Clary returns after torn meniscus

Collin Clary is the Varsity Journal’s Rehab Athlete of the Month. The sophomore from Chippewa Falls was in the midst of his wrestling season last November, going head-to-head with a teammate during practice when he was thrown. Landing in an awkward position, his knee gave way and he felt a pop as he tore the meniscus in his left leg.

Clary, a three-sport athlete was faced with the tough road to recovery as he navigated a school year packed with three sports seasons. Competing in football, wrestling, and track, Clary first needed surgery to repair his meniscus.

Leading up to his operation, he worked with his strength and conditioning coach to strengthen his leg muscles to help aid recovery. Following surgery, Clary headed to Northwoods Therapy to begin his recovery process. He credits the staff at Northwoods with helping him to understand what he had to do to return to competing in a short time, while also not pushing him too far too fast.

As he rehabilitated from the end of December through early March, Clary made a full recovery and was ready to go heading into his sophomore season of track. 

This season has been a good one for him, as the Chippewa standout hit the ground running in historic fashion.

In Chippewa’s first home meet of the 2024 season on April 9, Clary was slated to compete in several track and field events for the Cardinals. Starting out with the 400m dash, followed by a discus throw where he finished in third place, Clary had a full day of competition leading up to his final event: pole vault.

When his time came for the pole vault, he was ready to go. Clearing the bar time after time, Clary began to turn heads. As he passed the 13-foot mark, the jumper was one of the final athletes still competing. The bar kept rising, where eventually it sat at 13 feet, 9-inches. Staring down the mark, Clary dug deep and leaped over the bar, just clearing the mark.

As he fell back down to the mat, the sophomore had set a new school record with his jump, breaking the previous record which had stood for 53 years. Clary quotes the breaking of this record as being one of his favorite high school sports memories.

As he finishes his track season strong, Clary will again look to head back to the football field in the fall. Having bounced back from injury in a big way, Clary says that he hopes to compete at the next level in either college football or tack.

For now, though, he will keep his foot on the gas on his way to compete in the pole vault at the WIAA State meet next Friday, May 31.