Women's Track & Field | May 10, 2018
Maria McDaniel should be getting ready for her final Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championships this weekend, celebrating her career along with her fellow seniors. Instead, when she lines up to run in the 5,000-meter run on Saturday it will mark her return after a two-year absence.
It wasn't a major injury, like tearing a knee ligament or an Achilles tendon. McDaniel had to battle through smaller lower body injuries, setbacks and then more setbacks.
"My last MAC Outdoor Championship was in 2015 at Ball State and that was during my freshman year," said McDaniel.
After a stellar cross country and indoor season, she capped off her first collegiate outdoor season winning the MAC title in the 5,000. Now, her long climb back will be complete at the end of the weekend.
She had a bit of an injury to start her sophomore year but still competed during the indoor season. It was too much and then she redshirted for the outdoor season to recover. That summer she picked up another injury and it lingered for a long time. An MRI revealed the injury was bit more serious than previously expected and McDaniel ended up in a walking boot. Another comeback attempt ended with her missing her junior season as well.
Comebacks are hard and grueling work. McDaniel was often separated from her teammates during practice, she was left back frequently on road trips and missed out on competing at home in the 2017 MAC Outdoor Championships. It's the only time that Western Michigan hosted the event in her career.
"We've had to take a step back and look at the perspective of racing and running on a team," McDaniel said. "Running fast is awesome and so is scoring points at the MAC, it's what we do this for. But being on a team that loves me so much, that I can go to for anything and all the support on the team is what is the most valuable. So, taking that into perspective and enjoying the process of getting back into running and returning, realizing that injuries are only temporary. It's hard to see that as you are going through them, but just keeping that in your mind is very helpful. "
Neither head coach Kelly Lycan or associate head coach Taryn Sheehan had any trepidation about McDaniel's eventual return. But both had different reasoning.
"Maria loves to run," said Sheehan. "I think there is a misconception that most runners get up every day and love to run and that's not true. Most runners wake up every day and think 'Oh my goodness, this is going to hurt.' Maria is one of those special individuals who wakes up every day and enjoys running. It's almost a joke on the team how much she loves to run and her passion for the sport."
It was evident for McDaniel while she watched her teammates practice and compete.
"When I was in my boot some of my teammates would complain about the hard work that day," McDaniel explained. "Some of them would say we had a mile of repeats and that it sucked, but that is actually one of my favorite workouts. I was like 'You guys get to go out there, work hard and sweat a little bit.' In my head I kept thinking that will be me eventually when I get back out there."
For Lycan, he simply just always saw what he recruited in McDaniel.
"Athletes go through injuries," said Lycan. "The period of time when they are out and they can't compete is different for every athlete. With Maria, we never knew she would be out two whole years. After you're out for that long, you start thinking 'Am I ever going to make it back?' She continued to work and cross train. She did all those things she needed to do to prepare herself for when she got the spike back on. When I was recruiting her at the Illinois State Cross Country Championship there was a big hill they had to go up at the very end. She just kept chugging away and passing people one by one. Steady, dogged and determined. That's why I wanted her for our team."
McDaniel was also able to draw strength from two teammates she watched go through the long rehab process. Alums Jordan Anderson and Lindsey Hufnagel had missed substantial time due to injuries in their careers. Both returned for their senior seasons last year and went out in glory. Anderson earned Second Team All-MAC honors after finishing second in the 800-meter run at the 2017 MAC Outdoor Championships. Hufnagel was named First Team All-MAC after taking the title in the 400-meter hurdles.
"Lindsey and Jordan have been wonderful," said McDaniel. "I really look up to them because they have taken it like a champ and I'm just trying to follow in their footsteps."
McDaniel was eased back in during the indoor season and was able to compete at the MAC Indoor Championships, competing in the 3,000-meter run. Her worked ramped up in the outdoor season, culminating with a Drake Relays title in the 5,000, a title she also won during her freshman season.
"The biggest lesson I learned is that running isn't everything," McDaniel concluded. "In years past I definitely would have seen this as a major setback and that I'll never get back to that level, but honestly this whole year has been a test of being grateful for being out there, being with my teammates and feeling healthy again. The running will come and go, like fast times will come but you shouldn't be hung up on that. That is the end result, but you have to focus on the process and sometimes the process means getting injured and learning that you should be grateful for being healthy and getting out there again."
