $15 each. We also travel to the Disney Classic in Florida every season to run on ESPN. It allows for a great college experience for our team, and a great recruiting tool for future student-athletes. This trip costs approximately $6,000. Each year we burn through practice shirts ($500) and sweat suits ($3,000) as we are running in the hot and cold elements of North Carolina. Where we have issues is when we travel to competitions and the athletes are wearing the worn sweats that they use at practice. Our sport requires an abundance of resources to ensure that these players can compete and represent our institution with pride!

Here is a portion of our budget needs:

- 40 Running Lights $600

- Disney Classic Trip $6,000

- Apparel for 40 runners $6,000

Our past accomplishments are a direct result of donors assistance and support, and we are immensely grateful. We hope that youll continue to support us as we move our program forward.

Sincerely,

Marshall Leonard, Head Mens and Womens Cross Country / Track Coach