Adjovi Simpini speaks quickly—full of enthusiasm, competitiveness, school spirit and determination. Now a senior at Long Island University, she is pushing herself to have the best possible cross-country season. Simpini, who was born in Togo, West Africa and grew up in Connecticut, came to LIU at the request of cross-country coach Janine Hunter, who saw Simpini as someone who could help rebuild a cross-country program.

“If you put me in the woods, I can run for two hours without stopping,” said Simpini, who also runs track, but cross-country is her true passion. “I can do it on the track, but it wouldn’t be very good.”

Last year, she was LIU’s top female cross-country runner in four of seven races. Simpini found the sport her freshman year of high school when her gym teacher encouraged her to do it. She gained stamina and learned about pace and timing, and found she truly loved it.

“The more passion I got for it, the more driven I was to compete,” she said. Simpini enjoys testing herself on different courses, and gives a nod to a meet last year at St. Francis University in Pennsylvania for a challenging course with great scenery.

Unfortunately, she is dealing with an issue in her neck that causes her arm to go numb, which derailed her training over the summer. She is being diligent with rehab and paying attention to her body, but also remains undaunted. She fell during her first meet of the season, at Monmouth University in New Jersey, but got up and finished.

Simpini is proud of her heritage and speaks native languages as well as French and English. She celebrates Togo’s culture and foods and appreciates Brooklyn’s access to African food. She doesn’t have a meal plan at LIU and prefers to do her own cooking.

A sports science major with a minor in psychology, Simpini wants to pursue a career in sports psychology. She hopes to work with athletes at smaller colleges and universities that might not have a sports psychologist on staff.

“Having a sports psychologist on a team like this has benefits,” she said. “Someone to talk to in addition to the coach, who understands sports and can help you come up with a plan to so you can practice well, compete and do well in school.”

The LIU Blackbirds compete this weekend at the Rider Invitational in New Jersey.