Moustafa Tiea ’25 has been a beacon of inspiration to all athletes at West High with his hard work and progression from a high level to an even higher level. Throughout his time at West, Tiea has managed to break several records in both track and cross country such as fastest all time runner from West in the 800 meters with a time of 1.51 minutes, 1500 meters with 4.03 minutes, 1600 meters with 4.14 minutes and a record of 4.22 minutes in the mile. His achievements and hard work as a West student has earned him the nickname “Moose.”

When speaking to Tiea about where he finds the motivation to push himself so hard, he mentioned his relationship with the track distance and cross country coach, Josh Kidman. For the past four years, Tiea has trained under Kidman and has developed a close relationship with him through the years. Tiea’s and Kidman’s relationship really became close during Tiea’s first Drake Relays and state cross country meets where the two worked hard during training to compete. Kidman remarks on Tiea’s time at West saying, “He’s [Tiea] been a great leader and one of the best runners I’ve worked with.”

Tiea has also been a big motivation for everybody around him. Even starting at Northwest Middle school , the coaches reference Tiea’s name on the topic of hardwork and talent, trying to spur the effort of young athletes. However, the “Moose Effect” is felt most by Tiea’s current teammates under his leadership.

Tiea not only puts in the work on the track, though. He also mediates conflicts, schedules and provides helpful feedback to other teammates outside of training. When he’s not training, Tiea also invests time in taking care of himself and can often be found with teammate and friend, Maxwell Bruss ‘25 recovering by taking an ice bath or stretching after workouts, accompanied by conversations on how to improve their performance on the track.

Tiea has participated in cross country and track for the past six years and has decided to pursue a collegiate career. Recently signing with the University of South Carolina, where he will continue running as a middle distance runner. Both his teammates and coaches are proud of how far he has come so far and will continue to support him during his college career.