On the mend: Southmoreland’s Cernuto improving after seasons-ending knee surgery
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Olivia Cernuto evens out the sand in the jumping pit during a Section 8-AA triangular meet at Southmoreland on March 29. The Southmoreland senior is out for the season as she recovers from knee surgery after sustaining an injury during soccer season.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Southmoreland’s Olivia Cernuto lands her attempt in the triple jump at the 2022 PIAA Class AA Individual Track & Field Championships at Seth Grove Stadium. Cernuto placed ninth and missed the medal stand by ¼-inch with her top of jump of 36-3¾.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Southmoreland’s Olivia Cernuto gets a step on Blackhawk’s Alena Fusetti as she drives the lane in the second quarter of a PIAA Class AAAA second round playoff game on March 12, 2022, at North Allegheny.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Southmoreland’s Olivia Cernuto (10) heads the ball away from Mount Pleasant’s Maggie Piper early in the first half of a WPIAL Class AA girls soccer quarterfinal match at Russ Grimm Field on Oct. 30. Cernuto was injured on the play, but returned to action a couple minutes later.
Southmoreland’s Olivia Cernuto entered her senior year last fall poised to add an impressive list of accomplishments to her already illustrious catalog.
Cernuto was closing in on 100 career goals on the soccer field and 1,000 career points in basketball. She was also the defending WPIAL Class AA gold medalist in the triple jump.
However, most of those aspirations were dashed when Cernuto fell to the turf in the first half with a knee injury in a Sept. 12 home soccer match against Yough.
Cernuto was honored before that match for scoring her 100th career goal after she netted four in a 7-1 victory against Penn Hills on Sept. 8.
“I had a full ACL tear and partial meniscus tear,” said Cernuto. “We’re five months out of surgery. Two weeks ago I just started jogging. I’m only allowed to run on a treadmill now. It has to be a flat surface.”
Cernuto added, “Six months post-op I can start agilities, and take it from there.”
She entered the 2022-2023 basketball season with 850 points, needing 150 to reach 1,000.
“Basketball, it was a bummer, because I had a goal set for basketball, too. I wanted to get past 1,000 and I was 150 off,” said Cernuto.
The Lady Scots endured a 2-20 season with Cernuto on the sideline and roster losses to graduation.
“It was hard. There’s nothing I could do about it. I could’ve made a little bit of an impact. It’s just hard sitting on the sideline and not being able to do anything about it,” explained Cernuto. “I still went to every practice and every game, so it’s not like I wasn’t doing anything. Physically, I wasn’t doing much.”
Cernuto talked about her recovery at the jumping pit at Southmoreland in a meet against Frazier and Ligonier Valley on March 29, but, as a judge and mark recorder, not as a jumper.
“I think what I would’ve been doing if I was in (the spring sports season). It’s usually a busy time because I had track and AAU basketball,” said Cernuto.
Although Cernuto’s freshman track season was lost to coronavirus, she entered the 2023 season on the heels of two solid district and state meet performances.
She won the WPIAL gold medal in triple jump and placed seventh in the long jump last year, and just missed the PIAA medal stand after placing ninth, a mere ¼-inch shy of eighth place.
Cernuto won WPIAL silver in triple jump and placed fourth in the long jump as a sophomore, and capped her second year with fifth-place finishes in the PIAA finals in both the triple and long jump.
Cernuto received a point of view she’s not used to over the past eight months, one as a spectator.
“I think (the three sports) are all different. They’re all a different type of hard. Soccer, I just missed the rest of the season. I was happy I was able to get that milestone before it happened. The next game I got hurt,” said Cernuto. “I’d say sitting out gives you a different perspective and you look at it different.”
Cernuto committed to Gannon for basketball early, and the staff has stood beside her as she works through her recovery.
“Everything is still good there,” said Cernuto. “The coaches have been so great. That’s what I was most worried about when I got hurt.
“When I found out the news, I called them right away and they’ve been with me the whole recovery process.
“They’ve come down to visit. I’ve gone up there for games. They’ve been really great through the whole process.
“I’m hoping to be good by August.”
Gannon plays in the PSAC West Conference, familiar ground for Cernuto.
“Cal U and Seton Hill, I’ve played there so many times. Hopefully, it will give me an advantage,” Cernuto said with a smile.