Longhorns spotlight: Lauren Salisbury
Nov. 9, 2009
Grant Abston, Texas Media Relations The night before her first collegiate cross country meet, Lauren Salisbury was in the emergency room. After having her wisdom teeth removed, an infection threatened to delay the freshman's debut as she waited to be cleared from the hospital. "I was actually in the emergency room until 3 a.m. the night before and got some pain medication," Salisbury said. "From then on, it's kind of been a battle with injuries." The senior from Pflugerville has dealt with injuries her entire UT career, but like her first meet, she has continually bounced back and will lead a team looking for its first NCAA Championship appearance in six seasons. One of six seniors, Salisbury was part of coach Steve Sisson's first class in 2006. After starting high school as a soccer player, she made the switch to cross country following multiple soccer injuries and talking with a former Longhorn. Susan Murphy, Salisbury's head girls track coach at Pflugerville High School and a former UT standout under her maiden name, Abernathy, lettered from 1975-77 and 1979 and helped convince Salisbury to make the switch. "She was just an awesome coach and she was just really inspirational," Salisbury said. "She kind of turned me to the running path and turned me over to (Texas)." Salisbury wrote a letter to Texas expressing her interest and was recruited by former women's track and field assistant coach Len Klepack. Despite advancing to state in cross country her junior and senior years, Salisbury entered Texas as a relatively inexperienced runner. Salisbury arrived on campus and began training under first-year coach Sisson. For someone who had never run more than five miles at a time, the warm-up itself at her first race was a challenge. "I remember my first meet at Texas State, Steve told us to go running and warm-up for 20 minutes," Salisbury said. "And I just had no idea what to do."
Salisbury struggled early in the year, recovering from three stress fractures and an eroding bone that never healed properly after a break, but she finished seventh in her first event and didn't place out of the top five for Texas the rest of the year. "There's absolutely nothing that's going to keep her from racing," Sisson said. "The one thing you know about Lauren is she'll be back, she'll never quit, she'll keep coming no matter what." Salisbury remained one of UT' most reliable runners throughout her sophomore and junior seasons, but continued to battle injuries. In January of 2009, a tweaked hamstring turned into a bulging disc in her back and threatened to hamper her senior season. She spent the summer rehabbing and led Texas to wins in the first three races of her senior season. "I think that one of the things that's been really interesting with Lauren is watching her develop more confidence, more strength as a runner, even as she has dealt with struggles and dealt with adversity," Sisson said. "I think she's proven that someone who puts hard work into something can be very good." Coupled with hard work, Sisson has pushed Salisbury each step of the way and helped transform her career. "I still remember the first message I got from Steve, it said, `Holla back at me'," Salisbury said. "I was like, `Oh my gosh, this coach is cool.' Ever since then, I knew it was going to be a good fit and he's definitely raised me in the running world and taught me how to be passionate about the sport." For Salisbury, her passion and hard work have allowed her to accomplish her goals despite her injuries. But it's another quality that stands out to Sisson. "One of the reasons she's been so successful is her sense of humor and her recognition that she doesn't make the world turn, she's just a piece of the puzzle on our team," Sisson said. After two top-10 individual finishes this season, Salisbury and the Texas team are focusing on the NCAA South Central Regional Championship on Nov. 14 after a disappointing, eighth-place finish at the Big 12 Cross Country Championship. But this time around, Salisbury will use her experience to lead her teammates. "Some days you have good days, some days you have bad days, but the key is that you're always going to wake up the next morning and you're going to run," Salisbury said. Coming from a runner who was at the hospital hours before her first race, her teammates might want to listen. If they do, Texas could find itself at its first NCAA Championship since 2003. |
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