By Mike McGrawExecutive DirectorThey say that timing is everything. For Lawrence Central’s Zach Saunders, truer words were never spoken. Saunders is a nominee for the St. Vincent Spirit of Sport Comeback Athlete of the Year Award. The reasons are all about timing.
Saunders was a highly successful running back for the Bears’ football squad for three seasons. In 2009, he briefly led the state in rushing during the campaign. It was a great senior season for Saunders because he not only was productive, but the team enjoyed its best year in some time. During his junior year, Saunders had also established himself as one of Indiana’s best pole vaulters.
The good times came crashing down quickly, however, and with horrible timing.
During warmups for the Bears’ football sectional opener last fall, Saunders suffered what was thought to be a minor knee injury. Nonetheless, it kept him out of the game. In subsequent weeks, he tried to return to practice only to tweak the knee again or suffer significant swelling after participating in drills.
The nagging nature of the injury finally led to Saunders receiving an MRI on the knee. It was discovered he had torn both meniscus in the knee. There was, however, one other problem: Zach had moved slightly during the procedure, and some of the MRI was blurry.
That proved fateful.
In late November, Saunders had his knee scoped to repair the known damage. At that time, what the blurry MRI had hidden was discovered: Zach had an ACL that was nearly 89 percent torn. Obviously, that led to immediate reconstructive surgery and put his senior vaulting campaign in serious danger.
This is where timing came into play again, and it wasn’t good. Saunders had planned on attending Purdue University to pole vault in college. The Boilermakers had recently stated their desire to have him do just that. After a serious knee injury at a crucial time, they began backing off that interest.
Saunders and his medical team decided to take timing into their own hands. Zach underwent a rigorous and accelerated rehabilitation of his knee. With the help and blessing of his therapists, he was cleared to return to vaulting in just 11 weeks. (That is about the same time that most people are cleared to start jogging after a surgery of such significance._
The determined athlete returned to competition in March and had a senior campaign to remember. Zach set school, sectional, and regional records. He finished second at the state finals to three-time champion Corey Shank of Fort Wayne Northrop with a leap of 16-0. Along the way, he rekindled the interest of the Purdue coaching staff and is now headed to West Lafayette to further his vaulting career.
We hope you enjoy our conversation with this determined young man.
