SE: Cramer Overcomes Knee Surgeries to Become Force for K-State Soccer

By Corbin McGuire

How are you still playing?

Katie Cramer gets asked this question a lot. And for anyone who has heard about her journey, it's a legitimate question.

See, between Cramer's freshman and senior year at Wichita Northwest High School, she went through three ACL surgeries. Not included? A knee manipulation performed on Cramer after her first ACL repair.

"I just don't think it ever crossed my mind to quit," she said.

Cramer's first surgery came in the spring of 2013, after she tore her left ACL and meniscus as a freshman. Six months later, she was competing again. A few games in, she said her knee "didn't feel right."

"So we went back in and checked it, and it turned out my ACL was torn again," she said. "It never really healed correctly."

Before she could have another ACL replacement, she had to have surgery to fix her bone grafts, which took place in January of 2014. Four months later, she went back under to have a cadaver ACL put in. This time, the fix seemed to be permanent.

As a junior in the spring of 2015, Cramer broke Wichita Northwest High School's single-season record with 44 goals. She earned spots on the All-Greater Wichita Athletic League, 6A All-Region and 6A All-State teams.

Even more impressive, she had essentially done so on one leg.

"It turned out my ACL still didn't heal correctly," she said. "My body had rejected that cadaver and I was playing for eight months without an ACL, pretty much, and I didn't notice until later on."

How did Cramer manage this? Surely she would have noticed something was not right earlier, right?

"That's just how much I rehabbed and how strong I got my leg. I didn't notice because of that," Cramer said. "It kept shifting. I thought it wasn't a big deal. I thought I was just freaking myself out, but it turned out I didn't have an ACL."

So, in September of 2015, Cramer had her third ACL surgery. This time, she had a piece of her quad cut off and put in her knee. Then followed about a year's worth of recovery, a process Cramer already knew all too well.

Thus the obvious question: How are you still playing?

"People ask me that a lot," Cramer said. "I don't think I ever saw my life without soccer and I'm glad I didn't because that would have made it 10 times harder."

Cramer said the hardest part of going through all the surgeries, the setbacks and the countless hours of rehab, was staying positive mentally. She found motivation and drive to keep going from a few places, however.

First was the support from her family, specifically her two older brothers, Broc and Nick, who both played at UMKC.

"I had a lot of support from my brothers, especially because I grew up watching them play. Everything I know is honestly from them," she said. "Them being there emotionally to support me helped me through it."

Cramer also used her past and everything she had already fought through to get to this point as motivation. None of that stopped her, so why should this?

What fueled her the most, however, was the unwavering faith K-State's soccer staff maintained in her. Despite her knee history, her scholarship offer stayed on the table. Cramer signed to play at K-State on February 4, 2016, about a month before the start of her senior season, which she would miss while recovering.

"Honestly, the fact that these coaches took this chance on me, I just used that as motivation for what they saw in me," Cramer said. "I was working hard to get back for them, honestly, and myself, and to prove to them that they made the right decision."

Now a sophomore, Cramer arrived in Manhattan the summer before her freshman season. She played in 15 matches, totaling 400 minutes of action and scored the program's first goal directly on a corner kick.

It would be Cramer's only goal of the season, however, a tough adjustment for someone who scored 44 times in her previous full season of soccer. Add on the pressure she placed on herself and last season did not live up to her expectations.

"You expect yourself to be where you left off, and that's definitely not the case. And coming back at such a high level, that was also extremely tough," she said. "You feel a lot of pressure coming in as a freshman to prove to yourself and to your team, and I think that was hard for me because I was just coming off an injury, but I also wanted to make a statement for myself.

"I think I just put a lot of pressure on myself, but that's what made me better."

Between last season and playing with FC Wichita this summer, Cramer said she feels "back to normal." Her confidence is higher. Her comfort on the ball is improved.

So far this season, Cramer has played in all 13 matches, including five starts. She's scored one goal, which came in a 3-2 win over Colorado State, while also recording three assists. Her latest assist — a perfect pass to Hannah Davis in last Friday's 1-0 win at Kansas — boosted K-State to its first Big 12 win in school history.

"She's more confident," K-State head coach Mike Dibbini said of Cramer, who's logged 634 minutes this season. "It's hard when you rebound from an ACL, especially your very first year. It's hard to get your rhythm, get your tempo and get your confidence, but you saw moments of that last year.

"This year, she's confident about her ability and confident that she will help us on both ends of the field. And she's also a lot more fit. When you get an injury and you're out for eight to nine months, your fitness level isn't there, so her fitness level this year is much, much improved."

As K-State (6-6-1, 1-3-0) navigates through its first Big 12 season, the Wildcats will continue to fight an uphill battle for victories, facing programs started before they were born.

If there's one player that can relate to building something from scratch and overcoming obstacles, it's Cramer, which may make her a perfect piece for K-State to have right now.

"Patience, mental toughness, which I still struggle with, and then also just trusting the process," Cramer said of what she's learned from her journey. "Sometimes if you have a bad day, you can get down so easily, but you just have to learn to stay up all the time and fight your way through it."

K-State hosts Baylor on Friday at 7 p.m., and No. 9 Texas on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Kansas State University Athletics

SE: Cramer Overcomes Knee Surgeries to Become Force for K-State Soccer

Players Mentioned

Katie Cramer

Hannah Davis

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