The joy on Grace Forbes’ face was clearly evident shortly after she crossed the finish line in the women’s 10,000-meter run at the NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships last Friday at Oregon’s Hayward Field.
The sophomore from Rice by way of Strath Haven High sported a huge smile as she held up the V for victory sign with her right hand.
This truly was a victory, even though technically Forbes finished second in the race to Alabama’s Mercy Chelangat by nearly 12 seconds.
For Forbes, however, it was a triumph of the spirit.
“If you had told me three months ago that I would be here I definitely would not have thought that would have been possible,” Forbes said from Houston by phone on Sunday.
That’s because Forbes had been diagnosed in early April with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an auto-immune disorder where the body makes antibodies that attack the cells in the thyroid and causes fatigue and muscle weakness, among other symptoms.
The physical stress caused by her ailment was compounded with the tension of an increased academic load as Forbes began preparation to take the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). The physical and emotional toll was overwhelming for the four-time All-Delco (three in track, one in cross country) and three-time Daily Times Athlete of the Year (twice in track, once in cross country).
“It’s been pretty tough,” said Forbes, who will work as a volunteer scribe this summer at Puentes de Salud, a medical clinic that serves the Latinx community in Philadelphia, while also studying for the MCAT. “I got my COVID booster shot on Jan. 1, 2022. The stress of the vaccine on my body triggered a response where for three months I felt like I had no energy in the world. Basically I felt like I had run 16 miles the day before when I had run nothing and that was every day.
“It took three months for it to be diagnosed. It was really a struggle to get through each day with my homework and I could hardly run. I was just happy I was able to make it.”
Forbes did not take part in the indoor season. Her first competition was April 9, when she finished second in the 1,500 at the 44 Farms Team Invitational at Texas A&M. As her physical strength increased Forbes began to return to the form that would lead her to earn All-America honors for the fifth time in her career with her silver medal performance at the national championships.
In late April, Forbes won the 10,000 at the Penn Relays and also competed in the 4 x 800-meter relay with her sisters, Maddie and Maggie. Two weeks after that Forbes captured the 5K and 10K at the Conference USA championships and another two weeks before she captured the 10K at the NCAA West preliminary round for the second year in a row.
Forbes continued to show her resilience in the national final. Washington’s Haley Herberg set the early pace until Chelangat overtook her with six laps to go and began to expand her lead. Forbes moved into second about 200 meters later.
“With about two miles to go I was feeling really tired,” Forbes said, “but honestly, the amount of tired I was feeling then was nothing compared to how exhausted I felt every single day (during her illness), so I just pushed through.”
Forbes could not catch Chelangat but she had enough left in the tank to place second by nearly 12 seconds over Jenna Magness of Michigan State for her second straight top 10 finish in the event and earn All-America honors for the second time in her outdoor career.
“I have auto immune problems that run in the family so it was bound to happen,” said Forbes, who plans to be a sports orthopedic surgeon. “It just so happened that it happened this year. But I was really determined. Running is such a big part of my identity and I felt lost without it, so when I had the chance to do it again I was determined that I would give it my all.”
• • •
It was a good showing by Villanova’s McKenna Keegan, Sanaa Barnes and Sean Dolan at the NCAA championships as all three earned All-America honors.
Keegan, a graduate student, was second in the women’s 800. Barnes, a senior, was fourth in the high jump to help the Wildcats finish in 19th place in the team competition, the highest by the Wildcats since 2011. Dolan, meanwhile, placed fifth in the men’s 800.
Keegan passed four runners on the final lap to earn her silver medal. She turned in the second-fastest time of her career (2:01.71) to achieve All-America honors for the seventh time in her storied career. Keegan is the third Wildcats runner to finish as high as second in the 800, joinging Veronica McIntosh (1985) and Tosha Woodward (1995).
Barnes took fourth with a jump of 1.83 meters (6-0) to earn All-America honors for the fifth time in her career. It was the fourth top-six finish for Barnes at an NCAA championship event. She was sixth twice in the outdoor championships (2019 and 2021) and fourth at the 2019 indoor championships.
Dolan, a sophomore, ran a personal best 1:46.38 to finish fifth in the men’s 800 at the NCAA championships on Friday. It was the third time he’s earned All-America honors. He earned first-team indoor laurels in the mile in 2021 and second team indoors in the 800 this past season.
“It was good,” Dolan said of his fifth place finish on the Villanova athletics website. “Half the battle is making the meet and then obviously coming out to perform. I am very happy with being able to come out and perform this year compared to last year not being able to make it at all (to outdoor NCAAs). I am definitely happy with that and I was able to squeak a little PR out of the final today which was good.”