The 5-foot-9, 130-pound senior won the Group 5A state meet this past season with a time of 15:13, breaking the tape 13 seconds ahead of his next-closest competitor and leading the Rebels to a fourth-place finish as a team. Suliman also took fifth at the Foot Locker South Regional championships and finished 24th at the national Foot Locker Cross Country Championships. He was undefeated against in-state competition.
Suliman has maintained a B average in the classroom. He remains undecided upon a collegiate destination.
Born in the Sudan, Suliman moved to a refugee camp in Jordan before relocating to the United States without knowing any English in 2014. He has volunteered locally with the Special Olympics and as part of multiple community-service initiatives with the Sudanese community in the Richmond area. "What makes Waleed great is that he is fearless and willing to go through any type of pain to win," said Drew Spicer, head coach of Deep Run High. "He can win in any number of ways, whether it's a big kick at the end or pushing the pace at the beginning to which no others around him can keep up."
