Comebacks aren’t new to Whiteland senior Iyan Pelfree, a two-sport athlete in the midst of his latest.
Pelfree was the Warriors’ starting quarterback at the start of football season before sustaining a knee injury in an Aug. 31 loss at Decatur Central. He underwent surgery on Oct. 10 to repair his right ACL and part of his meniscus.
He vowed to make it back for the start of baseball season and is expected to be in the starting lineup when Whiteland opens its baseball season Friday in a two-day tournament at Evansville North.
"The first evaluation I had from a doctor was six to nine months, which would have meant missing baseball season," Pelfree said. "I went to another doctor and he told me four to six months."
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Pelfree managed to accelerate the process even more. He was walking without crutches two weeks after the surgery and hitting baseballs by December. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound outfielder was medically cleared to resume all baseball activities on Jan. 29.
Last season, Whiteland’s baseball squad won the program’s third outright Mid-State Conference championship in the last nine seasons. Pelfree batted a scorching .395 and led the team in other categories such as hits, runs, doubles and triples.
Recovering from ACL surgery was Pelfree’s latest demonstration of resiliency.
He missed his sophomore football season after being diagnosed with hydronephrosis, in which the urine collecting system of the kidney is dilated. That also required surgery, causing Pelfree to miss 13 days of school.
Pelfree worked his way back into shape and participated in 27 of Whiteland’s 28 baseball games that spring.
“There wasn’t ever a thought in my mind,” said Pelfree, who once missed another week of school due to kidney stones. “Battling adversity is always something I’ve fought through and said, ‘This isn’t going to stop me.’ It’s taught me to appreciate what I have.”
Whiteland baseball coach Scott Sherry is impressed by Pelfree’s persistence.
“It’s that positive attitude and work ethic he has,” Sherry said. “Iyan embraces the work and wants to be part of it. He’s always been one of the first ones to practice and one of the last ones to leave.
“It’s been ingrained in him that if you want something you have to work for it. It’s the drive to get better and not be satisfied.”
In April, Pelfree will sign a letter of intent to attend Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he’ll play Division III football and baseball. In an effort to give back, Pelfree is going to major in nursing.
“I’ve been that kid who has been through that major pain, and I appreciate what the nurses did for me,” he said.
