BY MIKE PATTERSON
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
BRAINARD, Neb. - Since seeing her season end last month because of a knee injury, East Butler's Sarah Janak has tried to keep a brave face.
But just before a recent Parents' Night game against ranked rival David City Aquinas, the 5-foot-9 forward just couldn't maintain it. The tears flowed as she walked to center court, where her parents, Mark and Denise, were holding a large preseason poster of their daughter.
In that photo, Sarah was wearing a big smile. The kind of confident look from a player expected to be one of the best in Class C-2 this season. But Janak, who was averaging 16 points per game, saw her season end after tearing the ACL in her left knee in a game Dec. 29.
Torn ACLs have been more prevalent for years among female athletes than males. And if anything, the problem is growing, says Lincoln physical therapist Jayne Snyder, past vice president of the American Physical Therapy Association.
"Ten years ago, girls had five times the number of torn ACLs that boys have," Snyder said. "Today, girls have eight times the tears."
Nebraska women's basketball coach Connie Yori, herself the victim of a torn ACL as a player at Creighton, saw the injury strike down one of her post players this season, Nikki Bober of Elmwood-Murdock.
Three Council Bluffs high school players are out for the season with torn ACLs: Chelsea Colpitts of Abraham Lincoln and Hayleigh Hansen and Sammi Wilson of Lewis Central.
And torn ACLs have struck four of the better girls high school players in Nebraska: Janak, Norfolk Catholic's Jessica Zaruba and two players from perennial power South Sioux City.
The Cardinals, who have won 11 of the last 14 Class B titles, play top-ranked Lincoln Southeast tonight in the Tournament of Champions in Sioux City. But they'll be without senior All-Nebraska forward McKayla Knudson, a South Dakota recruit, and a rising star in sophomore center Tristen Sharp.
"I'm getting a pretty good education about knee injuries this year," South Sioux City coach Kelly Flynn said. "You kind of wonder what's going to happen next, but I'm afraid to ask that question."
Many medical professionals suspect that anatomical differences put female athletes at greater risk than males of ACL tears.
"Girls have a slightly wider pelvis and are more knock-kneed," said Omaha surgeon Charles Burt, an orthopedic sports medicine specialist. "They also have a tendency to land differently after they jump, and that puts them more at risk."
Burt said girls often land with their knee fully extended, while boys jump and land more with their knees bent to cushion the blow.
Heredity also might play a role. Burt and his wife, Julie, both tore their ACLs in high school, and their daughter Allie suffered the same fate in September 2006 while playing volleyball at Omaha Marian.
"Allie knew her parents had gone through this once upon a time," Burt said. "I told her when she was younger that if she continued going down the (athletic) path that she'd probably be at risk someday."
Snyder, the Lincoln physical therapist, says the best evidence suggests that weakness in the pelvis is the chief contributor to ACL tears among females. The weakness puts added pressure on the knee joint.
Snyder said special exercises to strengthen pelvic muscles would help reduce knee injuries. Burt and Snyder agree that coaches at all levels should be more proactive about learning the latest exercises and drills.
"It's gotten to the point where I can hardly watch any games," Snyder said. "There will always be injuries, but I know we can do a lot more to prevent them from happening."
Gretna coach Jerome Skrdla said many coaches do seek out the latest information, yet the injuries still occur.
"That's the most frustrating part," said Skrdla, who lost four players to torn ACLs last season. "I don't think anybody has the perfect solution, but you do everything you can and then just keep your fingers crossed."
Janak, the East Butler star, is dealing with her second ACL tear in high school. She saw her sophomore season wiped out by a torn ACL in her right knee.
Janak remembers that rehab, calling it "long and repetitive."
"Lifting weights, agility drills, jumping rope, things like that," she said. "It's really tough on you mentally, and it's probably going to be worse this time around."
Unlike Knudson and Zaruba, a University of Nebraska at Omaha recruit, Janak is still without a college scholarship. Her injury won't help matters, as she found out at a game shortly after being sidelined.
"There was a Midland (Lutheran) coach there to watch me play," she said. "And all I could do was sit and watch the game."
South Sioux City's Knudson was injured in practice Dec. 29 - one day before the team was scheduled to leave for a holiday tournament in Florida.
"I made a spin move to get around another player and I heard it snap," she said. "To have that happen right before our trip really was a bummer. I was crushed."
Sharp was injured Jan. 10 in a road game against Norfolk. Flynn said the 6-2 center pivoted in the lane and her knee just went out.
"To see this happen to these two girls is devastating," he said. "The worst part is that these are two of our hardest workers who have put their heart and soul into our program."
Sharp, like East Butler's Janak and Norfolk Catholic's Zaruba, has opted for season-ending knee surgery. But Knudson is going to delay her surgery and try to play with a brace later this season.
She said it's her decision to keep playing, made in part because she doesn't want to end her high school career on a negative note.
"My last game was against Sioux City North," she said. "We got beat that night, and I refuse to end my career with a loss."
