Follow Waterville HS senior Alex Jenson's Blog. Jenson is one of the top hurdlers & jumpers in the state. Jenson won't be competing this spring but instead recovering from a torn ACL. Follow Alex this spring as she starts the recovery process.
For those of you that don’t know me, I am a hurdler and jumper from Waterville. Last season, I was the outdoor state championship in the 100 hurdles, triple jump, and was the lead off runner on my winning 4x100 team. I was also the runner up in the long jump. While many of my competitors take part in indoor track, I have been unable to because I am also a competitive mogul skier at Carrabassett Valley Academy. For all four years of my high school career I have attended CVA for 7 months, starting in September, in order to train, compete, and travel for skiing while keeping a rigorous academic load at the same time. After the ski season has finished, I have transferred back to Waterville High School to finish out the academic year and run track.
As we begin the spring track season, I would normally be preparing for outdoor but unfortunately my senior year of track ended before I even stepped foot on the track.
On March 27th, while training for U.S. Mogul Skiing Nationals in Lake Tahoe, California, I landed in just a way that would leave me sidelined for the whole track and field season. It was the first training run and the course, to say the least, was interesting. The pitch of the hill after the first jump was steep, which meant that it had more drop time than most other courses did. I thought nothing of this because as an athlete, it is important to accept different challenges that you have because it’s the same for everyone. I pushed out of the gate to take my first practice run on the course. Right before the top jump, I hit a patch of loose snow, which put me into a backseat position taking off the jump. As I was in the air and fell to the landing, I landed on the backs of my skis. Everything was fine until I felt my right ski slide out from under me and all of my weight transferred to my left leg. I had broken my right ski and I was ultimately doing a single legged squat on my left leg going into the first mogul, a very scary position to be in I must add. This all happened rather quickly and before I knew it my left knee gave out as I hit the first mogul and I was then sliding on my stomach down the middle of the course. When I came to a stop about 30 feet down the course, I cautiously stood up. I thought that I was in the clear when I was able to bear full weight and had no pain in my left knee. I was a little shaken up by my fall so I skied down to my coach who was 10 feet down from me on the side of the course. As I skied down to him, my left knee felt a little weird and my coach suggested that we go to the medical tent to have it checked out. I still had full range of motion, had no swelling, and had very little pain; another set of good signs that suggested it was just a small tweak. Once I was in the hands of the doctor I hoped that he would tell me it was only a minor tweak and that I would be able to strap a brace on to compete the next day. When the doctor went to do the Lachman test, better known as the ACL test, I hoped for the best. Unfortunately the doctor’s face changed from an expressionless stare to a cringe. When he said the three dreaded letters, A-C-L, I was lost for words and broke into tears.
I knew that knee injuries were always high risk for mogul skiers but mine didn’t feel real to me at that moment. At first I was in a great deal of denial because I didn’t want to accept the fact that I was injured. I was supposed to finish out my ski season with strong results at Nationals and return to Waterville to attempt to set school and state records as well as help my track team win its 7th outdoor state title, not to be sitting at the bottom of the course or in the bleachers icing a blown out knee. I had a fairly successful junior year of track but I don’t want that to be the last time I run a hurdle race or land in a sand pit. My senior year of track is something I can never get back and I don’t know if I will still be able to do track in college later down the road when I am done with skiing. I am planning to defer from college next year and possibly a few more years after in order to pursue my Olympic skiing aspirations.
So far, the hardest part about my injury has been accepting it and staying positive about it. As soon as I found out that I had torn my ACL, I started talking to a lot of people at Nationals who had gone through the recovery process. I was able to gather a lot of information from my friends and competitors because it is the most common injury in mogul skiing. A good amount of high-level mogul skiers have gone through it and have been able to make complete comebacks. They had a lot of good advice that I think has made it possible for me to stay so positive because I know that I’m not the only one who has ever had to recover from this injury.
Although I will be unable to help the Waterville Track Team out physically this season, I will be there for mental support. I was chosen as a captain despite my injury and it is a great honor to still be part of the team. My teammates and coaches have been very understanding and supportive of my injury and it means a lot to still have their respect. The first two meets of this season have been a new experience for me because in the past I have always been busy warming up, taking steps, or trying to mentally prepare for my events at meets instead of watching as a spectator.
My surgery is scheduled for April 23rd and I do have to admit that I am very optimistic. I am ready to get back to what I love. I know that the next six months might be the hardest thing I have ever had to endure but it will be well worth it in the end. So many other athletes have done it in the past and many of them have even come out of rehab stronger. I want to be able to look back on this setback, and see that although it may have seemed like the end, it was only the beginning to my major comeback.
-Alex Jenson
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