BETHALTO – Junior Aubree Wallace is a two-sport athlete for the Civic Memorial Eagles. In the winter she is controlling the key for her basketball team and come spring she runs the midfield in soccer. She is no doubt a big part of both teams.
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She has been playing both sports since around the age of five, saying that she just barely prefers soccer. When asked about which one she feels better at she laughed and said probably soccer.
She doesn’t get to play her preferred sport her junior year though.
Back on March 4, in the third-place game at the girls' basketball 3A State Championships, she fell to the floor in agonizing pain. She was in such pain that the scream silenced the many fans inside Redbird Arena. She didn’t know for sure, but she had a bad feeling about it.
After going for an MRI when she returned home the terrible news was confirmed, a torn ACL and meniscus.
The injury occurred in the second game of a double-header. The Eagles had played earlier that morning in the State Semifinals and were defeated by the Carmel Corsairs 51-24.
CM head coach Mike Arbuthnot mentioned that playing two games in one day is tough on the players.
“Could some of these injuries be a product of that? I don’t know,” Arbuthnot said about the double-header format.
Regardless of the obvious formatting issues with the IHSA, Aubree still suffers the same injury that five other Eagles have faced in the last four years. That list includes soccer and basketball teammate senior Claire Christeson.
When Aubree went down in the third-place game and was escorted to the tunnel by trainers, Claire ran out to console her.
“She [Claire] reassured me and told me that everything was going to be okay. She really helped me stay positive in the moment.”
The Eagles still had a terrific season finishing 32-6 and fourth at state. Aubree was a huge part of getting her team there.
“The fourth place at state will definitely overpower the injury,” she said.
She was one of only three girls to play in every game of the season. She racked up 353 points averaging 9.3 PPG. Her postseason high was 17 points in the Regional Semifinals back on February 14 when her team won 60-40 over Jerseyville.
Aubree is currently back up and walking without a brace as if everything is fine. However, when she goes in for surgery on April 1, she’ll be using crutches while she begins her recovery.
The typical ACL recovery timeline is about nine months. That would tentatively put a return date around the first of the year, or about halfway through basketball season.
She may not get to play her senior season of basketball, but it looks a little more promising for her to come back for soccer if the recovery goes smoothly. She’d like to pick up right where she left off.
Last season as a sophomore she was the second-leading scorer on her team with 23 goals and 14 assists. She only trailed at the time freshman Abrianna Garrett who netted 27.
Aubree has verbally committed to the University of Missouri – St. Louis to play soccer after she graduates from CM. She isn’t for sure, but she wants to become a physical therapist after that.
Aubree plans on being on the bench to cheer on her team as much as she can while recovering and was there to watch her team win 8-0 over Litchfield in the home-opener.
“When I’m recovered more, I’ll be at every single game,” she said.
Some ACL injuries end careers and it’s no secret that coming back from such injury is one of the toughest things to do in sports. Aubree is well aware of it.
“It is hard, and I know it’s going to be hard.”
The road to recovery is going to be a long one. Here’s hoping that she makes a speedy recovery and comes back stronger than before for Civic Memorial.
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