Stow's Anna Hurst uses her faith to excel not only in athletics, but in life

The Stow senior has worked through two ACL tears to return to basketball, but she is more than an athlete

STOW, Ohio – All it takes is five minutes with Anna Hurst to understand the true definition of faith.

The Stow-Munroe Falls High School senior could spend all of her time asking God ‘why’ after tearing her ACL last season on January 4th, the second time in four years she had torn an ACL, as she tore the other one before her eighth-grade year. But instead of questioning God, Hurst called on him.

“I think you could see a big difference in the way I handled it before going into eighth grade and now as a junior," Hurst said. "You can see how I matured in my faith through that, and especially leaning on him in the unknown. I think that's a big part of my testimony because today is not guaranteed, tomorrow is not guaranteed. And so really relying on him and trusting in his plan because he's going to use it to glorify him and he knows what's best for me so he's always going to put me in the right place.”

While most would think that the right place for Hurst was on the basketball court, she was willing to understand that God has a plan for her. So she was patient. She knew that she could either sit and sulk or she could find out what God was trying to teach her through the ordeal. Because of her unwavering faith, she chose the latter.

“God has definitely taught me a lot of lessons through this with leadership, discipline, everything you can think of,” Hurst said. “I feel like I've pulled out a little mini lesson. And I really was able to observe and learn how to lead in a different way because last year, I had to sit out. So for over half the season I was watching and I definitely learned a lot and I learned to be intentional with relationships and leadership with my teammates. So now I feel like I'm a lot stronger and I don't take it for granted.”

Hurst has returned to the basketball court this season, hoping to help lead the Bulldogs on a deep playoff run. She began the season getting herself back acclimated not only to playing, but also being around her teammates and has really turned it on since the calendar flipped to 2024.

“I think it took me a few games to get back into it,” Hurst said. “I want to say in the last month, I've really gotten back in the swing of things playing with my teammates, because it's not just getting the skills back, it's getting that camaraderie back and saying, ‘hey, I'm back, I'm excited to lead you guys and I'm just really excited to work with you again.'”

Stow finished the regular season 18-4 and went 13-1 in the Suburban League National Division, capturing the conference title. The Bulldogs lost to Solon and Magnificat before finishing the regular season with a win over Twinsburg and started the postseason with a win over Lakeside in the sectional semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 17.

“I think we're really picking up at the right time,” Hurst said. “We're coming off a few losses, but I'm glad we learned that lesson before the tournament so I'm ready to go.”

Getting his point guard back was a relief for Stow head coach Bob Podges, who spent weeks last season trying to shuffle his lineup after Hurst went down. 

“It helps us because everybody's back in their normal role,” Podges said. “When she got hurt, we had to move things around and people were out of their normal roles. We took one of our better perimeter shooters and put her at point and in what we run, our point guard doesn't get a whole lot of looks at the 3-point line. So that hurt us a little bit.”

Podges is glad to have Hurst back not just for her talent, but also for the intangibles she brings to the team.

“Getting not only her basketball skills back but just her leadership and her enthusiasm, those are the kinds of things that you can't really quantify but they're very extremely important to our team,” Podges said.

That leadership doesn’t just come when the players are on the court, as Hurst has shown the ability be a leader for the Bulldogs even when the basketball shoes come off.

“She's a kid that has played with a lot of leaders and she's taken a little bit from each of the leaders that she played with and made it into her own,” Podges said. “She leads both on and off the court, actually probably more off the court. And that's unusual to say for a point guard, but she's always looking out for everybody on our team.”

Stow senior Anna Hurst (No. 1) smiles during pregame handshakes prior to Stow's playoff game against Lakeside on February 17, 2024.  / Ryan Isley, SBLive Sports

The head coach was devastated when Hurst went down last January, but not necessarily because of what it would mean to his team. He just knew what Hurst had done to come back from her first ACL tear. But Podges watched as Hurst did everything she could to make sure she was going to be back.

“From my perspective, it was very heart-wrenching (when she got hurt) because I know how hard it was for her to come back the first time,” Podges said. “But to her credit, she attacked it just like she did the first time, and I don't know if you see that in a lot of kids that they tear that second one, particularly in a four-year window. They may not want to put that kind of effort into getting back again.”

Now healthy, Hurst is back to flying around the court, setting up her teammates for good shots and taking hers when the situation calls for it, while also playing shutdown defense on the opposing guard.

But on the court is not the only place you can find Hurst flying, as she is working on her private pilot’s license and wants to pursue a career in the field. And as with everything she does in life, Hurst has used her experience in aviation to build and strengthen her relationships.

“I'm studying to take my written exam and I would love to study that in college and either go to become a pilot or aviation business, or both,” Hurst said. “I'm in aeronautics careers academy at my school, so that's something that I really value, and I've also learned a lot from, relationships wise, networking wise, so I'm really excited for that.”

Speaking of colleges, the second ACL injury put a pause on Hurst’s recruitment. Once a highly-sought after player even before she stepped on a high school floor, two ACL tears have made coaches take a step back from the 5-foot-8 guard. 

While disappointing, it was another chance for Hurst to lean on her faith. So instead of being stubborn and demanding that she play at a certain school or at a certain level, Hurst has taken the recruitment process in stride.

“I've had a lot of interest from D-1 schools across the nation, I've had lots of phone calls, interactions and visits before I got hurt and you can imagine that definitely fell off once I got hurt because one thing about recruiting is they're not patient,” Hurst said. “So that was definitely something that once again, I had to rely on God. I know that he's going to put me in the right place. And so right now, I'm only talking to a couple of schools, probably more D-2 because D-1 has to have that all locked in way before anyone else and so it's definitely been a struggle. But I'm still contacting schools that I'm interested in and working through it, relying on God.”

It's that faith and belief in God that led Hurst to another decision earlier in her high school years. As a sophomore, she decided to start a Fellowship of Christian Athletes huddle at Stow. She took lessons learned from other aspects of life to get the project started and it has become a success under her leadership.

"You can imagine how daunting that is for a sophomore at 15 or 16 years old to work with the school administration, the school board of education,” Hurst said. “And once again, networking just like I've learned in aviation, I was able to apply what I learned in starting this club, because I worked with the FCA advisors all throughout the area. So I was able to work with the faculty here and get a lot of interest in the club and you can really see it blossom. We have about 20 to 22 people on the regular now and I'm really looking to see who's going to take it over and carry it on once I'm gone. So I'm excited to see that discipleship happen as well.”

Starting the FCA huddle at Stow was just another example of what Hurst does off the basketball court, which is important to her. She loves basketball and is great at it, but don’t call her an athlete, because there is so much more to the Stow senior. 

The last time someone insinuated that she was just an athlete, Hurst asked her dad Todd to get her an instrument. He got her a violin. Anna took it from there, applying her competitive spirit to playing the violin the same way she does in basketball.

“A lot of people at that time only saw me as an athlete, and I didn't like that,” Hurst said. “I like to show how well-rounded I am and how I value not just sports but every aspect of life. And so I picked up the violin. And in eighth grade right after I tore my ACL, I was definitely missing that competitive aspect. And we had chair placements to see who'd be the section leaders, and I came in second and I remember the first challenge came up where you can test again to see if you can take out the person in front of you. And so I did that. I was like, I can't compete anywhere else in life, so I'm going to compete in orchestra. I ended up beating her out and I was section leader and I've been for many years since.”

Joining the orchestra not only allowed Hurst to show that she is more than just an athlete, but it allowed her to meet and get to know even more people, something she cherishes.

“I really love it and I've been able to meet a different demographic of people that I normally wouldn't be around, and I really value those relationships as well,” Hurst said.

And then there was that time basketball and orchestra collided during her sophomore year, when she had an orchestra concert and a basketball game on the same night. As if that wasn’t enough, she had a violin solo near the end of the concert, which would have been in the second half of the basketball game. But thankfully, the game and the concert were both at Stow and the orchestra director moved up the solo to earlier in the concert. Hurst was able to perform the solo and then play basketball. But she did so in memorable fashion.

“I actually went in my basketball uniform,” Hurst said with a laugh. “I did (basketball) warmups (in the gym) and then I ran over to the auditorium. A lot of the JV players actually came to cheer me on which was really nice. And then I came back midway through the first quarter.”

When someone spends as much time cultivating relationships as Hurst does, it is eventually going to come back to them in a positive way. And she needed that after tearing her ACL a little over 13 months ago. When some people were telling her that she might not come back to basketball or that it might be time to give up the sport, Hurst – even at such a young age – knew to rely on those around her who cared for her.

“You have your inner circle of people who are always going to encourage you and work through the hardest parts in life with you,” Hurst said. “And so I think my friends from everywhere from basketball, small group, orchestra, everyone came alongside me because they knew how hard it was for me. That was just really beautiful to see because there's always going to be people who only stick around for the good things.”

That’s an answer that would not surprise anyone who has spent any time around Hurst, as teachers and coaches are always impressed by her attitude and the smile that never seems to disappear from her face.

“She is an extremely positive kid,” Podges said. “She’s been positive since the first day she came here.”

And for Anna Hurst, that positive mindset comes from her faith and belief in God’s plan for her.