After a disappointing outdoor season last year due to a hamstring injury, Daniel Spaccapaniccia, ’18, was looking to come back stronger than ever in his final track season. But a fateful game of ultimate frisbee had other plans. After training hard for weeks on end, the men’s track & field team decided to take a small break from their intense training and take advantage of a pleasant Friday by having a little fun at practice. It was all fun and games for Spaccapaniccia until he went up to make a catch and didn’t quite land correctly.
“After I went up to grab the frisbee, I came down on someone’s foot, and severely sprained my ankle,” Spaccapaniccia said. It was a disappointing development for the senior, having just gotten over one injury only to have to immediately start the process all over again.
“I was told I was going to be out for six weeks.”
That’s an eternity for a sprinter to miss because that’s more than enough time to get out of shape. But thanks to determination and a hard work ethic, Spaccapaniccia was able to make the comeback in three weeks instead.
“I think it was only three weeks because outside of the manual therapy and rehab I did with the athletic trainers, I tried to do as much as I could on my own, which included icing as much as I could and doing whatever exercises that I was able to do in my room,” he said.
After three weeks of cross-training, the time came to get back on the track. Spaccapaniccia was able to overcome adversity and get back to where he was before the sprain. It wasn’t pretty at first, he said, as he needed to work twice as hard to get back to the aerobic level he had once been at. It was a frustrating time for Spaccapaniccia. “I felt like I had to restart all the training that I just did,” he said. But even though he virtually had to start over, he was up for the challenge.
After training even harder than before, he was able to accomplish his final goal: being an All-American during the indoor season. Spaccapaniccia ran the lead-off leg of the 1600-meter relay, which placed second in the country.
It was a huge achievement for him, who said: “It felt good to accomplish the level of success that I knew I was capable of, regardless of starting the season off injured.”
Now in his final outdoor season, Spaccapaniccia is trying to finish his career in the best way possible: by becoming a national champion in both the 1600-meter relay and bringing home a team national championship. In the meantime, he can take comfort knowing he gave it his all: “I’m looking forward to competing these last few weeks, but regardless of the outcome I’m happy with my career.”
