By Jim Hague
Just the name alone is startling and quite impressive.
Success Uhunmwangho. It’s pronounced exactly as it looks.
“I hear it all the time,” said the Rutgers-Newark freshman track and field phenom. “I can’t even count how many times.”
It’s actually pronounced OOH-WANG-OO, at least, that’s according to Success herself. There’s an N and an M in the name that cannot be accounted for.
As for the first name, she doesn’t know the origin.
“It never came to mind to ask my mother about that,” Success says.
But it’s safe to say that she’s been nothing but a success on the track for the Scarlet Raiders.
How successful is this for Success?
Well, in her second meet ever for the Scarlet Raiders at The College of New Jersey Invitational with more than 1,000 runners competing from 60 different schools, Uhunmwangho was eighth in the 200-meter dash (25.89 seconds), which was a qualifying time for the ECAC championships later this year. She also ran the 400-meter dash in 1:01.27, which was good for ninth place overall. She also competed in the 4x400-meter relay with teammates Nessie Joseph, Jackie Peeke-Brown and Kamila Ivashka and finished eighth in 4:12.82.
Not a bad start for Uhunmwangho, who came to R-N after a fine career at Newark West Side High School.
A year ago, assistant coach Haneefah Norman went to a meet that Uhunmwangho was competing in.
“She gave me her card,” Uhunmwangho said. “We started talking back and forth and that’s how it all started. I came for a visit and just loved it. The environment was great. The school was close to my home. It wasn’t too big or too small. It was a perfect fit.”
Remarkably, R-N head coach Juan Edney said that he recalls trying to recruit Uhunmwangho’s older sister Amerzay when she was in high school.
“She was a good 400 (meter) runner, but we couldn’t get her,” Edney said of the older Uhunmwangho sister. “I heard about Success from Haneefah. She came in for a visit and met with (assistant coach) Chris (Happel). I finally met with her and I thought she would be good for us.”
Except for one thing. Edney demands all of his runners to run cross country.
“I knew he was going to be a tough coach, but when he said that I had to run 6K (kilometers, almost four miles), I thought he was nuts,” Uhunmwangho said. “In my mind, I knew I couldn’t do it. It was too many miles for me. But I knew I had to do it to make me stronger. So I did it. No question, running cross country made me stronger.”
“She fought it tooth and nail,” Edney said. “I sat Success down and told her what she had to do if she wanted to get to the Nationals (the NCAA Division III championships). I told her that was all talk. She had to work harder. She tried hard to get out of going to practice. She had to stop skipping going to the weight room and doing what she needed to do.”
Edney also noticed another thing about Uhunmwangho _ and it had to do with social media.
“She spent too much time on Twitter,” Edney said. “She needed some time management skills.”
So Edney came up with a calendar of what Uhunmwangho needed to do.
“She needed time for ice baths and the weight room,” Edney said. “She needed to grow up a little. She’s gotten better with that.”
“When indoor started, I knew I was going to run the events that I was used to,” Uhunmwangho said. “I was really happy about that.”
It didn’t take long for Uhunmwangho to make her presence felt, setting a new school record in the 60-meter dash.
“I never knew I could run that fast,” Uhunmwangho said. “I was shocked and excited. It’s given me a lot of confidence going into outdoor season, my favorite season. I always liked running outside.”
“She’s still feeling her way on the track,” Edney said. “Once she learns to stay low and stay long coming out of the blocks, she’s going to be fine. She’s getting there. She’s a young kid. But if she stays focused, she’ll go down as the best sprinter to ever come through this school.”
When Uhunmwangho was told of Edney’s words, she was floored.
“That’s pretty exciting to know,” Uhunmwangho said. “It really does motivate me. To know that he (Edney) thinks that makes me want to be the best that I can possibly be.”
Uhunmwangho is still undecided about a major. She might want to pursue a career in social work. Right now, she’s too busy trying to teach people how to spell her last name. If she can do that regularly, then she’ll really be a success.
