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Graduate student Abigail Sullivan is the first female runner from Clarkson University to participate at the NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championships - Photo by Larry Levanti

Sullivan Heads to Wisconsin to Compete in NCAA D3 Cross Country National Championships

11/15/2018 9:00:00 AM

By: by Tommy Szarka
Doling out rewards is a lot simpler when a parent is dealing with a resistant child. Full grown adults are another story entirely. What Clarkson Cross Country/Nordic Ski assistant coach Torin LaLiberte did on Saturday during the NCAA Division III Atlantic Regionals was akin to promising an extra scoop of ice cream at dessert if Abigail Sullivan would just finish her overcooked, bitter and soggy vegetables at dinner. 

"If you don't want to roller ski for the next two weeks," LaLiberte bellowed, "you need to go right now!"

Graduate student Abigail Sullivan is so strongly opposed to the Clarkson Nordic Ski team's dry land training of roller skiing, she found another gear for the final 1,000 meters of last Saturday's regional race, fending off a pair of Rensselaer runners by less than two seconds. Her non-ice cream reward was avoiding two weeks of roller skiing and an individual spot at the NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championships this weekend at Winneconne, WI.

NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championships web page
Watch Live (12:15 pm EST, Saturday, November 17th)

But it was not just the last half mile where Sullivan impressed. Through 4,000-meters, she had run the muddy course in 15 minutes, 23 seconds, an average of 3:50.8 per kilometer for the opening two-thirds of the race. Down the stretch, the final two kilometers, Sullivan shaved nearly eight seconds off per 1,000 meters, running at a rate of 3:43.1. The concluding sprint allowed her to cross the finish line in seventh place out of 305 runners. She was the first Liberty League runner to finish at the NCAA Atlantic Regionals, just two weeks after coming in 13th at the Liberty League Championships.

"(Torin) saying that really stuck with me, because it made the concept of going to nationals seem so real," Sullivan said. "I wanted it more than anything and I realized that if I fought for a couple more minutes, that spot was mine. I knew I could suffer for it, because if I didn't, I would regret it. I have never had a great kick at the end of a race, just a lot of grit. I pushed myself as hard as I possibly could, and somehow held off the two RPI girls right on my back. When I crossed the finish line, I immediately collapsed. My vision got really blurry, and I just laid in the mud. I don't remember much, but when Torin eventually found me and told me that I made it, I started sobbing in disbelief. It was something that I had always dreamed about, but it was such a lofty dream that making it come true was surreal."

Sullivan will be just the fourth runner in Clarkson's history to compete at the NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championships. Pete Rickert was the first, doing so in the 1970s, while Alex Benway (2011) and Dan Fritz (2013) accomplished the feat more recently. However, Sullivan is the first female from Clarkson to reach the nationals.

It has been a lengthy journey for Sullivan, who never ran competitively as a sport until her sophomore year of college. Now in her fifth year at Clarkson as a graduate student, Sullivan swam during her freshman year and broke the program's records for the 100 breaststroke and 200 individual medley, marks that still stand. Although her interests brought her to the cross country team, her athletic prowess also made her try Nordic skiing in the winter months.

"I am a firm believer that everything happens for the right reason," Sullivan remarked. "I came to Clarkson with the intention of playing two sports; I wanted to swim, because I had been competitively swimming since I was 8 years old, and although I had never competitively run before, I was an avid triathlete and really wanted to improve my running. Coming into Clarkson as a freshman, I had been dealing with a foot fracture for months, and it was finally just about healed. I was so excited to start running on it again. In September of my freshman year, I missed the first week of classes to compete in the International Triathlon Union World Championships. My foot that was supposed to be healed snapped mid-race. I was so disappointed that I missed cross country season my freshman year, but I had a successful swim season, so no regrets."

Unfortunately for Sullivan, after having a healthy two years of recovery and competition, she broke her foot in July 2016, a fracture that required a complicated surgery and kept her on crutches or in a walking boot for months.

"Showing up to practice and watching the races was probably the most difficult part of college for me, but my goal was to do it with a smile on my face. If I could give the team my full support and show them that I could get through that injury with a positive attitude, my hope was that if they had a bad race or hit a smaller bump in the road, they could look at it in a positive light, too."

That team-first attitude was reciprocated towards Sullivan on Saturday once her teammates discovered her placement among the top runners in the region.

"Their reactions to my race were so incredibly kind and genuine. They all had absolutely amazing races, but they wanted to celebrate my success first. My teammates were crying happy tears with me and were very excited. I was so overwhelmed by their love. Many people don't understand how running is a team sport, because we all run our own race, but I think it is moments like this when you realize how wonderful the world of running is. I've honestly never felt so close to a group of people in my life as I have with the Clarkson Cross Country team. I have been on so many amazing teams in the past with incredible people, but I have never felt so at-one with a group of people in my life. The week before regionals I caught myself smiling during a tempo workout, and it was because I just felt so lucky to be a part of such a special group of people. I cannot express how grateful I am for them."

Although Sullivan's teammates will not be with her in Wisconsin, they will certainly be there in spirit. And despite the injuries she has sustained over the last few years, Saturday will not be her final race. Sullivan will represent Team USA in Switzerland at the ITU World Championships in the Fall of 2019, thanks to winning the 20-24 age group this past summer.

And, of course, she still has a Nordic Ski season to look forward to, minus a couple weeks of roller skiing.  





 
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