From another forum:
Kurtis Jefferis to wrestle for the 152 title
Great story here. Last spring Kurtis Jefferis life was almost ended due to a four wheeler accident. He was forced to sit out his senior year of football and was not cleared to participate in any physical activities until one day before wrestling practice started. This evening, he will be wrestling to become a state champion.
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Barnesville's Jefferis beats the odds
By Seth Staskey
POSTED: January 24, 2010 Save | Print | Email | Read comments | Post a comment Email: "Barnesville's Jefferis beats the odds"
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The road to the championship round of the Ron Mauck OVAC Wrestling Tournament is a long and difficult one.
However, the path that Barnesville's Kurtis Jefferis has taken is one that most would have detoured off of long ago because it involved much more than wrestling the usual four matches.
Jefferis is admitedly lucky to be alive at this point, let alone, on the wrestling mats where he advanced to the OVAC 152-pound championship match.
Jefferis - a senior for the Shamrocks - was riding his 4-wheeler on the afternoon of May 16 at an old airport near Somerton when his life seemingly changed forever.
"My buddy (Preston Voegler) and I were riding the same 4-wheeler and we were going pretty fast," Jefferis said this week during the OVAC Wrestling Tournament.
It was a common route for Jefferis, who owns his own 4-wheeler.
However, this time the results weren't like any other.
Jefferis and Voegler came upon a drop off, which was between 20 and 25 feet deep going between 50 and 55 miles per hour.
"We didn't realize the drop was that soon," Jefferis recalled. "We hit it going too fast."
From there, Jefferis' memory is cloudy.
The two lost control of the vehicle and when Jefferis came to, he heard Voegler screaming.
"I heard him screaming and I couldn't catch my breath, so I just laid in this field for like a half an hour," Jefferis said.
Still unsure whether or not the ATV landed directly on top of him, Jefferis eventually got some help from another friend, who came to their aid.
Jefferis was helped onto that ATV and was taken to Voegler's house where he basically laid in the driveway for a few minutes before picking himself up to go into the house.
"I really didn't think anything was wrong," Jefferis said. "I didn't have any scratches, I wasn't bleeding, but I just couldn't get my breath and it was taking too long to get my wind back."
After resting for several minutes, Jefferis was still having trouble breathing, so he eventually got to a phone and called his older brother John who came and took him to Barnesville Hospital.
At the hospital, it was diagnosed that Jefferis had fractured his sternum and lacerated his liver to a level of a four with five being the worst possible laceration.
"The doctors at Barnesville told us immediately that he had a broken sternum and said they needed to get him to Wheeling," Kurtis' dad John said.
Kurtis' dad, ironically, had been taken to Barnesville Hospital earlier that day and was diagnosed with vertigo.
"I was in one room and Kurtis was put in the room right next to me, so I knew nothing about it until my son (John) came in and told me 'Kurtis has been hurt pretty bad," Kurtis' dad remembered. "My wife was pretty stressed to say the least. She was going back-and-forth between rooms, but I was treated, released and immediately hopped in the car."
When he got to Wheeling, the staff at Ohio Valley Medical Center said Jefferis' injuries were too severe and he needed life-flighted to either West Virginia University or Ohio State University.
Jefferis' parents opted for Morgantown because it was a closer drive. He was immediately taken and spent the next 20 days there.
"He was in bad shape," John Jefferis said. "He was touch and go for about a week."
Not worried about high school sports at the time, Jefferis - who missed all of football season - got some good news from doctors when they told him they didn't have to cut into his liver, but to get the fluid out, a tube was inserted and was in him for three months.
The Jefferis family didn't get final word that the liver wouldn't need to be cut until Jefferis' final surgery in the middle of November when the tube was removed and a dye was ran into the liver to deem whether or not everything had been healed completely.
The test results came back clear and Jefferis and his family received the best news they'd gotten when doctors informed them Kurtis had been cleared physically.
"I got a full clearance on Nov. 12 to begin anything," Jefferis said. "I had no idea if I'd be back or not because the tube stayed in longer than we originally thought."
Ironically, the very next day was the first day the state of Ohio permitted wrestling practice.
"I was in the practice room for the first day," Jefferis said. "I did the minimum of running and conditioning, and started actually wrestling about a week later."
With destiny and fate seemingly on his side, Jefferis has been rounding back into shape and it's been an obvious work in progress with his 26-2 mark entering the finals.
"I don't have my stamina like I've had in years' past," Jefferis, who had four months where he could do nothing, but basically lie around, said. "So, it's tougher from that standpoint and I wasn't wrestling up to my capabilities early in the season."
Jefferis picked up a ton of momentum entering the OVAC Tournament last week when he was named MVP of the Sheridan Tournament.
"I wrestled really well (at Sheridan)," Jefferis said. "I beat a kid there who beat me last year and it really got my hopes up that I was on my back."
Jefferis admits to actually having his doubts at times about not only being an effective wrestler, but taking part at all.
"I was hoping and praying for the best and it worked out for me," Jefferis said. "It's been a rough road back, but the last couple of weeks have been really positive and I hope it keeps going well."
The support and words of encouragement for Jefferis have been countless according to his father.
"A lot of wrestling coaches and fans asked about him and wondered how he was doing," Jefferis said. "We really appreciated that and and all of the prayers we've received."
Jefferis said he's not taken a ride on his 4-wheeler since the accident is still unsure whether or not he'll ever get on an ATV again.
The only thing Jefferis is focused on is getting back to the Ohio Division III state wrestling tournament.
Staskey can be reached at
[email protected]
Great story! This kid wrestled his heart out this weekend! Great job buddy!