Three years ago, Nikki Keeter was in a wheelchair. Today she’s on the verge of qualifying for her second consecutive state track meet.
Keeter flipped her ATV during Easter weekend as an eighth grader and shredded the inside of her lower leg. After seven surgeries and six months of rehab, Keeter began running. Now she is a vital a part of Ozark’s 1,600-meter relay and 3,200-meter relay squads.
Ozark won the Class 4 District 6 3,200 relay in 9:48.77, the 12th best time in the state this season, and the Tigers carry the best qualifying time into Saturday’s Sectional 3 meet on their home track. The Tigers also advanced in the 1,600 relay with a second-place district time of 4:10.89.
Keeter, who graduated Friday after earning enough credits as a junior, used cross country, swimming and track to regain strength and mobility, and she said now her leg is essentially back to normal.
“It’s been a part of me for over three years, and now it’s kind of just there,” Keeter said. “I’d say I’m passed it, but I feel it if the pressure drops and it’s going to rain.”
The accident tore away the tissue of her inner calf all the way to the bone. There were six surgeries to slowly stitch the gap closed, and then she endured a skin graft to finish covering the wound, which she said was the most painful part of the entire ordeal.
When school started the fall of her freshman year, her dad prompted her to try cross country. She had run track in junior high but did not have an affinity for distance running. Deep down she knew the running would help her gain strength and recover quicker, and she wanted to prove the doctors wrong after they told her she wouldn’t be able to participate in sports for at least two years.
“I was still in pain, but I was getting muscle back,” Keeter said. “It was the best thing my dad did for me. He got me to the first practice, and I didn’t like it. I did it because I knew it was the only way to get moving and back to things.”
Keeter pushed herself that freshman year and ended up claiming the final varsity spot by the end of the season. That off season she ran a full marathon and took first in her age group – less than a year after the accident happened.
She found her real athletic calling in track and has been a middle distance runner and part of the Ozark relays for three seasons. The Tigers qualified for state in the 3,200 relay last year, but the Tigers finished off the podium after spending the entire night consoling each other after the tragic death of teammate Rachelle Alling, who died in a car accident the night before the state meet.
“This year we’re a lot stronger and not just physically,” Keeter said. “We’re definitely capable of pushing ourselves to the limit.”
Keeter will attend the University of Missouri-Kansas City next year to study pre-med. She hasn’t decided if she will try to walk on to the track team, but she knows she will always keep running.
“It definitely gave me insight into how everybody has to overcome something to get where they are,” Keeter said. “It pushed me to be better, and something that was holding me back once wouldn’t hold me back forever.”