PHOTO PROVIDED 18-year-old Connor Wetzel, a Shikellamy High School wrestler, is pictured following his Lisfranc surgery.

PHOTO PROVIDED
18-year-old Connor Wetzel is pictured after winning a top honor at a recent wrestling meet. Wetzel is looking to wrestle at Commonwealth University-Lock Haven in the fall.

SUNBURY — Connor Wetzel, 18, of Sunbury, had a very successful wrestling career going into his senior season at Shikellamy High School, proudly boasting a record of 98 wins with only 34 losses.

After months of training and conditioning during the offseason, Wetzel was primed to make a mark in his final season and take a place on the podium at the state championships. But a severe injury at a summer wrestling tournament provided a major setback.

During a match, his opponent shot in, and when Wetzel sprawled to avoid the takedown attempt, he felt extreme pain in his left foot. He finished the match and, somehow, came away with a win but knew he had suffered a significant injury.

“I felt something pop in my foot, and when I came off of the mat, my foot had swollen up pretty badly,” he recalled.

The school’s athletic training team urged Wetzel’s family to take him to the Orthopaedic Urgent Care Clinic at Geisinger HealthPlex Woodbine in Danville. Tests and imaging revealed a torn Lisfranc ligament in his midfoot — an injury that would require surgery and potentially months of recovery.

“I was very disappointed. I felt like I was in a good spot, and now I was facing a major setback,” Wetzel said. “I thought my season was over.”

The Lisfranc ligament provides stability in the foot, connecting the bones in the midfoot to those in the forefoot. It is located between the base of the cuneiform bone, or the big toe, and the second metatarsal bone of the second toe. Injury to the ligament causes inability to bear weight, instability to the foot and pain and swelling in the midfoot region.

Wetzel was referred to Dr. Benjamin Wagner, a Geisinger foot and ankle surgeon.

“Connor is an elite wrestler, and his injury was substantial and would need surgical treatment,” Dr. Wagner said. “I worked with Connor and his family to develop a patient-centered plan that would focus on early mobilization and rehabilitation with the hope of him being able to participate in his senior season.”

It was a very tight timeline to have any chance of making that happen. The most common surgical procedure for the injury involves a series of screws and plates to help hold the bones in place while the ligament heals. That type of surgery can take several months to a year to fully recover and would involve another surgery to remove the hardware.

Dr. Wagner was able to offer another, less-invasive surgical option, a procedure that uses a suture button and fiber wire to create a secure and stable fixation across the joint. This procedure allows for earlier weight-bearing, a quicker recovery and does not require a second surgery to remove the hardware.

“He had a few weeks on crutches with no weight-bearing and then started physical therapy,” said his mother, Jill Wetzel. “It was a long stretch of therapy, but he was able to start wrestling again right around Christmastime.”

The return to the mat was rough at first. Lacking confidence on the surgically repaired foot and feeling like he was basically wrestling on one leg, Wetzel dropped his first three matches of the season. But with more work and physical therapy, his confidence returned.

Although still not at 100 percent, he went on to win the rest of his matches for the season, finishing 35-3 and earning a spot in the state championships. He finished 4th at states in the 172-pound weight class. He also received a wrestling scholarship to attend Lock Haven University, where he plans to study environmental science while continuing his wrestling career.

“I was so lucky to have great people around me with Dr. Wagner, my physical therapists and my family to help me recover from this injury,” he said.

Wetzel recently competed in the National High School Coaches Association Nationals and finished in 2nd place, dropping the championship bout in overtime.

“With his injury, it was a huge accomplishment for Connor and Dr. Wagner to get him so far so soon,” Jill Wetzel said.

“I feel the best I have in a long time, and I am looking forward to beginning to work out with the Lock Haven wrestling team this summer,” Wetzel said.