Top Five Flashback: Women's Cross Country #5 (October 18, 2014)
Top Five Flashback
Women's Cross Country #5 - Chieco caps comeback with collegiate debut (October 18, 2014)
NEWPORT, R.I. - It was a race four years in the making for Jennifer Chieco (Clifton Park, N.Y.). Sidelined by injuries for her entire collegiate career, the senior captain finally found the right balance of physical therapy to permit a return to competition.
Chieco got one chance – at the Western New England Invitational – and made the most of the opportunity. She finished at 23:14, ahead of 114 runners in the field of 210. And the path to the finish line measured far longer than 5,000 meters.
Chieco trained on an anti-gravity treadmill throughout the summer, running at a percentage of her body weight as she tried to rehabilitate the injuries that kept her from racing since her senior year at Shenendehowa High School. She got the go-ahead to run on terra firma just before preseason, training on the track before joining her teammates for training runs on softer surfaces.
The senior captain quickly found her racing instincts at Western New England. She was in the middle of the field through the opening mile and worked to pass runners in the trails. She later worked with teammates Rachel Pyne, Casey Devaney and Sam Gisonni to maintain her position. Then, the finish line came into view.
"I felt like I made the biggest accomplishment of my running career," Chieco said. "I made goals into a reality. After all this time, the finish line was literally in my grasp."