Senior overcomes gruesome leg injury to qualify for Iowa state track meet
By Scott Reister
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HUXLEY, Iowa (KCCI) — The first day of this season’s football practice was one Chase Ihle will never forget. The Ballard senior was playing defense when a receiver landed on Ihle’s lower leg.
“I felt the ground,” he said. “I was like ‘something feels off.’ Then I looked. I grabbed my leg. It was dangling at a 45-degree angle to the right.”
He was carried off on a stretcher. “When the ambulance came up to me, my teammates were praying on the field. That made me cry, I’m not going to lie. My football season was over.”
Ihle broke his tibia and fibia. His career as a Ballard football player was over. Surgery to insert a rod and pins was successful, but his leg looked like spaghetti.
His track coach, Darren Herrold, assumed the worst. “I got the X-ray from his football coach,” Herrold said. “I thought, ‘Oh man, I lost one of my leaders, one of my seniors.’ It was not a good picture to see, and I was just hoping he’d be able to walk again as a normal person.”
Ihle did what was necessary. “I did a lot of rehab,” he said.
He healed and started jogging. Still, when track season began in late February, he was nowhere close to being able to run full speed. There was still a lot of pain.
“It still hurts to this day,” he said.
Bit by bit, he built himself up and returned to competition. Last Thursday, he was at the State Qualifying Meet as part of Ballard’s shuttle hurdle relay team.
“I was kind of worried if I was going to let them down.”
Chase didn’t need to worry. He got it done, helping the Bombers qualify for the State Meet.
“I’m kind of proud of myself for that,” Ihle said.
“It’s a great feeling for us,” Herrold said. “Knowing how far he’s come and the miracles of modern medicine.”
“It’s been a journey,” he said.
The state meet starts Thursday.
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