By Rachel Shelley Staff Writer
Born and raised in Ethiopia, Badane Sultessa and his 11 siblings walked to and from school, sometimes as far as five miles away. In a place with no transportation, they relied on their feet.
“It was really crazy. You’re on your own there,” Sultessa said. Because Sultessa and his five brothers and six sisters experienced a lot of fighting in schools, his family decided to travel to a new home in Portland in 2008.
It was within the walls of Centennial High School where Sultessa experienced the struggles of moving to a new country. Adapting to cultural differences, language barriers, an entirely new cuisine, new faces and, most importantly, a change of pace.
“Running helped me make a lot of friends; in my free time I hung out with my teammates,” said Sultessa. “It helped me learn English and get an education at the same time.”
Sultessa found solace in his high school running team.
“If it wasn’t for running, I don’t think I would have even gone to college,” Sultessa said.
Running didn’t just help his transition into a new country. His feet, which he relied on to get from home to school and back, were going to take him even farther than he ever thought possible.
In his first 800-meter race on the junior varsity track team freshman year, Sultessa won in 2 minutes and 17.01 seconds. By hissophomore year, he placed fourth at the Mt. Hood Conference Championships in 2:02.25. He also participated in the 1,500 at the OSAA 6A State Championships.
During the 2010 outdoor season, Sultessa joined the elite under-two-minute squad, breaking through the two-minute barrier of his 800 to win the 6A state championships in 1:57.04.
Three years after he started his journey as a distance athlete, Sultessa finished his high school career on the fast track to a promising collegiate career. He finished second at the state championships in both the 1,500 and the 800 races, with times of 3:59.64 and 1:53.75, respectively. His 800 performance at the state championships qualified him for a spot at BorderDuel Classic. At the BorderDuel, Sultessa ran the fastest 800 time of his career to place third in 1:53.42.
Although Sultessa’s high school career was impressive, it was only a preamble. His journey as an elite 800 runner was just beginning.
After leaving Portland State on a full ride, he headed to Clackamas Community College where he received his associate of arts Oregon transfer degree but struggled to excel as a runner.
Sultessa was given the opportunity to walk on as part of the University of Oregon track team but didn’t want to withdraw any loans. Finally, Sultessa was offered a scholarship at Western where he fell in love with the program and felt it fit with his goals.
“I like how the team is really close and really small,” Sultessa said. “It’s not a big university. We share everything; it’s like a family.”
Within his first year at Western, Sultessa qualified for the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships where he became the third All-American in Western track and field history. He entered the finals as the top-ranked runner and finished in fourth place overall with a time of 1:51.36.
Eager to earn a spot at the NCAA division-II outdoor championships, Sultessa spent the outdoor season racing towards a qualifying time. At the Mt. Hood Track Festival, Badane finished second overall but after a time mishap he was left unqualified for outdoor nationals, with just the GNAC Conference meet left.
“I was trying to qualify at Mt. Hood but they messed up my time; it might have gotten me in, but I was mad about that,” he said. “I told myself I was going to qualify at home at conference.”
As a result, Sultessa captured the Great Nothwest Athletic Conference 800 title in 1:52.31, which was .60 seconds shy of qualifying for outdoor nationals.
“The race went out slow, so I didn’t qualify,” he said.
Just missing the qualifying mark, Sultessa accepted that his season was over. Returning for one more year of school and athletic eligibility at Western for the 2015-2016 year, he continues to train and run.
“I was really mad and sad,” he said. “I tried to give everything I had. If I gave everything I had and ran 1:51 I would be happy, but it wasn’t everything I had.”
On May 17, Sultessa traveled home to Portland to race at the Portland Twilight Track Meet. Unable to use this meet to qualify for the national meet, Sultessa used the Portland Twilight Track Meet for training.
However, he finished the 800 race in 1:47.59 and become the No. 1 D-II runner in the country. His performance lifted himself higher into a slimmer category of 800 runners: ranking amongst the top 25 in all NCAA D-I rankings and hitting the B standard for the Olympic Trials.
“I always believe that everything happens for a good reason,” Sultessa said. “I was really mad and sad and went out to race to see what I can do. This is the first time running with the elite runners; the one thing that is different is this isn’t all I have left, I have more coming.”
With the Olympic trials now in sight, Sultessa has a new goal: qualify for Olympic trials.
“That’s my goal, to get into the Olympic trials. I want to race at a big meet and get a feel [for] running with the elite runners in a big place.”
Before his career concludes, Sultessa has dreams of breaking the 1:42 barrier. His family members also have dreams in the 800 realm as well. His younger brothers, Roba and Jalato Sultessa, are also elite 800 runners at the high school level.
Roba is a two-time state champion in the 800 at Cleveland High School. After winning his 6A PIL District meet, Roba prepares to race toward a three-peat this weekend at the state championships.
His youngest brother, Jalato is a junior at Parkrose High School and finished second in the 5A NWOC District Championships. Jalato will also race at state.
