This is Sideline Stories. A platform where NE10 student-athletes can share their collegiate experiences in an unfiltered environment - using their voices to promote growth and positive change in our league and in all of NCAA Division II athletics.

Olivia Snell, a freshman on the Le Moyne cross country and track & field teams, has an illness that has transformed her life - but she continues to fight back so that it doesn't define her, with the support of her teammates and coach. Here is her Sideline Story:

“We’ll be surprised if you can finish high school as an athlete.”

These are the words I heard from a rheumotologial specialist in 10th grade. I was sick - very sick; I had been for almost a year. I found myself walking in and out of doctors’ offices without answers, sent to hospitals around the northeast to no avail for four years.

Senior year my pain was given a title: systemic lupus erythematosus (sle).

Though it was a relief to have an official diagnosis, it was terrifying. My hair was falling out, I had lost roughly 20-percent of my body weight, I was passing out, some days I could barely walk and I was in copious amounts of pain almost every minute. I did not know how I was going to live with this for the rest of my life.

Most people do not know what lupus is. In short, my immune system is attacking my body's own cells and tissues. This leads to various unpleasant symptoms, organ damage and eventually kidney failure.

I was an active athlete in high school, playing field hockey, tennis, running indoor and outdoor track, and being a competitive horseback rider - so when I was told I might not be able to compete in anything anymore, I took it as a challenge.

Lupus began to take an immense toll on my body as the months progressed, but I was put on a variety of medications that were able to help control it and I was able to continue every sport except for horseback riding.

Toward the end of senior year I received an email from Le Moyne’s head track and cross country coach, Robin Wheeless. I was never very good at running and it seemed surreal when I was told I had an opportunity to continue running at Le Moyne.

It was a happy ending to my story. Come early June I was on new medications to control my disease, I finished my high school seasons, I graduated and I began training for cross country. Life seemed almost too good to be true - that is, until the end of June set in.

One morning I woke up flaring and did not have the strength to get out of bed. This flare lasted almost an entire month. I was in pain for most of the day and spent the entirety of my time sleeping, aside from going to work.

I had never been in more pain, but my disease had seemed to constantly show me new levels of agony I did not know existed. My body has never truly recovered. Though the flare subsided, my lupus has since progressed toward the worse.

Two weeks prior to the flare up, I had run a half-marathon in the hot sun with no problem. At this point, I could barely run a mile without throwing up or passing out. I had no idea how I was going to make it to cross country, let alone get through the season.

Come August, it was time to head to campus and start training with the team. I threw up during almost every workout. I could barely make it through 45-minute runs some mornings. I was a terrible runner that some coaches may have considered a lost cause - but that is where Le Moyne’s program is special.

My coaches and teammates never judged me on my ability. I was just as much an athlete as everybody else. Somewhere between the vomit and tears, my team became my family and my motivation. I had never found running more difficult, yet I also had never found it more rewarding.

When I raced, I was not there to compete against other runners. I was running to compete against myself. I was running to compete against the doctor who told me it was all in my head. I was running to compete against the specialist who said I would not finish high school sports. I was running to compete against the odds. I was running to compete against my disease. I was running against my lupus - and I never let it win.

This was something that Le Moyne gave me that I would not have found elsewhere.

I began to love running more than I ever had before - and I have my amazing team and coaches to thank for that. I will never be able to put into words how thankful and appreciative I am for their constant love, support, and encouragement; also for the hugs, the excitement when I finished a workout without vomiting and being ready with tissues when the pain became too much.

Aside from how much I have grown as an athlete, it is crazy to me to think about how much this program has helped me grow as a person. I remember crying into one of my teammate’s arms when I found out I had to start a chemo derivative treatment and now, here I am, ready to start it in mere days without an ounce of fear. My team reminded me of my strength and gave me some of theirs when I needed it.

My disease has taken a lot from me and will continue to for the rest of my life, but it will never take the family that Le Moyne XC/TF has provided me. To say I am overwhelmed with love for Le Moyne’s running program is an understatement. This team has helped me defy odds - and I will forever be indebted to this program and sport.

I am lucky enough to know that my team will always be there with shoulders to cry on and hands to high-five, waiting with ice packs at every finish line - and I am forever grateful.

-Olivia Snell