Sievert Overcomes Injuries for Nationals

by Madison Pitsch

Junior Emily Sievert pushed through four weeks of injuries and modified training to compete at the NAIA Cross Country Nationals competition on Nov. 19. She has spent the past month resting due to bone bruising in her knee, using crutches to recover. She has swapped in her training routines for less joint-jolting options, such as treadmills, ellipticals and the pool.

“It was frustrating because nothing is the same as going out for a run or doing your speed repeats, but it kept my cardio up for the race,” Sievert said.

Sievert relied on adrenaline throughout the race, saying that she eventually blacked out from pain.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be my best race, I knew it was going to hurt, I just had to tell myself ‘give what you have today and run through it,’” she said.  Despite the circumstances, she finished 195th out of 334 runner with a time of 19:28.88.

“It was a great experience just to get to return to the national meet,” Sievert said. “The coaches and supporting family and friends made the race rewarding, even if it didn’t yield a personal record.”