Daniel Hand girls track senior Matea Thibeault poses before a meet in Milford, Conn. May 11, 2026.
Hand senior Matea Thibeault, right, talks with girls head coach Steve Swift, left, during a high school track and field tri-meet against Cheshire and Wilbur Cross on Wednesday, May 7, 2026, in Cheshire.
Hand senior Matea Thibeault, center, stretches before her race at a high school track and field tri-meet against Cheshire and Wilbur Cross on Wednesday, May 7, 2026, in Cheshire.
Hand senior Matea Thibeault, right, talks with teammates at a high school track and field tri-meet against Cheshire and Wilbur Cross on Wednesday, May 7, 2026, in Cheshire.
Hand senior Matea Thibeault warms up before a race at a high school track and field tri-meet against Cheshire and Wilbur Cross on Wednesday, May 7, 2026, in Cheshire.
Hand senior Matea Thibeault, right, talks with girls head coach Steve Swift, left, during a high school track and field tri-meet against Cheshire and Wilbur Cross on Wednesday, May 7, 2026, in Cheshire.
Hand senior Matea Thibeault, right, talks with girls head coach Steve Swift, left, during a high school track and field tri-meet against Cheshire and Wilbur Cross on Wednesday, May 7, 2026, in Cheshire.
It was Oct. 14, 2025, and girls soccer rivals Daniel Hand and Guilford were going toe-to-toe in a scoreless matchup.
With around 15 minutes remaining in regulation at the Madison Surf Club, Hand junior outside defender Matea Thibeault went down with a non-contact injury.
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“I was just backpedaling on the turf and I turned around, and it just completely popped,” said Thibeault about her knee. “And it was against Guilford, our rivals.”
Thibeault was subbed out, and as she was laying on the Strong Field sideline, Guilford scored the game’s lone goal on her side of the field. The competitor in Thibeault wasn’t happy.
“I was laying on the side of the field and I was like ‘OK, are we serious?’” Thibeault said with a chuckle.
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Thibeault had bigger problems coming her way, though, and it could be summed up with a dreaded three-letter acronym: ACL. Thibeault was diagnosed with a complete tear of her right anterior cruciate ligament.
“I was out my whole junior year of soccer and my whole junior year of track, and I just got back my senior year,” Thibeault said.
Thibeault returned to both the pitch and track and field for her senior year, but not without setbacks.
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“Your first full year back to sports is trial and error,” Thibeault said. “I’ve pulled my hamstring three times already coming back to track. It’s OK. I’m back now and I’m just so grateful to be back with my team and everything. Everyone has been really supportive.”
Thibeault has pulled her right hamstring twice, and Wednesday afternoon’s tri-meet at Cheshire marked her second meet back since pulling her left hamstring for the first time.
“It happens, but I’m just happy to be here,” Thibeault said.
Hand girls track coach Steve Swift has been impressed with Thibeault’s progress.
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“Those little setbacks aren’t setbacks so much as they’re just pushing those little victories down the road,” Swift said. “She did a great job of building and building and building all the way back.”
Thibeault did two, sometimes two and a half hours of rehab with physical therapist Steve Platt of Guilford. It was grueling, but so was not being able to compete.
“It was really hard because I was out for the whole year,” Thibeault said. “I was still captain for track my junior year, and I would come out and watch everyone PR, I’d watch my relay win and I was like ‘shoot, that should be me,’ but it kind of just motivated me to work harder and come back stronger.
“I was even told, my doctor (said) don’t be surprised when you come back next year, you’re going to be weaker, you’re going to be slower. It just gave me more motivation.”
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Thibeault’s hard work with both Platt and Frank Quido of BreakOut Athlete in Branford got her back onto the pitch for her senior soccer season after missing some scrimmages. Her first game back came on the turf of Alumni Field against Cheshire.
“With soccer, I was really nervous,” Thibeault said. “Mentally, it really messed me up, but after a few games, I was fully back to my normal mindset.”
“It’s got to be really scary. It could make someone afraid of everything, not want to even try again because everything could just seem too scary, too overwhelming,” Swift said. “She did a great job of getting back out there and going back on this adventure, and taking on these challenges.”
When it came to indoor track, the first chance for the Lafayette College commit to compete was at the Jim Mitchell Invitational at The Armory in New York City on Dec. 20, 2025.
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“We went to this meet in New York, we traveled all this way, and I was the anchor of our 4×2(00) and I pulled my hamstring in the middle of it, and I was like ‘Oh my God, are you serious?’” Thibeault said.
Thibeault quickly told herself that a hamstring was nothing compared to rehabbing from a completely torn ACL. She wound up coming back and anchoring a third-place finish for Hand’s 4×400 relay at the Class M championships Feb. 13 in New Haven.
“Coming back in indoor, I beat all my PRs, but it wasn’t anything crazy, but it was definitely my trial for coming back to sprinting,” Thibeault said. “And for outdoor, I just wanted to get my PRs from my sophomore year to get back to where I was.”
The biggest thing that has helped Thibeault bounce back was getting strength back.
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“Over the summer and in the fall, I did a lot of strength training. That was my thing, because my quad muscle, it was gone,” Thibeault said. “The whole summer and fall, I was working on getting that back with Frank and also with Steve, my PT. That is the biggest thing that has helped me, because strength is all of your speed.”
A major help in Thibeault’s rehab process was her mother, Phylicia Bova, who drove her to all of her therapy appointments after the surgery because Thibeault couldn’t drive.
The first meet of the outdoor season for Hand was the 2026 Bellringer Track & Field Invitational in East Hampton on April 4. Thibeault was slated to run the 400 and 200.
“I have some really good competition in the 400, let’s just see how I do. I ended up coming in first (1:00.97), and I crossed the finish line and I was like ‘OK, I guess all my hard work paid off,’” Thibeault said. “That was super exciting for me. Then I went back in the 200 and I beat my PR by a second (27.02). I was just super happy because all the work I had been putting in over the past year, I had finally come back.”
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She ran a 1:02.11 in the 400 in rainy, cool conditions Wednesday at Cheshire. That was the only event Thibeault competed in because she had to return to Madison. Thibeault was honored as Madison Youth of the Year, one of six such honorees.
In addition to being a strong student-athlete, Thibeault is involved in her community. She started the Safe and Sound Club, which brings awareness to domestic violence and raises funds/donations to domestic violence shelters in the state. The club is advised by Gabrielle Butcher, who teaches Spanish at Hand.
As far as her ACL injury and the rehab process goes, Thibeault believes everything happens for a reason.
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“I feel like as long as you work hard, you push yourself and are just super consistent, everything will come back and you will be super strong and happy. I’m just so grateful and blessed that I’ve gotten to this point,” Thibeault said. “I’m super happy, and I wouldn’t change anything. I believe everything happens for a reason, and I think if I didn’t tear my ACL, I would be nowhere (near) where I am today. I don’t think I would be as strong, I don’t think I would be getting these crazy PRs.”
“It was impressive to see her put the far future out ahead of her, and she would work towards that as a goal,” Swift said. “She would stop by cross country practice sometimes and say ‘do you think I’ll be able to come back and run a 60, run a 59?’ and I said yeah if you keep doing what you’re doing, keep with the process, even though it doesn’t seem anywhere close. Stay on that single path, and she did, and it was really awesome.”
Kevin Roberts is a sports reporter with the Republican-American GametimeCT. He has been covering high school sports since 2008 with time spent at papers in Torrington, Bristol, New Britain, Meriden and Waterbury. When not working, he can be found hanging out with his wife, daughter and dog.
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