Comeback effort gives Palmquist a new perspective
NEWPORT, R.I. – Watching Aubrey Palmquist (Bristol, Conn.) lead the scoring charge, week after week, for the Salve Regina women's cross country team, it's hard to believe that the junior captain spent 225 days out of action in the last year.
Palmquist watched her 2013 season unravel in the span of a few days. She was part of the scoring five that won an invitational at the University of New England on Sept. 14. She was pictured on the sports page of the Newport Daily News the next week, leading a group of teammates on a long run. But when the team raced at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth on Sept. 21, she was on the sidelines.
She missed the final six meets of the cross country campaign and the entire track season. Months of doctors visits and physical therapy ultimately led to knee surgery in March. She wasn't cleared to run again until May 1, 225 days after her last run in Newport. That day, she ran two easy laps around a track.
That's where the comeback started. Even if it didn't feel that way at first.
"It was really defeating going from running up to 10 miles to only being able to run a 400. At that point, I didn't think it was possible to get in the shape I needed to be competitive this season," Palmquist said. "I had to do extra workouts, extra mileage, and basically dedicated my summer to training for the upcoming season. Coach Rob [McGuinness] and I had discussed how this might be a rebuilding season for me."
When the Seahawks opened their 2014 season at New England College on Aug. 29, Palmquist was eager – and anxious – to test herself in a collegiate race. A trio of low-key road races during the summer had helped restore her racing instincts. Still, there was some question of where she'd fit in the Salve Regina lineup.
It took 20 minutes and 10 seconds to find an answer.
Palmquist finished second overall that day, part of a 1-2-3 finish that helped the team win the Mayflower Kickoff for the second consecutive year. She was 12 seconds faster than she'd been on the same course in 2013. She was back.
The junior continued to regain her old form in the weeks that followed. She ran in the No. 3 spot at the UMass-Dartmouth Invitational, posting a 5K personal best of 19:00.8 on a day when the Seahawks shattered a school record for combined team time. At the Pop Crowell Invitational at Gordon, battling illness and dehydration, Palmquist ran in the No. 1 spot and led the team to a second-place finish.
She led the team to a victory at the Tri-State Invitational at CCRI the following week, and never gave up the No. 1 position in the Seahawks' lineup, leading the team into the postseason and chasing her own school record at 6K.
Palmquist earned a spot on the all-Commonwealth Coast Conference team with a top-10 finish in the CCC meet on Nov. 1. She then set her sights on the 6K mark of 23:19, which she set in 2012. She was on pace to break the record in the ECAC Division III Championship on Nov. 8, until a fall in the trails at Westfield State University slowed her down. She still finished at 23:26.9, good enough for No. 6 on the all-time performance list at Salve Regina University.
In the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championship on Nov. 15, Palmquist again set the pace, this time leading the Seahawks to the best regional finish (18th) in program history. Palmquist finished 65th overall at 23:31.8, the highest regional placement by a Salve Regina runner in nearly two decades.
The comeback effort has given the captain a new appreciation for racing, and an added perspective that drives her to view every race as an important opportunity.
"I learned that you can't take the ability to race for granted, because you never know when it'll be taken away from you," Palmquist said. "You never know what race is going to be your last, so give it everything you have while you have it. I didn't want to let this injury dictate my running career."
For her efforts this fall, the Seahawks honored Palmquist as the team's runner of the year at a season-ending reception on Nov. 16. A year after missing most of a season, she was the only one of the team's three lead runners to appear in every meet this fall.
"This has been an incredible season for Aubrey. There was a good chance that she might not have been at 100 percent after the knee surgery, but she went to great lengths to make sure that wasn't the case," said head coach Rob McGuinness. "We are always a better team with Aubrey in the lineup, and I could not ask for a better athlete or captain to lead our team. I'm so proud to see her back where she belongs."
With the cross country season complete, Palmquist will turn her attention to the track, where she already holds school records in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and at 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. The nursing major is determined to improve her marks in the long-distance events – and to make the most of every opportunity to race.
"There were a lot of ups and downs in my journey back, but every second was worth it to get to this point," Palmquist said. "I know I'm not the best runner, but when I step on that line, I can guarantee you I'll give it everything in me."
Salve Regina Women's Cross Country
2014 Award Honorees
Senior Award: Jennifer Chieco
Runner of the Year: Aubrey Palmquist
Rookie(s) of the Year: Alexa Cipkas, Olivia Wilson
Most Improved Runner(s): Shannon Holden, Alannah O'Rourke