NAMPA, Idaho – Ebu Camara grew up playing soccer on a dusty lot in the West African country of Guinea.

His town didn't have teams, but all the kids knew when and where to gather after school to get a game going.

Soccer is the main sport played in Guinea, as it is in most of the world because of the lack of necessary equipment.

A sport that Camara had never tried before coming to the United States at the age of 17, though, was track and field.

A coach saw Camara playing soccer and told him to try out for the track team.

"I didn't know what to do," he said. "They told me just to run. It wasn't that hard to get used to the sport. As soon as I started, I was pretty good at it."

And it is easy to see why. Camara is naturally fast and through the work of NNU assistant coach Dustin Ainsworth, has gotten the technique for sprinting down pat.

Camara will compete in the 400 meters, the 4x100-meter relay and the 4x400 relay at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships Friday and Saturday at Western Oregon.

"He is a super quiet guy, but a really intense competitor," NNU track and field coach John Spatz said. "Quiet, but gosh, when you put him on the track and the gun goes off – here is this fierce competitor who has this huge drive to be successful and to win."

Camara made the GNAC all-conference team last season and also won the 200 meters title at the GNAC indoor track and field championships. He broke his own school record in the 400 at the Mt. Sac Relays last month, running a 48.36.

And while he came to NNU initially to play soccer, he has enjoyed running as well, and his competitiveness has rubbed off on his teammates.

"He is the type of athlete who doesn't say much," said senior Payton Lewis. "The coach tells him what to do and he does it. He is a hard worker and is a very athletic guy. We'll play catch with a football and he will catch it like he is a college wide receiver. He is very talented. Very gifted."

Camara, who is 26, hasn't been back to Guinea since he left in 2007. He has a sister who lives in Ohio and a brother in New York, who he sees occasionally, but he has not seen his parents since he left Africa.

He is working on getting his U.S. citizenship and hopes to return to Guinea one day to teach youngsters the sport of track and field.

"We are not really known for track," he said. "The people who come here, come here just for work. I want to help people come here not just for work, but school too. I want to help people back home so they can get a scholarship to come to school (in the U.S.) to play track or soccer."

Before he can do that, though, he has a few more races to run.