Semoball

Jackson's Ean Buffington bounces back from injury, illness to capture 2016 Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year

Monday, January 30, 2017

One jump changed so much for Ean Buffington.

During the summer before his sophomore year, Buffington was playing a pick-up game of basketball with some of his friends at the Joe Bill Dixon Running Camp. He had been competing in a higher training group and was already running more miles than he probably should have, but he never thought a meaningless game of basketball would change the trajectory of his varsity career.

During the game, Buffington leaped high into the air, and when he came down, his left knee buckled.

The result was a torn anterior cruciate ligament, a torn anterolateral ligament and a little bit of meniscus damage.

Buffington said he didn't realize the severity of the injury until shortly after when he got off the phone with his mother.

2016 All-Missourian Cross Country - Brent Werner, left, and Ean Buffington, right - Jackson
Andrew J. Whitaker

"That was the only time I cried that whole time was right after I got off the phone with her, and I was still at the running camp," Buffington said. "I had to hobble up to this bridge where I could get service because they didn't think that much was wrong with me. I thought my knee had just been dislocated or something. I didn't know I had actually torn anything because I figured it would hurt worse considering everything I had done. I guess there was just so much adrenaline.

"It was definitely painful, but when I heard everything that had happened, that didn't seem right."

Now a junior, Buffington has worked hard to return to form for the Jackson boys cross country team. He claimed a SEMO Conference championship, finished second at the district meet and wrapped up his campaign with a 47th-place finish at a highly-competitive Class 4 state meet.

With one year left to pad his resume, Buffington can add another award to his name -- Southeast Missourian Boys Runner of the Year.

"He just does all the little things," Indians cross country coach Andrea Talley said about Buffington. "He makes sure that he follows directions and follows good training advice. ... He just takes care of business, and I think with all he's been through, I think he doesn't take it for granted. He knows that he has to protect his gift."

In the aftermath of his injury, Buffington kept a cool head and tried to remain positive about what had happened. He stayed involved with the team by attending meets and meeting up with his teammates after practice to show his support.

The injury was an enormous road block for Buffington, who, as a freshman, finished 58th at the state meet with a time of 17 minutes, 24 seconds.

Buffington underwent surgery in August, leaving Jackson without its best runner. However, the Indians endured, going on to win a conference title in his absence.

"I had a really good mindset about it," Buffington said about the injury. "I had accepted it early, and I was just like, 'Things like this just happen.' I kind of just looked at my therapy as kind of like, 'This is my practice now.'"

Shortly following his surgery, Buffington's mobility was limited to a wheelchair. He talks about how he tried to remain upbeat in regards to his setbacks, and he even found positives in navigating the hallways of his high school.

"There are ramps at my school, and there's this ramp going from two levels," Buffington said. "If no one was on the ramp, I would go all the way down with no brakes at all and lock the brakes up at the bottom and just drift."

The recovery process seemed at the time, but as it progressed, Buffington found that it went quicker than usual. He was non-weightbearing for two weeks before switching to crutches.

In therapy, Buffington started with getting his knee to bend and release some of the tension that was harnessed from his surgery. He worked on tightening his quad muscles and re-strengthening the upper part of his legs until he was able to get his brace removed and walk again.

"I had to learn how to re-walk, starting with the crutches and just putting a little weight on it," Buffington said. "We got to normal walking. About a month before track started, I started with being able to run for a minute, and then it progressed to where I could run for 20 minutes in a few weeks or so. I got to where I could run my own mileage but just progress really slowly. I only got to hit one 20-mile week before track started, and I went into track with practically no training at all."

2016 All-Missourian Cross Country - Brent Werner, left, and Ean Buffington, right - Jackson
Andrew J. Whitaker

During his sophomore track season, Buffington worked his way toward the Class 5 state meet, where he led the Indians to a third-place finish in the 3,200 relay with a time of 8:01.68.

That following summer, Buffington participated in SoutheastHEALTH's SportsMax Training Program. He returned to what he referred to as the "best shape" he's ever been in.

"Throughout the summer, I was able to run more miles than I ever had before my injury," Buffington said. "I got in really good shape, and then I had some bad luck right before cross country started."

Just before the start of this season, Buffington was bothered by an injury on the side of his foot. He wasn't sure about the particulars of the injury, but it was only compounded when he also became ill from a parasite.

"I went from being in great shape and having huge expectations for the season, and it brought me down again. But it didn't stop me," Buffington said. "I probably didn't reach the point that I wanted to or probably could've been, but it still worked out pretty well."

Buffington powered through those two setbacks and was able to win his first conference title with a time of 16:09. He placed second at the district meet in 16:37.44 and followed that performance up with a state-qualifying time of 17:23.43 at the sectional meet, where he placed 17th.

Then came his state performance.

There was plenty of commotion right before he headed out to the course, as the Indians' girls team had just edged out a team championship earlier that morning. Buffington didn't disappoint, but he also didn't live up to his own standards, finishing his final meet of the year 47th overall in 16:29.85.

2016 All-Missourian Cross Country - Ean Buffington - Jackson
Andrew J. Whitaker

For as much as Buffington had been through, Talley was pleased to see her standout runner embrace any sort of moral victory. In her eyes, getting to the meet was a feat in itself.

"He was very calm," Talley said about Buffington's performance at state. "He just took it all in stride, and he did well. In some years, that time would be an all-state performance. It was just a very loaded year. He actually ran quite well, especially for all he'd been through this year.

"Had all of that not happened, who knows where he would've been? You could second-guess that all day long, but I wanted him to feel like, 'Wow, I made it back. I made it back to state.' ... I think he's just going to build on that from here on out. He made it this far, and it's just going to keep going."

Buffington said his junior year was certainly a challenge, but he believes it's made him much stronger in the long run.

The experience has left a lasting impact on the soon-to-be senior.

"It's made me a lot more thankful for being injury-free and the talents that I have because I've seen several times how easily it can taken away," Buffington said. "It's almost like a humbling thing."

As of now, Buffington's goals consist of running in college and achieving all-state status next season, neither of which can be considered far-fetched for an athlete who's already overcome so much.

Even now, Talley still tries to wrap her head around how he was able to battle back.

"As a sophomore in high school, I don't think I could've handled it as well as he handled it," Talley said. "I've dealt with a lot of injuries in my day, and it just takes you down so low. He had a way of bouncing back and staying positive.

"He has a really strong faith, and I think he looked at it that maybe it was for a higher purpose and that there was a reason that it happened."

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