Injury not slowing down Sheldon's run at Union

Few athletes, in any era, can lay claim to the feat of excellence — and determination — that Ashley Sheldon has delivered over the last two years of college sport.

The 2023 Andover High graduate has made a monster impact on the soccer pitch and on the track at Division 3 Union College.

As in a three-sport athlete ... Yes, three!

In track — indoors and outdoors — the sophomore high jumper and hurdler is a two-time league champion, who has broken numerous program records and been named a Second Team All-American.

This past fall, she was part of a nine-win soccer team and anchored a defensive unit which posted 10 shutouts.

Oh, and in the classroom, the psychology major was recently named to the Liberty League, CSC All-District and USTFCCCA All-Academic teams.

She did all that despite being diagnosed with peroneal tendonitis, a condition where the tendons on the outer side of the ankle become inflamed due to overuse or injury.

Even a routine workout or practice has been anything but a walk in the park.

“It’s not fun,” she said.

In Sheldon’s case, it’s the left ankle, the one she pushes off on when she attempts to break her program record of 5 feet, 7.5 inches.

“I was fine at the lower heights, but whenever I started trying to do 5-5 and higher, it was just pain,” she described. “Practices I was able to maintain, but once I was competing in meets and making multiple attempts it started giving out.”

Sheldon quickly became best friends with the Union College athletic training staff.

“The trainers are amazing. Every day we spent time with physical therapy, and it helped, but I just needed rest at that point,” she said. “During soccer, my ankle was swollen a little but not enough to pull me from any sport. I wasn’t going to stop anyways. It was just a constant kind of sharp pain. I felt it more during soccer because of all the running but it was a dull pain. In track it was my jump leg, so it hurt a lot more than the usual jog around the soccer field.”

On the soccer field, she started all but one of the team’s 19 games (9-5-5) and ranked third in minutes played with 1,489 including playing eight full games and was a part of a defensive that allowed just ten goals all season.

“Ashley is a great ball winner, a hard-nosed defender, and very, very fast up the flank,” said Union head coach Karen Perron. “She has been a big contributor on the field since arriving at Union.”

After a short break, Sheldon moved on to the indoor track season earning All-Liberty League second team honors after taking second place in the high jump at the league championship meet.

That came a year after breaking the school record in the 60-meter hurdles (9.26), winning the league title in the high jump and becoming the program’s first field qualifier for the NCAA Division 3 National Championship Meet.

This past spring, she was the league champ in the high jump, and qualified for the nationals again, this time held in Ohio, but struggled, not able to clear the opening height.

“The competition is what you would expect at a national meet and just unimaginable,” she said. “I don’t want to say choke, but I tend to get very intimidated at the bigger meets. That one is big so obviously the nerves were high.”

Six weeks removed from the national meet, Sheldon is preparing for her junior year and making an even bigger impact with each of the three programs.

“I took a few weeks off after the track season finished and then I have started to slowly get back into (the off-season workouts),” she said. “I’ve been testing my ankle and doing my usual full-on workouts ... Right now, I’m feeling good and there’s no pain.”

You can email Jamie Pote at jpote@eagletribune.com.