Janet Jesang practices at the Track and Field Complex on March 17. Jesang claimed victories in the 1-mile and 3K two weeks ago in the Sun Belt Indoor Track and Field Championship. CHRIS WILSON/HERALD

Some collegiate-level star athletes may put athletic success and self before schoolwork and everyone else, but not Janet Jesang.

Though the senior distance runner from Uganda has never lost a cross country, indoor or outdoor track Sun Belt Conference Championship and has been named an All-American four times, she’s focused on finishing her degree and pursuing her master’s degree in social work.

“I chose (social) work, because I have a lot of stuff to do in my community,” Jesang said. “It would be great for me to take the experience I’ve got from here and show them the right way to do things. I’ve seen many things going on in my community, and I’ve experienced them myself, and I don’t want them to experience the same things.”

She said it’s not uncommon to see children without shoes running to school every day and that she walked about 12 miles each day to and from school as a child.

Michelle Murphy Scott, Western’s distance runners coach, said Jesang is the best athlete she’s ever coached.

Scott said she wasn’t surprised to learn that social work is Jesang’s field of study, because “her frame of reference is totally different” than students from most other countries.

Jesang said Scott has been there for her throughout her four years at Western, including when her 106-year-old grandmother passed away during indoor season.

“It was kind of hard for me that night, but I had Michelle and my teammates there for me,” Jesang said. “I don’t know the words I would use to describe her. She’s a really great coach.”

On the track, Jesang is one of the most well-rounded female athletes in school history. She’s the first to be named an All-American in cross country, indoor and outdoor track.

Head Coach Erik Jenkins, who said Jesang is the epitome of improvement, added that she’s the runner he wants competing when the championship is at stake.

“Great person, great teammate, winner, hard worker — that is Janet Jesang,” Jenkins said. “If the meet’s on the line and we need (someone) — Janet will find you. You can’t compare her to anyone else.”

Thousands of miles away, Jesang flew under the radar before one of her fellow Ugandans gave Jenkins a tip. Jesang was offered a scholarship through e-mail after what she described as a lengthy correspondence with Western’s coaches.

The coaching staff never saw her run in person. They only knew what times she ran.

Because Jesang is so thankful for her scholarship, she said she tries to do her part on the team.

“I feel like when I do something for maybe a junior, sophomore or freshman, then they’ll go on with the same spirit just trying to help those behind them,” she said.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Although the usual stars shined in Western’s rather convincing title runs on Sunday at the Sun Belt Indoor Track and Field Championships, it wasn’t just those who normally share the spotlight taking center stage when the curtains were drawn.

The Lady Toppers scored 179.33 points over a span of two days to top host Middle Tennessee by 69 points. The Toppers scored 136 points, besting runner-up North Texas’ 98 points.

Senior Janet Jesang and senior Brian Soverns both defended their Sun Belt crowns, but several athletes that have spent the majority of the season in their shadows made their mark as well.

Marion Kandie, a senior distance runner, finished first in the 5K and second in both the 3K and 1-mile races, accounting for 26 of the women’s 179.3 points.

“It’s not easy work, but we worked as a team,” Kandie said.

“Marion went out and had an outstanding weekend for us with her individual contributions,” Head Coach Erik Jenkins said. “I’m very proud of what she’s been able to do and look forward to her continued success.”

He also said that her overall performance allowed Jesang to focus on nationals.

Kandie, who said early on Sunday that she felt the ladies were going to win, added that she had no doubt the men were going to match their female counterparts.

Much like Kandie, sophomore distance runner Deus Rwaheru finished in the top 10 in the 3 and 5K — as well as the 1-mile run — scoring valuable points for the men’s team.

Rwaheru raced against several athletes who have been named cross country all-American, some of which have competed at the national level.

“He continues just to improve, and ran very well against national-caliber student-athletes,” Jenkins said. “I’m extremely proud of him.”

While senior sprinter Ennis Jones does get notoriety for his efforts in the 4×400-meter relay races, it’s not often he is recognized for his individual efforts.

Strangely enough, he didn’t even get the opportunity to showcase his abilities in that race. Because it was the last event run at the meet, Western, who had already all but sewn up the crown, elected not to participate.

Jones did not need a team-oriented race to stand out, though.

He captured first place in the 400-meter dash and finished third in the 200-meter race.

Considering he didn’t even qualify for finals at last year’s Championships, Jones was more than pleased this time around.

“It was real bad for me last year, but I used all that as determination for this year,” Jones said. “This year I had a whole lot more confidence than I did last year, so it was easy for me to trust my body and know what I’m capable of. I came into the meet real focused, real determined. This year I just wanted to step it up as much as I could.”

The trio of Kandie, Rwaheru and Jones combined for a total of seven top-five finishes.

Senior Kellie Morrison added a win in the 400-meter dash, clocking a career indoor-best 55.32 seconds.

Western’s track and field athletes were spread across the country this weekend, competing in meets in Tennessee, Michigan, and Washington.

Although she could only be in one place at a time, senior distance runner Janet Jesang still made a national impact.

Jesang ran an NCAA automatic time in the 5,000-meter race at the Husky Classic in Seattle, adding to the automatic time she already recorded in a 3,000-meter race and a provisional time in a 1-mile run this season.

Head Coach Erik Jenkins said accomplishing what she has thus far is unheard of at Western.

“It’s not a question of will she do it, but how much can she do?” Jenkins said.

Another senior distance runner, Marion Kandie, performed well in the 5,000-meter contest, narrowly missing the NCAA provisional mark.

“That group did very well as a cohesive unit at the University of Washington,” Jenkins said.

Sophomore jumper Sharika Smith leaped well at the GVSU Big Meet in Allendale, Mich., finishing in the top five in both the long jump and triple jump.

Also at Grand Valley, sophomore sprinter Tory Womack said he did a “pretty good” job of building on his previous success, running his fastest time of the season in the 60-meter run.

Womack tied senior sprinter Ennis Jones for third place in the 200-meter race and was also a part of the 4×400-meter relay team that took top honors.

“He has a tremendous upside and he’s working extremely hard to be a good student and also a good athlete,” Jenkins said of Womack. “Week in and week out he is improving — he is a kid that will work. That’s something we’re proud of him for.”

First place in the 55-meter hurdles went to freshman hurdler Monique Harris at the MT Valentine Invitational in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Jenkins said the way the athletes performed this weekend showed they are getting closer to where they need to be by the end of the season.

“We need those types of performances to start moving mentally and obviously physically into the Sun Belt Conference championships,” he said. “We’ve got to be a team that goes in understanding that this is the conference championship (they’re playing for), understand that you have to be a team that does the little things right.”

The teams will take next weekend off before competing in the Sun Belt Conference indoor championships at MTSU on Feb. 27 and 28.

Although Western’s men’s and women’s track teams were split between two different meets this weekend, it was more of the same for the Topppers as many university standards and personal bests were surpassed at both the University of Kentucky’s Rod McCravy Invitational and Indiana University’s Indiana Relays.

At Kentucky, junior distance runner Janet Jesang took first place in the 1-mile run, securing the nation’s best time to date in the event.

For the third straight week, senior thrower Brian Soverns set a new Western standard in the weight throw, good for third place among collegians.

Samantha Smith followed Soverns’ lead, finishing sixth overall in the 60-meter hurdles, breaking her own university record for the second time in as many weeks.

The men’s 4×400-meter relay team of seniors Ennis Jones and Terrill McCombs, sophomore Tory Womack and freshman Kendall Gregory recorded its fastest time ever at the event, tying Kentucky’s team for first place.

The women’s 4×400-meter relay quartet composed of Smith, senior Kellie Morrison, sophomore Monique Harris and freshman DeAudrea Horne finished in the top five as well.

“It was very exciting to see them go out and compete at that level this early in the season,” Head Coach Erik Jenkins said.

Junior Cadet, taking part in his first collegiate triple jump competition, came away with fourth place after recording his personal-best leap.

Leading the way at Indiana, junior distance runner Patrick Jenkins took first place in the 5,000-meter race.

Jenkins’ time of 15:09.75 rounded out Western’s list of personal bests for the weekend.

“Across the board, we really just had people who competed well,” Erik Jenkins said. “It was a very productive weekend on both sides in both meets.”