Texas high school runner sidelined after collision with deer, qualifies for state meet

Brian Gosset
·2 min read
1

For 25 years - nine at Aledo - Mike Pinkerton has seen a lot of things during his coaching career in cross country, track and basketball, but nothing like this.

Aledo freshman Jack Fink was at cross country practice with his teammates one early September morning at Squaw Creek Golf Course in Willow Park when a deer collided with him from behind.

“We were about 400 meters in when I was hit by the deer,” said Fink, who’s 14 and stands 5-foot-3 and 100 pounds. “I just remember hitting the ground and pain in my glutes and ear. I couldn’t stand.”

Aledo freshman Jack Fink runs at the district JV cross country meet. He won first place.
Aledo freshman Jack Fink runs at the district JV cross country meet. He won first place.

Fink was helped off the course and taken to the athletic trainer, who advised he go to the hospital for a CAT scan because his leg was scraped up and had pain in his head.

There they found a skull fracture and bleeding in his brain.

“I was complaining because my head was hurting,” Fink said. “The hit pushed my brain and had squeezed it into a small space. I was in pain several times, but I just wanted to go back and run.”

Fink was sidelined for more than a month.

He stayed home had trouble riding in the car and going up the stairs.

He also couldn’t lift anything heavy.

“One of those things that never happens. Just crazy,” Pinkerton said. “He’s taken it like a trooper. I know he was ready to run again and get out of the house.”

Pinkerton said that the cross country coaches drive golf carts during practice with flashlights making sure the path is clear. One of his assistants was coming up from behind when he saw the deer hit Fink.

He recalls Fink’s knee colliding with the deer’s head causing Fink to flip over and land on his head.

Now Fink has titanium screws in his head after the accident.

An x-ray shows titanium screws in Jack Fink’s skull after sustaining an injury when a deer collided with the Aledo freshman during a cross country practice.
An x-ray shows titanium screws in Jack Fink’s skull after sustaining an injury when a deer collided with the Aledo freshman during a cross country practice.

“It’s kind of an interesting story,” he said. “I’ve written two essays. It’s another story to tell.”

Fink returned to school after three weeks. He has been on the varsity cross country team all season long until the accident. When he returned, he ran in the District JV meet and won it with a time of 18:32.

He joined the varsity team again for the regional meet at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock on Monday. The Bearcats finished in fourth place and qualified for the state meet at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock on Nov. 5-6.

Fink, who finished in 37th place will run at state along with teammates Isaac Hernandez, Bryceson Boss, Vincent Luffey, Sam Haught, Henry Zedler and Colton Snow.

“He’s come on really strong especially during the first part of the season,” Pinkerton said. “He was our third best runner up until the accident. At the district JV meet, he told me he was running for a spot back on varsity. He got his spot back.”