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Senior Petal Palmer of the West Virginia University cross country and track and field teams has been honored as a recipient of the 2024 Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award by the National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals (N4A).

 

The N4A Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award honors student-athletes who have overcome great personal, academic, and/or emotional odds to achieve academic success while participating in intercollegiate athletics. These individuals have persevered and made significant personal strides toward success.

 

In August of 2022, Palmer was preparing for her junior season of cross country but suddenly fell ill and she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. What was meant to be her cross country preseason, turned into a month long stay in the hospital followed by several months of intense chemother

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In August of 2022, Palmer was preparing for her junior season of cross country but suddenly fell ill and she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. What was meant to be her cross country preseason, turned into a month long stay in the hospital followed by several months of intense chemotherapy.

 

Palmer has not let the cancer put her down though, as she recently graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology, while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Palmer stated that she never let the ‘chemo brain’ affect her, as she continued her rigorous studies throughout her hospital stay. Palmer plans to attend medical school after graduation.

 

Additionally, Palmer has completed an internship for the Community Exercise in Medicine Program at West Virginia, working with clients who suffer from diseases such as Parkinson’s, arthritis, and osteoporosis.

One of Palmer’s proudest achievements is her YouTube channel, PetalPalmer, where she has dedicated her time to sharing medical and patient stories to the world. The channel has grown to over 100,000 subscribers in under a year.

 

The Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, native, was also recently invited to give a TEDx Talk, where she described her experience with ‘Cancer Ghosting’ during her diagnosis

 

During her time as a student athlete, Palmer represented WVU at the 2020 Big 12 Cross Country Championship as well as the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championship. The senior posted career best times of 19:25.4 and 22:38.2 in the women’s 5k and 6k, respectively. Palmer was also named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Spring Honor Roll two times.

“For Petal to be a recipient of this award in the name of Wilma Rudolph is simply amazing,” said WVU coach Sean Cleary. “Petal has overcome one obstacle after another to emerge with a 4.0 GPA in what some might consider the most difficult level of curriculum at WVU. Words cannot describe how proud I am of Petal, and all that she has accomplished. We have no doubt that she can accomplish anything that she sets her mind to.”

 

For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUXCTF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

 

 

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