From helping his team win championships to adding to the Rhody record book, fifth-year Joachim Ennoo has made his mark for the University of Rhode Island men’s track and field team.
Spending his fifth year of eligibility at URI after two years at former Atlantic 10 Conference member, the University of Massachusetts, Ennoo has found his groove as of late in the long jump and triple jump events.
He swept his two events at the URI Invitational and placed second at the BU Scarlet & White Invitational to earn Atlantic 10 Field Performer of the Week in back-to-back weeks.
For Ennoo, getting settled in Kingston was the first step.
“After transferring last year, I really wanted to do well, so I was training super hard,” Ennoo said. “I was trying out a lot of different things, and then I ended up jumping really far and got my name into the record books in the first couple of meets.”
At the beginning of his career as a Ram, Ennoo came across a few bumps in the road and ended up getting hurt.
“I sustained a navicular injury, so I was out for about six weeks,” Ennoo said. “I tried to come back as much as possible to score some conference points, and I did compete in pain, but I was able to improve in the outdoor season and get my name in the top-10 list all-time at URI.”
Injuries have played a significant role in the last year of his athletic career, but for Ennoo, it was about trusting the process. It allowed him to bounce back in a way he never imagined.
“Being named [field performer] of the week back-to-back was surreal,” Ennoo said. “The entire summer, I was dealing with injuries, but I kept my faith in God and then kept training and kept taking things one step at a time. I was fully recovered by the end of the fall, so I definitely was ready to compete.”
Now leading the Northeast region in both the long and triple jump, and helping Rhode Island take home its third straight IC4A Championship, Rhode Island Head Coach Trent Baltzell believes Ennoo isn’t done yet.
“He just keeps improving,” Baltzell said. “I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he finishes the season at NCAA’s, indoors and outdoors, in which we haven’t had an indoor NCAA qualifier in over 20 years. We just don’t have athletes that are at that level of preparedness and focus very often, so he’s just so locked in.”
This mindset and success Ennoo has had up to this point hasn’t been a one-man operation, as he credits a lot of his success to his team, whom he couldn’t speak highly enough about.
“Those guys are incredible,” Ennoo said. “They have a super positive mindset, and they all think like winners. Coach Trent is one of the greatest coaches that I’ve ever met, and he’s been able to push me because he knows that I have the potential and I could be better. I just had to lock in and follow his program and guidance.”
Looking forward to his future beyond graduation, Ennoo has no plans of leaving the track and field world just yet.
“I definitely want to work with a sports team in biomechanics or stay in the sports realm,” Ennoo said. “I think the biggest goal is to be able to work and compete part-time, because I know that there’s definitely a lot more in the tank for the future.”
Ennoo and the Rams look to continue their hot streak after the IC4A’s in Boston at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Friday.
