The walk-on

If I’m being completely honest, I wasn’t really expecting much from that email. Coach Hudgens could have just as easily skimmed it over and went about his day without ever responding. I knew the odds were definitely against me.

But with that said, the worst thing that could have happened was him saying no, right?

If he said no, I could have walked away knowing I tried. I wouldn’t have to carry around a bunch of what-ifs for the rest of my life. But to my surprise, he actually responded and agreed to a phone call.

I was so shocked.

It’s hard to put into words what I was feeling in that moment. Before sending that email, I was only running random 5Ks, and now, I was talking to the head cross country coach at PC about an opportunity to possibly walk on.

Of course, I didn’t really know what would come of it all. 

He was offering me a chance to be part of the team, but it was up to me to make the most of it.

I never expected it to be easy, but I never expected to face the hardships that I did, either.

Bad timing

In July 2020, in preparation for my first collegiate season with PC, I was out on a run when I suddenly rolled my ankle. When it first happened, I didn’t pay too much attention. It was just one of those situations where I thought I tweaked it and would be back on my feet in no time.

But “no time” turned into a few days, and my ankle still wasn’t getting any better. It was actually getting worse.

So, I finally decided to go see a doctor and get an x-ray. I was told it was a stress fracture, and that they’d put me in a walking boot for eight weeks and see if it improved.

At that point, I was bummed out because I knew it would impact my college start — something I was very much looking forward to.

But little did I know, this was just the beginning.

Eight weeks came and went, but my ankle didn’t get better. Actually, it got worse and worse.

So, I decided to get a second opinion. This time, I was diagnosed with tendonitis, and believe me, we tried everything—rest, physical therapy, and all sorts of things to help with the healing.

But it was a waste. My ankle still wasn’t getting any better.

By that point, I was pretty devastated by all of it. You just get to a point where you’re desperate for answers. Why couldn’t anyone figure out what was wrong with me?

The third time had to be the charm, right? That was my hope when getting a third opinion.

This time, they actually found a torn tendon in my ankle that required surgery. Not only did I tear a tendon, but because I was in a boot for so long, I developed muscular bone spurs and a ball of scar tissue the size of a golf ball.

I guess that explained the incredible pain I was in.

But through it all, the hardest part was being away from the team. I couldn’t do any sort of athletic activity, and I felt like I was letting Coach down, you know? 

He took a chance on me by putting me on the team with no experience, and there I was not being able to do anything.

It was literally the hardest thing I’ve ever been through.