By Cody Stark
It was December of 2006 and Sam Houston State jumper Dess Meek was enjoying the Christmas break with her family.
She had just finished her first college semester after a standout high school career at Newton and was getting in a little fun before gearing up her freshman track and field season. But then something went terribly wrong.
While four wheeler riding with her family, Meek was involved in an accident and busted up her right leg bad enough that it required a titanium rod to be inserted between her knee and ankle.
She was devastated and was wondering if her college track and field career was going to be over before it even started.
“It was very frustrating. I was afraid that I was going to come back and not be able to preform at the level I did in high school,” Meek said Thursday afternoon. “When I called to tell the coaches I was just bawling and didn’t know what they were going to say, if they were going to keep me on scholarship. But it was a blessing and I’m glad they kept me here.”
Sam Houston State head track coach Curtis Collier was in the same boat. The Bearkats had high hopes for Meek, who placed second at state in the long jump and third in both the high jump and triple jump and ran on the gold-medal winning sprint relay team.
“The first thing I thought was that I hope she isn’t hurt so bad that she isn’t able to do this anymore,” Collier said. “She’s an athlete and has been her entire life. I was concerned for her. Then my second thought was that it was going to hurt the team.
“She was real concerned that she was going to lose her scholarship, but when I finally sat down with her face to face, I told her that ‘We love you, appreciate you and the doctor said you would recover fully and you will keep your scholarship. We are going to drive on. There is a reason we recruited you and those reasons haven’t changed.’”
It turned out to be a blessing indeed for Meek and Sam Houston State. Not only did she make it back, but she had a banner redshirt freshman season in 2008.
Meek finished second in the high jump at her first Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships then became only the second Bearkat to ever win an NCAA regional championship.
She also became the first Bearkat to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in March where she placed 11th in the high jump. That is why Meek is one of the favorites to bring home the gold when the Southland Conference Outdoor Championships begin today at Stephen F. Austin.
“I think that what I went through definitely made me come back stronger,” Meek said. “If you take what you do for granted and it gets taken from you, it hurts. That’s what happened to me. It was hard to watch everybody run and I was standing over there on crutches. It gave me the urge to get better.”
Not only has she gotten better, but Meek has added more to her plate for her second SLC outdoor meet. Along with the high jump and long jump, she will compete in the triple jump, throw the javelin and run on the sprint relay.
That’s the type of athlete Collier knew the Bearkats were getting and the reason his decision to not give up on her was a no brainer.
“Our thinking was that she was going to be a big time long jumper and she probably will be,” the coach said. “But we didn’t expect the high jump. We recruited her to be a multiple jumper, but based upon what we saw in practice, we thought she would be an NCAA long jumper.
“Now she is going to compete in the javelin. There is some inconstancy, but she catches a big throw every once in a while. She’s a competitor and it is going to be interesting to see.”
With all the early success, Meek has found a way to stay grounded. In fact, she looks back at last year’s SLC outdoor championships and feels she could have done better.
“My freshman year at conference wasn’t good for me, I was disappointed most of the time,” Meek said. “This year, I want to go out and not have any pressure and just have fun with it.”
