CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A torn ACL devastated multi-sport Xavier athlete Mary Kate Moeder. In the fall of her junior year, the injury stopped her soccer and basketball seasons.
“I just planted it wrong twisted it heard a pop and right that I pretty much knew that it wasn’t gonna be good,” Moeder said. “Sometimes it became so tough that you just wanted to give up and throw in the towel.”
But Mary Kate returned to the court, something she said she needed to do.
“It was extremely difficult sitting out,” Moeder said. “Sports were my escape and that outlet that I had to the challenges off the field and off the court at home with my dad.”
In 2017, Mary Kate’s father Tony was diagnosed with frontal temporal dementia.
“Since he was diagnosed when I was pretty young I don’t remember a lot, but one thing I do remember is just how proud he was to be that sports dad, that dance dad, the dad that would come to every game.”
Since Tony’s diagnosis, the Xavier community, including Mary Kate’s girls basketball team, has rallied around the Moeders. Through all her challenges, Mary Kate said the two constants have been her family and her team.
“We have been able to come closer as a family through it,” she said. “Our amazing support system has carried us through.”
And her team has responded, playing this special year for their senior captain
“MK always shows up with a great attitude,” said senior Maddie Steger. “Even through her challenges she’s able to show up and put a smile on her face and work really hard. I think that rubs off on the rest of us that we need to show up every day and work hard.”
“They are maybe single-handedly the reason that I’m still here and pushing through,” Mary Kate said about her team. “They pick me up on days that I can’t pick myself up.”
Copyright 2022 KCRG. All rights reserved.
