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closeKeeping his eye on the prize
Emerald Ridge 2006 alumnus Emmanuel Bofa is the best 800-meter runner in Division III athletics
Shaun Scott
When Emmanuel Bofa crossed the finish line he knew something special had just taken place.
Bofa, who will be a junior at Whitworth this fall, clocked a time of 1:51.01 at the 2008 NCAA Division III Outdoor track and field championships in late May at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Bofa also set the school record turning in a time of 1:50.74 at an open meet at Washington State University in April.
“When I crossed the finish line I was in a daze and shocked,” Bofa said. “I was thinking, ‘I did it.’ That was a pretty special feeling.”
This week, Bofa is heading back to Whitworth after spending the summer at his family’s home in Puyallup. Bofa has set his sights on improving upon his 1:50.74 mark this coming outdoor season. Despite competing at the Division III level, Bofa’s times are consistently better than his Division 1 and Division 2 counterparts at colleges across the Pacific Northwest. Even though Whitworth may not have athletes in practice who can push Bofa to the limit, but that hasn’t stopped the 20-year-old from Puyallup from pursuing his dreams of excellence on the oval in the future. Bofa credited Whitworth Men’s track coach Toby Schwarz with guiding him in the right direction with his workouts.
“Regardless of the guys I’m training with, I feel like I push myself pretty hard,” Bofa said. “I know in the back of my mind every time I go onto the track that there are guys out there who are a lot better than me. That’s one of the things that keeps me from going through the motions.”
Bofa said he enjoys competing in high profile competitions.
“I’ve competed against guys from the University of Washington, Boise State, Washington State,” he said. “I love competing at a high level. I believe in my abilities and don’t make any excuses.”
The thought of transferring to a bigger school hasn’t crossed his mind.
“I’m in a position where I believe in the adage, ‘if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it.’ That’s how I feel about it. The coaching staff at Whitworth is great and I’m confident my coach (Schwarz) knows how to train me the right way. I trust him completely to push me as hard as he can to have me competing at the highest level I can.”
Bofa is training for just one hour a day this summer, but admitted he will turn up the dial rather quickly when he arrives back in the fall at Whitworth.
“During the season we train five days a week with one day of competition and one day of rest,” he said. “”We have a morning workout and an evening workout during those five days. On my day off I like to get a lot of sleep. With the 6:30 a.m. workouts there isn’t much time to rest during the week.”
Even though the 2009 outdoor season is still a few months away, Bofa has already set some lofty goals for his junior campaign.
“I want to get my time under 1:50 and get into the 1:48’s,” he said. “That’s definitely a goal of mine. Four years from now I want to compete in the 2012 Olympics. For me to get to that level I would have to get my time down into the 1:45 or 1:46 range.”
Bofa’s slew of college accomplishments and accolades over the past two years wouldn’t had been possible if it wasn’t for Emerald Ridge track and field coach Rick Burnley.
“I didn’t really start to realize my running abilities until my senior year of high school,” Bofa said. “My sophomore year of high school coach Burnley encouraged me to come out for the track team. Once I did that I even surprised myself and got some great times. My senior year I decided to go out for cross country in the fall and that transformed me on the track the following spring.”
That spring Bofa earned place at Class 4A state track and field meet in the 800-meter dash.
Since Bofa didn’t burst onto the track and field scene until his senior year of high school there weren’t many colleges knocking on at the door for his services.
“I can’t really blame most schools for not pursuing me. I didn’t even know about me,” Bofa said with a chuckle. “Nobody did.”
Bofa’s father James credits Burnley for getting it through to his son that he had the talent to excel at the next level.
“Rick provided him with good guidance. Once he found out that he was a good runner it made it easier for him to push himself even harder,” James Bofa said. “Before that like most teenagers, he didn’t know what he was capable of. I’m so proud of Emmanuel.”
The 20-year-old running phenom from Puyallup is excited about what he can do in his final two years of college and beyond on the track.
“I’m looking forward to see what I have left in the tank,” Bofa said. “If Rick didn’t push me early on I wouldn’t be where I am now. It’s all part of God’s plan. Any track accolades I receive I attribute to God.”