LCCC's Faith Meredith overcoming third ACL tear of her career

The Cheyenne Central graduate suffered the third anterior cruciate ligament tear of her soccer career late last season. The first two came in her left knee during her freshman and sophomore seasons of high school. She injured her right knee last fall.

“The (athletic) trainers thought it might just be a meniscus tear,” Meredith said. “I had hope because everyone else seemed so confident it was just the meniscus. Deep down, I knew it was the ACL.”

Doctors told Meredith she could still play with a brace on her right knee, but that she needed to stop if the ligament tore completely. Meredith got five games out of her knee before it finally gave way in the Region IX championship. She missed both of the Golden Eagles’ National Junior College Athletic Association tournament matches.

“It was tough to miss nationals, but I’m glad I was able to get a few more games out of it,” said Meredith, who was an honorable men-tion all-region midfielder last season.

Meredith’s first two ACL tears were repaired by grafting pieces of her patella tendon. This most recent injury was healed by grafting a chunk of her quadriceps.

She was told the rehabilitation would be more difficult and it would take longer for her to be released to return to activity. Meredith’s previous experience with rehabbing a torn ACL helped her turn that timetable on its head.

“They weren’t going to release me to run until six months after surgery,” she said. “I got released in four, which is the exact time they would have released me if they hadn’t used part of my quad.

“There was a possibility I wasn’t going to be back in time for this season. I knew what I needed to do to gain that muscle and keep it where I need it to be to play. I wanted to prove to them – and myself – that I could make it back.”

Meredith has hardly shown any ill effects of a third major knee injury. She tied for the top spot in LCCC’s preseason testing, which features – among other things – a two-mile run, a 40-yard dash, kicking distance with both legs and small-sided contests.

“She is probably a step slower than she used to be, but that’s to be expected, since she is playing with two braces,” said LCCC coach Jim Gardner. “It might take her a little while to get her confidence back, but the doctors say she is pretty strong and solid, and she says she feels OK.

“If anything, she might be a little too aggressive and be working a little too hard. She looks a little tired at times, so she needs to be a little smarter about how hard she pushes herself.”

Pushing herself is how Meredith makes up for the fact she isn’t as fast as she used to be, or able to do things she used to do.

“I just have to keep pushing through if I want to even be close to the player I was in high school, or the player I was last year,” said Meredith, who scored five goals and dished out three assists during her rookie campaign at LCCC.

Meredith credits her upbringing for developing her relentless mindset.

“My parents raised us to push through whatever comes at us in life,” she said. “If you really want to do something, you have to put your whole heart into it. There is no doing anything halfway.”

Meredith is focused on keeping her leg muscles strong throughout the season. She knows she is making herself more susceptible to knee injuries if she cuts corners on her quad and hamstring lifts. Meredith also makes sure she is stretched and warmed up before she takes the field.

“I can’t just strap up the braces and go after it,” she said. “It takes a little more dedication and time, but I love this sport so much that I think it’s worth it.”

Passion for the sport helps Meredith overcome doubts about her abilities and her athletic future beyond LCCC.

“I might only have six months of full-on competing left in my life,” Meredith said. “There are days where I think, ‘Gosh, this is so difficult,’ and I wonder if it’s worth the time and effort I put into getting ready to play.

“There are a lot more days where I think, ‘I love this, I have to push through.”