Bucknell University Athletics
Fulmer Adds to List of Firsts with Recovery from Injury
12/8/2009 7:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
Dec. 8, 2009
By Becky Hart, Bucknell Athletic Communications
Freshmen are often faced with a number of firsts - first time away from home, first time in a college classroom, maybe even the first time doing their own laundry. Few freshmen experience firsts quite like Stephanie Fulmer did a year ago, becoming the first Bison to be named the Patriot League's top cross country rookie. Now a sophomore, Fulmer is still encountering new obstacles and opportunities while also looking to repeat her past successes.
Fulmer's 2008 started off with a bang as she finished second at the Patriot League Cross Country Championships, earned her first career selection to the All-Patriot League First Team and was named the Rookie of the Meet. That final honor was a first for a Bucknellian on the cross country course, male or female.
After winning the mile, helping the 4x800 and distance medley relays to second- and third-place finishes, respectively, and placing fourth in the 1,000 meters later that winter, Fulmer repeated the feat as the league's indoor track and field Rookie of the Meet, making her the first Bison woman to be voted the top freshman in two different seasons. Only Kyle Anthony, her teammate on the men's squad who was Rookie of the Meet at both the indoor and outdoor championships in 2007, can make the same claim.
More first-place finishes, this time in the 1,500 and 4x800 relay, at the Patriot League outdoor championships that spring gave her yet another first-team all-league selection and a trip to the NCAA Regional meet. When all was said and done, Fulmer had three individual track titles, a team title at the league's outdoor track championships and six positions on the Bucknell top-10 record lists.
With so much time spent on the track and so many miles on her legs, it seemed inevitable that the distance runner would eventually have to slow down. Unfortunately, the break in action came in the form of an injury, causing Fulmer to miss the first two cross country meets in 2009. Although she could have continued to rest and recuperate from the stress fracture suffered last summer, the inactivity proved too difficult and Fulmer opted to try her hand at a comeback midway through the season.
"Not running. Taking time," says Fulmer of the hardest thing about being injured. "I was supposed to stop running, take off completely, but I ended up running one day, not running one day. I can't be on the elliptical or swimming or anything for more than 15 minutes without going nuts. Running is what I've done since I was 10 years old, and that's what I do now, and I don't know how to do anything else."
The injury, which was another first in her career, also provided some learning opportunities for the Pottstown, Pa., native.
"It was hard, but it was definitely something that was good for me. It actually helped me be able to talk to other girls who were injured and work with them," explains Fulmer. "We have groups of people who were coming back from injury and people who had just gotten injured. We were able to swim together, so that support system was really cool. Other than that, it was really hard. I took about a week and half and I said, `All right, I'm just going to run through it.' I ran through it. I'm taking a lot of time now."
Bison fans did not have to wait long to start seeing the Fulmer of old when she returned to the course. In her first meet back, she took 66th at Lehigh's Paul Short Memorial Run, beating out nearly 300 other runners. She continued to improve in her next two meets, eventually placing sixth overall at the Patriot League Championships. The finish earned her yet another all-league citation, but more importantly, she helped lead the Bison to their eighth league title in program history.
"Not what I wanted personally but I was able to go through leagues and help the team win championships," Fulmer says of her 2009 cross country season. "It was so cool. We really were excited to get that comeback. Everyone really, really stepped up. We had girls from last year who were 12th on the team, now our fifth girl, and we only had one graduation. It was just an awesome process. We have this idea on our team - when somebody goes down, another person steps up. We had awesome runs from a large part of our middle tier of the team."
The team title might have been a surprise to some given that Bucknell was not always at full strength throughout the season. Fulmer was just one Bison struggling with health issues as other injuries and illness took their toll on the squad.
"We had a lot of adversity and struggles to overcome. We had some injuries. Allison Donaghy was running well and then got injured. We had regular-type of sickness. We had a lot of good weeks and bad weeks for people, so a lot of, `Wow, what are we going to do?' and then, `Okay, we're running awesome.'"
Similar to the lessons Fulmer learned from her own experience from injury, Bucknell became a stronger unit in the face of their adversity.
"I think it was almost a good thing that we were able to win a championship without being 100 percent. We were not 100 percent, and we were able to beat out all the other Patriot League schools," says Fulmer. "I think it hurt us in the beginning, but after the first race, (head coach Kevin Donner) said to us, `We've got to step up. Right now we're on the brink of being a national-caliber team.' Realizing that we were able to do this not being 100 percent, it's really helped the team put everything in perspective. When we are fully 100 percent, we'll be able to do great things."
As Fulmer and her teammates continue to get healthy and with the cross country season having ended just weeks ago, the Bison are already gearing up for their second season. Indoor track and field competition for Bucknell begins with the Bison Opener at Gerhard Fieldhouse on Dec. 4, so Fulmer already has her plan in place for repeating and building on her past success. In addition to her individual league titles, Fulmer was one of five Bison to qualify for the NCAA Regional Championships in the spring, competing in the 1,500 meters. Four of those regional qualifiers in Fulmer, Sarah Bella, Rebecca Frey and Amy Mantush return in 2009-10, giving Bucknell an excellent chance at maintaining its place among the league's best teams.
While Fulmer has every belief that the Bison will continue their winning ways, she also recognizes that it will not be an easy task, especially after the team's most recent success.
"Eyes are on us now as a team because we did well in cross country. Our struggle is going to be a little bit in the distances. That's where Navy beat us indoor last year, focusing on the people that run the 10K indoor and the 5K outdoor," Fulmer remembers of last year when the Midshipmen took the Patriot League indoor title, relegating the Bison to runner-up. "Our track people are ready to go. I think that we might have a few more sets of eyes on us from other teams, but also knowing that we didn't win it last year, we have something to prove."
Fulmer and her teammates openly welcome whatever their opponents throw at them, however.
"Anyone can rise up. Anyone can have a great year," says Fulmer. "It (past success) puts a target on my back, but I thrive on that. All of my teammates do. They like the pressure. We like being pushed around by Donner all the time. With our practices, he's always like, `Work hard! You want to win! If you're not doing it, somebody else is.' I think it puts a target, but it's something that I'm used to."
Fulmer has proved that she can put up strong results in the past, producing an impressive list of accomplishments along the way. Despite that list, however, her goals upon arriving at Bucknell were modest.
"I just came into Bucknell wanting to be on varsity. That's all I wanted to do. That was my goal," says Fulmer. "I got here and with the energy and the focus and the determination, everything this team has... I never had that in high school. I didn't have a big team. I ran with the guys. There were a couple girls. It wasn't a huge team, so coming here, that's what I wanted. That team atmosphere. And that really helped me. I honestly could not have done it without my team.
"Even school-wise it was a huge adjustment coming here. It was difficult, but I had somebody there helping me, whether it was a study partner or just talking about life in general," continues Fulmer about her transition to the university. "It's cool to be honored. It's cool to be recognized, but it's even more important when the team does well along with it. It was a good year last year. Hopefully it's going to be an even better one this year."
That simple goal is not that surprising considering how Fulmer got her start in distance running in the first place. As a fourth grader, she had essentially two options in sports - basketball and track. Seeing that basketball at the school was "not very girl-oriented," Fulmer chose track. When classmates had to decide between sprints and long distance, Fulmer was one of the few to gravitate toward the latter not wanting to be like everyone else. Nearly 10 years later, she has stuck with distance running for the psychological benefits it provides.
"It's the peacefulness. Of course it's a stress reliever. It was the solitude, at first when I started because I'd run by myself," says Fulmer. "It's a way to connect with yourself and it's a way to view the world differently. You're running through it and you can think about everything. You think about problems in your life, and they go away. You're able to control what pace you want to go, how slow, how fast. It's windy and you're kind of living with nature but you're able to just run with it. It's very cool, but hard to explain."
Looking toward the future, Fulmer's goals remain modest in that she hopes to get the maximum enjoyment out of her athletic endeavors while working out with her best friends and teammates. Other goals have also become increasingly ambitious.
"I would love for the team to make it to cross country nationals next year. I would love to make it individually if that doesn't happen," says Fulmer. "And I am really focused on bringing my times down in track in the 1,500 or the mile indoors. I'm going to work on bringing the 5K (time) down too. It's hard because you only get to run so many races outdoor in terms of the longer stuff because it's so taxing on the body. I'd love to race the 5K a little bit more."
Fulmer is also developing her goals for the next two years away from running. The sophomore plans to declare majors in psychology and women's and gender studies later this year, and is eager to get down to work on her degree.
"I love my classes," says Fulmer. "It's nice to want to go to classes and do work."
She is also looking forward to getting more involved in various organizations on campus. Already she is beginning to take a more active leadership role with groups such as Bicycles Against Poverty, a microfinance program aimed at providing bikes to citizens in Uganda, and One in Four, which deals with sexual assault. Fulmer's interest in social issues has led her to wanting to make a mark on the global stage. She might even work in some running when she gets to Africa.
"I'm really interested in traveling to Uganda. We're trying to raise money to help with building schools for children. I'm just very interested in things like that," says Fulmer. "I really enjoy helping people. I want to try and save money so I can travel around and do things like that. My dream is to go run with the Kenyans."
Fulmer might dream of hitting the path with some of the best runners in the world, but for now, she is content with putting her name among some of the best to wear the Orange and Blue. After just one season, she ranks in the top 10 in program history in six different events, an accomplishment that genuinely surprises even Fulmer.
"That's a really cool thing. At first, I didn't really look at them. I didn't really know it existed, to be honest. I was a naïve freshman," says Fulmer. "It's really cool because you hear from alumni and you hear from other people, fans of the team, and they'll congratulate you," said Fulmer. "To be up there with people who are legends of the school and of the track and field team is really very cool."
Of course Fulmer still has more than half her career at Bucknell remaining, but if history continues to repeat itself, some more firsts are likely to be in her future.
Note: This story appeared in a recent Bucknell Basketball gameday program.
