When Palmer took over in 2007, he became the fifth coach in school history. He immediately began to help transition the program from the South Atlantic Conference and Division II to the Big South Conference and Division I.

The school saw early success from multiple runners including Lauren Bowers, Stephanie Newell, Alex Thomas, Adam Freudenthal, and Nicholas Baer who all set or reset a school record during their time at PC. Equally as important, the Blue Hose had numerous runners named to the Big South All-Academic Team including Bowers, Baer, Newell, Kristi Tempel, Natalie Parkman, Mellette Johnson, and Brian Trail.

In 2008, both of Palmer's teams recorded their top finish since his arrival, garnering runner-up spots at the Blue Hose Invitational. Bowers and Baer earned the program's first ever Big South Runner of the Week honors after competing in the Oct. 11 Furman Invitational.

As transitioning members of the Big South Conference from 2007-2011, the Blue Hose matched up against several ranked opponents and even Division I Outdoor National Champions Josh McDougal (2007) and Sam Chelanga (2009, 2010) of Liberty.

With PC not offering varsity track, Palmer has also taken the Blue Hose to a few track meets during his tenure as coach. In the spring of 2007, PC traveled to the USC Indoor Open as well as the Asics/Winthrop Outdoor Invitational. Both teams met with great success, most notably at Winthrop where Tempel finished second in the 800 meters (2:33) and Baer won his heat of the 1500m (4:28). The addition of spring competition lifted spirits during off-season training and allowed both teams to post personal records at various road races they chose to run. In 2011, the team traveled to the Terrier Relays and competing in the DMR. Both teams beat their seed times, and the women finished an impressive fourth out of seven teams.

Palmer joined the program during its seventh season as a varsity sport in 2003 when he signed from nearby Union High School. Over the next four years, he accumulated several top-10 finishes and set a personal best 8k time of 27:12. Also during that time, Palmer ran beside classmate and program-great Matthew Elliott. In 2011, Elliott became the first South Carolina native to run a sub-four minute mile.

Palmer graduated cum laude from Presbyterian College with a bachelors of Science degree in mathematics and minor in accounting in 2007. He is a member of the USATF and is a Level 1 certified coach. He currently resides in Clinton, S.C.