2008 Apr-20
VIDEO: Girls provide mutual support during injuries
INTERACTIVE: Explore the knee and its ligaments
INTERACTIVE: Plyometric exercises may help in prevention
Injury strikes female athletes across Iredell
Name: Jana Bell
School: North Iredell
Year: Senior
Sports: Soccer
Injury: While competing for a loose ball against a West Rowan player April 2, Bell planted her left foot and her knee stayed locked.
“Before I even hit the ground I knew it was going to be bad,” Bell said. “I’ve been hurt before, but I knew this was different.”
One of the best players for the Raiders, Bell will miss the rest of the season.
Status: Will have surgery May 1 and play at UNC-Asheville next season.
Name: Ahshante Branch
Year: Senior
School: West Iredell
Sports: Basketball, Track
Injury: Running down the floor during an individual practice drill, Branch twisted her knee and sprained her Posterior Cruciate Ligament.
She tore her ACL in the same knee the next season and missed the majority of the last two basketball seasons.
“When I couldn’t play, I just went to a couple of practices and coached ‘em up,” Branch said. “I was just there yelling at them and trying to make them better.
Status: Will attempt to walk on the track team at UNC-Chapel Hill
Name: Megan Brantley
School: Lake Norman
Year: Junior
Sports: Soccer, Basketball
Injury: During her last club soccer tournament of the 2006 season — the same day Lake Norman’s boys team won the 3A state title — a defender ran through Brantley’s planted right foot, shredding her ACL.
Brantley missed her sophomore season of basketball and soccer, but played basketball this past winter for the Wildcats.
“The really hard part was having to sit through both basketball and soccer seasons and not being able to do anything,” Brantley said.
Status: Recently rejoined the Wildcats on the soccer field.
Name: Marrissa Church
School: West Iredell
Year: Senior
Sports: Volleyball, Basketball, Soccer
Injury: Church’s left ACL collapsed after she landed from a jump during the 3A state volleyball championships in November.
“As I was up in the air, I had to turn my body so I could angle the ball back into the court,” Church said. “I just came down on it wrong, I just twisted my knee. I landed and my knee twisted under me.”
Status: Expected to join college teammates at Lenoir-Rhyne on the volleyball court May 7.
Name: Carly Couch
School: South Iredell
Year: Junior
Sport: Track
Injury: While hanging out with her friend last spring, Couch jumped a fence and tore her ACL when she landed.
Couch missed most of her sophomore track season but bounced back strong this year.
She has qualified for regionals in two different events.
“It’s been about a year, and it’s healed very nicely,” Couch said.
Status: Running track
Name: Casey Grieshaber
School: Lake Norman
Year: Junior
Sport: Soccer
Injury: While chasing a loose ball on defense, Grieshaber planted her left foot and turned toward the ball.
Her foot remained stationed on the ground while the rest of her trunk turned, which is what tore the ACL.
“It hurt right when it happened,” Grieshaber said. “I thought I was dying. But after a minute, I just stood up and walked all the way around the bench. I was never on crutches or anything.
Status: Grieshaber completed rehab three weeks ago and hopes to play club soccer in the fall.
Name: Hayley Hammond
School: Lake Norman
Year: Junior
Sports: Golf, Tennis, Basketball
Injury: During Lake Norman’s summer basketball camp in 2007, Hammond was fouled by two different girls while soaring for a layup.
Her left ACL tore after landing awkwardly, but she was on the links for Lake Norman in two months.
She hopes to play basketball again.
“I’ve played a few pickup games and it’s held up so far,” Hammond said.
Status: After a stellar junior season, Hammond was named the North Piedmont 3A golfer of the year and the 2007 R&L county golfer of the year.
Name: Lindsay Mannion
School: Lake Norman
Year: Senior
Sport: Basketball
Injury: Mannion has torn her right ACL once and left ACL twice since her eighth-grade year.
Mannion helped Lake Norman coach Dave Walla with his AAU team and Donna Robertson with her Brawley Middle team while serving as an inspiration to several county athletes.
“My mom and coach Walla were both very motivational to me this year,” Mannion said,
Status: Will attend college and hopes to run her own AAU team and help female basketball players get recruited.
Name: Kaitlyn McCollum
School: Brawley Middle
Year: Eighth grade
Sport: Basketball
Injury: Shortly after her middle school season ended, McCollum was playing against some older boys at the YMCA.
One of them accidently hit her right knee while she went up for a layup, tearing her ACL.
“I really didn’t think it was torn at first,” McCollum said.
Status: Undergoing rehab and hoping to be ready for basketball at Lake Norman in the winter.
Name: Becky Moose
School: South Iredell
Year: Senior
Sports: Track, Basketball
Injury: Moose tore her left ACL after landing from a jump during a basketball game in December.
She originally didn’t know it was torn and inserted herself back into the game.
“It definitely wasn’t fun,” Moose said.
Status: Plans to walk on to the track team at Appalachian State.
“If I can get better again, hopefully I can still do it,” Moose said.
Name: Erin Reavis
Year: Junior
School: North Iredell
Sport: Soccer
Injury: Reavis tore her left ACL during soccer season in April of her freshman year.
“I basically just fell in kind of like a split motion,” Reavis said.
Her left knee doesn’t bend as far as it once did, and gets tight often.
“Rehab was very hard on me,” Reavis said. “It hurt, but it was constantly getting better.
Status: Reavis starts on defense for North Iredell and is a cheerleader during the offseason.
Name: Emmie Tyson
School: Mooresville
Year: Senior
Sport: Soccer
Injury: Tyson tore her right ACL when she was in seventh grade. During soccer practice, she was dribbling toward the goal and cut too sharply.
After rehabbing for six months, Tyson tore her right ACL the next year during a club game when she was clipped from behind on a breakaway and landed wrong.
“I was really rusty early in high school,” Tyson said. “It actually took me a while to fully recover and get my speed back.”
Status: Is a starting midfielder and key contributor for Mooresville.
Name: Kathryn Vance
School: Statesville
Year: Sophomore
Sports: Soccer, Golf
Injury: Before the start of a club soccer game in December, Vance told her father and her friend that tearing her ACL was her biggest fear in soccer.
Moments later, it happened.
Vance, a keeper, soared to make a save. She landed on her right knee awkwardly and was then slide-tackled at the same time.
“I don’t remember much,” Vance said. “I think when I fell down and it popped, I think I blacked out. I was screaming because it hurt so bad.”
Status: Vance is currently going through rehab, but says she worries about making the varsity team next season.
Compiled by Brad Norman
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