Gateway’s Kefimba Cisse rounds into form ahead of WPIAL championships

By: Michael Love
Sunday, May 7, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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Kefimba Cisse is in the home stretch of preparation for the WPIAL Class 3A track and field championships May 17 at Slippery Rock.

The Gateway junior distance standout is ramping up his training as he hopes to cut times in his events.

As a practicing Muslim, Cisse had his season impacted by Ramadan, a month of prayer, fasting and reflection set this year from the evening of March 22 through the evening of April 20.

“With that, not being able to eat or drink during the day, only in the early mornings and at night, that kind of had an effect on parts of my season, including my competitions,” Cisse said.

“With it finished, I started to get back into a normal routine, and I’ve gotten a number of (personal bests) in my events.”

At the Tri-State Coaches Association championships at West Mifflin on April 15, Cisse earned eighth in the 3,200 meters (10 minutes, 20.06 seconds) and took 18th in the 1,600 (4:42.22).

“The weather was really hot that day,” Cisse said. “I tried hydrating really early in the morning. I woke up at 2 a.m. and drank a lot of water until 5. By the time of my races, I lost a lot of energy. I kind of felt drained.”

Cisse didn’t race at the Slippery Rock Invitational on April 22 as he took part in an academic competition celebrating National History Day at the University of Scranton.

He came back at South Fayette and raced successfully. He broke 10 minutes in the 3,200, placing sixth overall with a personal-best time of 9:58.68.

Last year at WPIALs, Cisse broke 10 minutes with a 9:59.72 to place 19th. He came in with a season-best 9:59.78.

“I really wanted to get back under 10 minutes,” he said. “That was the first meet I did without being fasted. I felt I had more energy. I was able to keep up a pace that I had hoped to go. But still, I felt like I was trying to run another person’s race instead of my own. That is something coach and I have been talking a lot about. The plan is to run my own race and get a bigger PR. I know I can achieve that.”

He hoped to earn a PR at the prestigious Baldwin Invitational last Friday at Baldwin High School. Cisse also was set to run with the 3,200 relay.

Heading into the Baldwin Invitational, Cisse was ranked within the grouping of 3,200 runners who will qualify for WPIALs.

Cisse’s best time in the 1,600 this season is 4:35, and his career best is 4:34 set last season in a last-chance meet before WPIALs.

“Kefimbe is getting up to where he can have his best performances,” Gateway coach Tom LaBuff said.

“Even though he ran sub-10 last week, that first week (after Ramadan) was an adjustment getting back to a new schedule. He’s going to feel even better (for WPIALs). The key for him is to being comfortable in the big races. He’s a machine in practice, and if he has that same focused mindset in big-meet races, he’ll make a huge (time) drop.

“Kefimba is just a great kid who does everything we ask of him. He doesn’t complain, and I use him as an example for the other kids. He works right through pain and exhaustion. He worked his hardest through Ramadan without saying a word. He just comes out and does his thing.”

Cisse took a break from training after a cross country season that capped with a 16th-place finish in the Class 3A race at the WPIAL championships on the Roadman Park course at Cal (Pa.).

He rested and recovered nagging shin split issues.

But when he returned, he said he noticed a benefit from putting in miles to prepare for the outdoor season.

He said the winter was a busy one with his training coinciding with preparing for the AP exams that are currently being administered.

“I really put that focus into school and academics, maybe more so than track,” Cisse said. “I’ve been studying for those exams since the winter.”

Cisse said his athletic focus was strictly on training and getting miles in before the outdoor season, and indoor competitions didn’t come into the picture.

“The transition to outdoor wasn’t too bad because of the training I had coming in,” Cisse said.

“Right out of the gate, I was running faster in my workouts than in previous years. I was happy with the improvement. Last year, I didn’t do very much in the winter, and the move to outdoor track wasn’t what I had hoped. That really affected my shin splints. I am still dealing with the shin splints, but they happened a lot later (in the season) than they did before. I was able to run healthy for a while. I am just trying to work through them right now and prepare the best I can for WPIALs.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Gateway