There was no doubt in Kinsley Rector’s mind. When she heard that dreaded pop, she knew something serious had just happened.
It was June 24, 2022, the summer before Rector’s freshman year at Lynden High School. A multi-sport athlete, she had decided to try out for North County Alliance, a youth club soccer team.
“I went and I made the team and thought, ‘Oh, this is going to be fun,’” said Rector, now a sophomore.
During the first tournament, near the end of the match, Rector and one of her opponents kicked the ball at the same time. Her foot stopped, her right knee didn’t.
Her knee began to numb as she was carried off the field to a medical tent, hoping it was a minor injury.
“But that was not the case,” Rector said. “That’s kind of what started all the injuries.”
An MRI revealed a partially torn ACL and a fully torn meniscus requiring surgery.
Rector would battle through two knee injuries over the next two years, and give up two other sports to pursue her college golfing dreams.
From corn to raspberries
Rector’s story begins not with her injury, but in northwestern Iowa. Sheldon, a town of about 6,000, is famous for its sweet corn. It was there that Rector — with the support of her parents, Alec and Chelsea — forged her love of sports.
Alec was a former Division II golfer at Wayne State College, and his daughter would go on to become the only girl from Iowa on her regional Junior PGA team.
Their lives would move from the cornfields to the raspberry patches of north Whatcom County when, in 2020, Alec took a job at an animal feed store in Sumas. The family had no idea how much of a sports town Lynden was.
“It’s kind of crazy because where we’re from, it’s not like that at all,” Rector said.
Road to recovery
Completing surgery in July 2022, Kinlsey began physical therapy. After two months of not getting what she wanted out of it, she decided to make a change.
“I just felt like I was making no progress, like I was still at square one,” Rector said.
She withdrew and joined Gritworks, a sports performance training center in Bellingham. By that point, she had missed volleyball and basketball seasons, so she was just hoping to recover in time for golf season.
By January 2023, her knee had little to no pain, had regained most of its movement and she was planning a return to golf.
Rector resumed lessons with Willy Scholten, who competed for Western Washington University’s men’s golf team from 2014–18.
Scholten, the head pro at Homestead Farms golf course, first met Rector after she signed up for lessons in 2020. At 13 years old, she was already hitting an 8-iron nearly 150 yards.
“I was like, ‘What in the world, this is unbelievable,’” Scholten said.
The first thing one notices about Rector is her power driving the ball. But that’s not all she excels at, Scholten said.
“She doesn’t have any weaknesses,” Scholten said. “She wants to get better and compete, and that’s not always a trait that talented people have.”
Back into playing form
The first few weeks of the high school season are nine-hole matches, which gave Rector’s knee a chance to get back into playing form.
Rector then went on a tear, placing second at the Whatcom County Championships in March 2023 and finishing fifth overall in the Northwest Conference. She would go on to place 14th at the 2A state tournament two months later — the third-best finish among Whatcom County girls.
“When I was at state, I forgot I had surgery just 10 months prior,” Rector said.
Another knee injury
Rector spent most of her summer at volleyball open gyms and basketball camps, getting back in shape after missing both seasons.
Then on Labor Day, while chasing a volleyball out of bounds during a drill, she bumped the ball over her head, planted her right foot, turned and heard her knee pop. It was the noise she had hoped to never hear again.
“I just knew right away,” Rector said. “It was the same feeling. It was like deja vu.”
Rector was in a class when her mom called with the MRI results: a torn ACL and an MCL strain.
“I remember her breaking down because she couldn’t even tell me,” Rector said. “She was so sad because it happened again, and then I broke down.”
The surgeon gave Rector two options: Have surgery and be out 12 months with a chance to play basketball and volleyball in the future. Or, forego surgery, begin physical therapy and have a chance to play golf in the spring of 2024.
She said she knew what decision to make.
For Rector, who has aspirations of playing college golf, the hardest part was coming to terms with giving up two sports. She would miss out on building bonds with her teammates. Golf, while technically a team sport, is more about individuality.
Instead, she was the trainer/team manager for the Lions’ girls basketball team in the winter season. That allowed her to attend practices and games as part of the team, and still be around all her friends, including recently when the Lions won the state championship on March 2.
“I’m not the kind of person to sit at home,” Rector said. “I actually go crazy.”
New focus only on golf
Rector eventually switched physical therapists and began once-a-week sessions. By November 2023, she was already tipping and putting again, and training a few times a week on a two-hole putting green at home.
She finished physical therapy at the beginning of the year and has since trained two days a week with Scholten in preparation for the prep spring golf season. Her first match of the year is Tuesday, March 19 at the Sudden Valley Golf and Country Club.
“I truly think Kinsley is capable of being one of the best players in the state,” Scholten said. “What she was able to do as a freshman, you don’t see that a whole lot, especially from a multi-sport athlete.”
Alec Rector also has no qualms about what his daughter can accomplish. He sees the fight in her every day.
“Tiger (Woods) won the 2008 U.S. Open with one leg; no reason she can’t attain her goals,” Alec said.
For now, she’s just focused on the steps ahead. Rather than feeling disappointed about giving up two sports she also loves to play, she instead sees it as a blessing in disguise.
“I knew if I wanted to play college golf, I was going to have to give up volleyball and basketball at some point anyways,” Rector said. “This is kind of like God telling me, ‘You don’t have the knees for volleyball and basketball, and you should focus on golf.’
“The decision sucked, but I think it’s going to work out.”
A previous version of this story incorrectly attributed a photo to Andy Bronson. The photo was taken by CDN photographer Finn Wendt. The story was updated to reflect this change at 12:43 p.m. on March 15, 2024. Cascadia Daily News regrets the error.
