The Temple sisters are standout competitors in multiple sports at Hughesville High School in north central Pennsylvania.
Kylie, who will be a senior in fall 2025, competes in soccer, basketball, and indoor and outdoor track and field. Katelyn, who will be a junior, competes in soccer and indoor and outdoor track and field.
When both sisters experienced medical setbacks in their athletic careers, they went to UPMC Rehabilitation Institute – Eastern Lycoming YMCA in Muncy, Pa., for physical therapy. Working with physical therapists Lisa Stopper-Gee, PT, MPT; David Johnson, PT, MPT, MTC; Lara Duke, PTA; and others, they were able to get back to starring on the field, court, and track.
They also received support from Brian Duke, LAT, ATC, CSCS, a UPMC Sports Medicine athletic trainer who works at Hughesville High School.
“They’re miracle workers,” Kylie says of her team at UPMC Rehabilitation Institute. “I don’t know how they fixed me that well or that quickly, but they did. They’re super fun to talk to. There was never a dull moment; we’d always have something to talk about.”
Kylie: Back and Knee Pain
Kylie, 17, began experiencing back pain as a freshman, mostly when she jumped and landed. The pain affected her most on the basketball court.
By late in Kylie’s sophomore year, the pain had worsened to the point that it was affecting her outside of competition.
“It was the first injury that I couldn’t get away from in a few weeks,” she says. “It was quite annoying to have it there all the time and not be able to get rid of it and play like I know I could play if I didn’t have to slow myself down a little bit more.”
The pain eventually led Kylie to seek physical therapy at the UPMC Rehabilitation Institute in April 2024. She worked with David on stabilizing exercises and other techniques to strengthen her core and reduce the pain and tightness in her back.
David also showed her stretches to prevent back pain in the future.
Kylie worked with David through early July; she also continued to do the exercises on her own, and her back continued to improve.
However, during a summer basketball tournament, Kylie hyperextended her right knee. She was having trouble straightening her knee and walking, so she revisited UPMC Rehabilitation Institute in September.
Kylie worked with Lisa to strengthen her knee and improve her balance.
“When I went in, I couldn’t really walk on it at all, and I was really scared that I wasn’t going to be able to play the soccer season,” she says. “But going in, it slowly got better, and by the end of my PT sessions, I was able to go a decent amount of the game without pain at all. It would come occasionally, but I would run through that because I knew it was just my body getting a bit more tired.”
The work with Lisa helped Kylie get through soccer season with few restrictions.
Kylie’s back didn’t bother her much during soccer season, but when she transitioned to basketball season, the pain returned. She returned to see David in November and continued working with him until January 2025.
“Toward the end of basketball season, it started to not hurt as much, and I was able to play more freely,” she says.
Kylie says she’s grateful to Lisa, David, and the other therapists she worked with for their support. She says the entire staff at UPMC Rehabilitation Institute made it a positive experience.
By the time the spring 2025 outdoor track and field season came around, Kylie was feeling fully healthy.
Her sister, meanwhile, was about to return from her own injury.
Katelyn: Torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament
Katelyn, 16, was preparing for the 2024 soccer season when she suffered a significant knee injury.
During an August practice, as Katelyn took a shot, her plant leg — her right leg — gave out on her.
“I felt a pop, but it didn’t hurt that bad, so I got up and continued to play, which is when I heard a second pop,” she says. “That’s when I knew it was bad.”
Katelyn says her knee hurt badly for about 20 minutes before the pain began to fade. After practice, she visited Brian in the athletic training office.
Brian recommended that Katelyn visit a specialist to get her knee evaluated. She went to an appointment later that day. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan showed she had torn her right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
“It was really upsetting,” Katelyn says. “I worked really hard to get ready for the season, so not being able to play was kind of frustrating.
“Pretty soon, I started seeing the bright side of it, which helped a lot. Knowing I had a chance to come back next year and focus on not just coming back, but coming back stronger than I was.”
Katelyn underwent ACL repair surgery in September and began physical therapy three days later. She worked with Lisa and Lara. They focused on strengthening her right knee and getting it back to the same level as her left knee.
“I loved going there,” Katelyn says. “I was never like, ‘Oh, I have to go to PT today.’ It was sometimes the highlight of my day.”
Kylie and Katelyn scheduled their physical therapy appointments for the same time so they could help each other.
”It was really cool that we got to do it together and motivate each other,” Katelyn says.
Because of her injury, Katelyn had to use crutches for about six weeks and a brace after that. About three months post-surgery, she was cleared to start jogging and jumping again.
“The first couple of months were really challenging,” she says. “But once I was able to get off the crutches and start jogging again, it got a lot better.
“It was kind of the moment where I realized that I could do this and (I was) getting better.”
The knee injury forced Katelyn to miss the soccer and indoor track seasons. However, Katelyn supported her sister and other teammates from the sidelines.
“Being there, it kind of lifted my head a little bit, knowing that I would get back to there,” she says. “I liked seeing people do what I knew I would be able to do soon.”
Throughout physical therapy, Katelyn felt motivated to return as soon as she was able. By the time the spring outdoor track and field season came, she was ready.
Setting Records and Earning Medals
When the spring track and field season began, Kylie felt healthy and ready to go. Katelyn’s team had cleared her for limited events at the start of the season and increased participation as the season progressed.
“Knowing that Katelyn had just watched me and a couple of others run in indoor season and wished she was there, I knew she was building all that excitement to get back for outdoor track,” Kylie says.
The sisters specialize in different individual running events. Kylie competes in the 200-meter dash and 300-meter hurdles, and Katelyn competes in the 100-meter dash and 400-meter run. They run together as part of the 400-meter relay and 1,600-meter relay.
“It’s really fun,” Katelyn says of running relays with Kylie. “She’s always been there through every sport. We’ve always been on the same teams our whole lives. It’s really exciting getting to run with her and share that moment.”
As the end of the spring track season approached, the sisters put together some of their best performances. Kylie qualified for the PIAA state championships in the 200 dash and 300 hurdles. She won the District 4 championship in the 300 hurdles, setting a new district record in the process.
“As soon as we started meets, I could slowly see my time starting to get down for the hurdles, so I was very excited about that one,” Kylie says. “I knew I needed to put in quite a bit more work, and I was able to do that for about the month-and-a-half to two-month season. It was all leading up to states.”
Katelyn, meanwhile, qualified for the state championships in the 400 run.
“It was really eye-opening — that was the moment where I felt like, ‘I did this. I made it back,’” Katelyn says.
The sisters also helped the Hughesville 400 and 1,600 relay teams qualify for the state championship meet. The 400 relay broke the school record.
Kylie followed up her district title in the 300 hurdles by winning the state championship in the same event. Katelyn and Kylie also helped the 1,600 relay team place third in the state.
“Amazing,” Katelyn says of her experience running at the state meet. “I love it there. It’s so exciting.”
After their state performances, Kylie and Katelyn had the opportunity to run at the national high school track and field championships. Kylie placed third in the 300 hurdles, and the 1,600 relay team also competed.
For the upcoming year, Kylie and Katelyn hope to stay healthy and continue setting records.