Winrose Chesang named Betty Jo Graber award winner

Charlotte, NC – Adding to an extensive list of accolades from her career, four-time national champion Winrose Chesang of Iowa Central has been named the 2020 Betty Jo Graber Female Student-Athlete of the Year recipient.

Chesang was a standout distance runner on the Tritons' cross country, half marathon, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field team throughout her two years. Chesang won the 2019 NJCAA Women's Half Marathon Championship and finished fourth overall in the 2019 NJCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Championship where the Tritons won the overall team national title. As a result, she was named the 2020 Iowa Central Female Athlete of the Year. 

A native of Nanyuki, Kenya, Chesang found success in various distance events, earning seven NJCAA All-American honors throughout her two years in track and field and one each in cross country and half marathon. One of her greatest accomplishments with the Tritons was breaking Iowa Central's school record in the 6k with a time of 21:02.6.

Throughout her time at Iowa Central, Chesang dedicated herself to helping fellow teammates and lead by example at practice, during competition, and in the classroom. 

Iowa Central Director of Track and Field and Cross Country, Dee Brown gave praise to Chesang on receiving the honor. "When teammates notice an athlete like Winrose who is getting the job done in the classroom, who works a job on campus, and studying as well, leading team study hall, they notice those things and she's always working hard and when it's time to get something done, she is always on time." 

In Fort Dodge, IA, Chesang majored in pre-nursing and was a two-time NJCAA Academic All-Region performer. The student-athlete finished her career with a 3.36 overall GPA and teammates admired her willingness to always look at things positively, especially at practice.

"Iowa Central is the best school with the best coaches with great competition and I did well in running and competition because of coach Brown and the other coaches that supported me," stated Chesang. "They have good training for a person who is looking to run division I and they took us to really good competition and that prepared me and made me strong and that's why I am the way I am right now. It wasn't easy but with their training I was able to get stronger in my two years at Iowa Central."

Chesang helped the Tritons to three team titles and her achievements at Iowa Central led her to Iowa State University where she moved on to after graduating in December 2019. So far at Iowa State, Chesang has set personal records, placing 3rd in the 5k and 6th in the 3k while competing at the 2020 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships. 

The Graber award rounds off a complete list of honors and awards for the decorated Triton and Chesang looks forward to reaching more milestones in the future academically, majoring in kinesiology and athletically in competition at Iowa State.

PAST BETTY JO GRABER AWARD WINNERS

About the NJCAA Betty Jo Graber Award

Betty Jo Graber was an influential leader in the Association and helped pioneer the creation of the Women's Division of the NJCAA in 1975. As the NJCAA Region 5 Women's Director, Graber chaired the Association's women's basketball committee from its inception in 1975 until her retirement in 1991. In addition to her contributions on the NJCAA Board of Directors, Graber helped establish the NJCAA Women's Basketball Coaches Association and was a member of its inaugural hall of fame class in 1998. Also, a member of the national Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, Graber was a leader that exhibited dedication, service and resilience - traits that are recognized annually to the top female student-athlete with the award named in her honor.