SHAWNEE – A devastating, "you've got to be kidding me" moment last March for Oklahoma Baptist soccer player
Macie Brannum left much to think about over the summer as the team prepared for its once-in-lifetime trip to Iceland.
The sophomore from Piedmont, Oklahoma, who tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) as a freshman, did so again this past March during the team's spring practices.
"I knew I heard the pop (in my knee) and would need to have surgery again," Brannum said.
On top of knowing she'd miss another soccer season, Brannum was also nervous how a trip to a land with mountains, valleys and fjords would allow her to enjoy the week-long adventure with her teammates and friends.
"I was super excited about the opportunity to go to Iceland. But I wasn't very long in my recovery and the idea of hiking was really hard."
Brannum pushed on though, hopping on the Delta flight that spanned roughly 21 hours from Dallas (DFW) to Minneapolis (MSP) to Reykjavík (KEF).
Through the first few days in Iceland, the team had gone on the Golden Circle tour, traveling along scenic routes, visiting Þingvellir National Park and watching geysers erupt.
Things would get a little tougher physically after that.
A day before the team was to visit Reykjadalur Hot Spring Thermal River, Brannum had had trouble reaching a waterfall and was set to turn around and go back.
"No, I'm carrying you on my back," Brannum remembers
Michaela White saying to her on Friday, Aug. 11. White helped Brannum get to the falls before
Gigi Miller helped get her back to the buses. A precedent had been set on that day.
Twenty-four hours later, the Bison group, which amounted to 33 people, was set to embark on
a trip to Reykjadalur. The only problem: that's a 5.2-mile hike. Two-point-six miles in, two-point-six miles back.
Once more, Brannum was nervous. But White wasn't: "We're getting you to those springs," OBU's junior midfielder said to Brannum.
What followed was a masterclass in teamwork.
Olivia Kenas,
Avril Baccam,
Jadynn Daggs,
Anna Branham,
Lauren Worten,
Alanna Bloomingdale, Head Coach
Mike White and others helped Brannum get to their destination.
"It was nice. Everyone was so positive, and no one complained once. It was amazing," Brannum said.
By the time everyone reached the geothermal springs, the relaxing, 96- to 104-degree temps of the water were welcomed.
"It was a relief, like, getting all the way up there and just to enjoy it with my teammates. Everyone was so close already, and it brought us even closer as a team," Brannum added.
That experience is one Brannum will never forget.
"I couldn't have gone anywhere else and have a team
physically carry me five-plus miles to the hot springs. That just showed me how much we cared about each other and that no one is going to be left behind," Brannum concluded.
